Mark Hunt News

Justin Golightly - December 8, 2017

Mark Hunt’s career came into jeopardy when he wrote an article detailing symptoms of CTE. He was consequently pulled from his fight at UFC Sydney and on leave from the UFC indefinitely. This resulted in Hunt seeking out a myriad of tests from the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, to try and prove that he is still fit to fight. After an exclusive statement was given to MMA Fighting, the UFC has cleared Mark Hunt for competition after his succesful medical analysis. “We’ve just had a conference call with the doctors in the States, who gave us the good news, so it’s all looking positive. The doctor said Mark scored well above average and that he’s good to compete. So they’ll ring the UFC now and let them know. We’re just waiting on the UFC to clear him. Now Mark’s been cleared twice. He’s done testing with two experts in Australia — and been cleared — before going and proving himself again in the US. Obviously our concern was always Mark’s health and we’re pleased to know everything is fine.”

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

After penning a tell-all piece for the publication Players Voice, in which he admitted to many of the symptoms of brain injury, UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt was plucked from a planned bout with Marcin Tybura, and shelved indefinitely by the UFC. The plan, the organization revealed, was to have Hunt undergo extensive testing before allowing him to return to the cage. According to a report from The Daily Telegraph, Hunt’s test results are in, and they’re good. This report, which sites a Tuesday conference call with specialists from the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, claims Hunt has been declared fit to continue competing. Hunt’s manager subsequently confirmed this news.

Tom Taylor - October 31, 2017

The issues between UFC President Dana White and UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt are both longstanding and well known. The latest chapter in the pair’s ongoing beef occurred when Hunt admitted to having symptoms of brain injury in an op-ed for Players Voice, and was subsequently pulled from a UFC Sydney headlining scrap with Marcin Tybura as a result. Since his removal from the card, Hunt has repeatedly criticized the UFC, while White was moved to pen an open letter for The Daily Telegraph in an attempt to clear the air about the situation.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2017

Originally, UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt was expected to return opposite Marcin Tybura in the main event of the UFC’s upcoming show in Sydney, Australia. Yet shortly after Hunt wrote an op-ed for Players Voice, in which he admitted to suffering from many symptoms of brain injury, he was pulled from this fight and replaced by Fabricio Werdum. Unsurprisingly, Mark Hunt was not especially pleased about this turn of events. Since his removal from UFC Sydney, he has unleashed a stream of criticisms of the UFC and its show-runner Dana White.

Justin Golightly - October 12, 2017

When Mark Hunt is unhappy with something, he definitely lets you know it. The UFC recently announced that Fabricio Werdum would be stepping in for Mark Hunt to fight Marcin Tybura at UFC Sydney. The news came to a surprise for Hunt, who took to social media to absolutely rake the UFC and Dana White over the coals as he’s been known to do from time to time. TMZ just caught up with White who broke his silence on the issue. “[Mark Hunt] went off on me. He’s always going off on me. Listen, sometimes you gotta’ protect these guys from themselves and that’s what we’re looking into right now. He made a statement that I’ve hated him forever. I don’t hate Mark Hunt at all. I’ve never hated Mark Hunt. He knows that. I was actually really good with Mark Hunt. I don’t expect an apology at all, no.” – Dana White to TMZ.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2017

Earlier this week, we learned that UFC heavyweight contender Mark Hunt had been pulled from his UFC Sydney headlining bout with Marcin Tybura, and replaced my Fabricio Werdum. Initially, the reason for Hunt’s withdrawal from this fight wasn’t evident. Eventually, however, it became clear that the UFC had removed him from the bout over “medical concerns” stemming from an article he wrote, during which he talked about slurring his words and his willingness to die fighting. “Following a recent first-person article published by UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt, UFC has taken the precautionary steps of removing Hunt from a previously announced bout in Sydney, Australia,” a statement issued to News.com.au said. “The health-related statements made by Hunt in the article represent the first time UFC was made aware of these claims. Athlete health and safety is of the utmost importance to the organization and it would never knowingly schedule an athlete complaining of health issues for a fight. The organization will require that Hunt undergo further testing and evaluations prior to competing in any future UFC bout.”

Justin Golightly - October 10, 2017

We’ve had a while week of fight cancellations and curve balls. For UFC 216, Kevin Lee nearly missed weight, Derrick Lewis pulled out of his fight with Fabricio Werdum, Walt Harris was removed from his fight with Mark Godbeer, then finally put in to replace Lewis against Werdum. It was no issue for the Brazilian heavyweight, who dispatched Harris with an armbar in just over a minute. Now, he uses that quick finish to turn around super quick to step in for… Mark Hunt at UFC Sydney? What is happening? Mark Hunt out, @FabricioWerdum steps in to take on @MarcinTybura at #UFCSydney Main Event (November 19th) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/Oki0EqV2IJ

Justin Golightly - September 29, 2017

Yesterday during a peaceful media lunch, Tony Ferguson and Fabricio Werdum nearly came to blows. Despite the ridiculous difference — nearly comical — difference in size, Ferguson never backed down from the big man. He even threatened him with an ‘ankle pick,’ which was a great line and a contrast to the foreign obscenities and slurs Werdum threw at Ferguson. None other than Mark Hunt caught wind of the altercation and had to weigh-in on the incident. Given Hunt and Werdum’s past, this comes of no surprise. 

Tom Taylor - August 24, 2017

UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is arguably the most outspoken opposer of steroid-use in MMA today. The hard-hitting “Super Samoan” is notoriously heavy-handed when asked for his opinions on fighters who have been busted for steroids. For evidence of this, see his reactions to the failed drug tests of Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones: “Look at these f-kers,” Hunt said Mike Swick’s podcast in early August. “You’ve got Jon Jones, for instance. That guy is the best. One of the best fighters in the world, but he’s a cheater. Just like Brock Lesnar, you’re all a pack of frickin’ dog cheats, that’s all you are. Nothing else. So, now the two f-king biggest cheaters in the world are going to fight? Oh, f-k. I’m not going to waste my money watching these two cheaters fight. Why would I? They’re cheaters, in the end. That’s basically all they are. They should get nothing! I used to respect Jon Jones before this but I don’t respect him after this. When you get caught for doping —and he got caught for the same dope that Lesnar did — he’s not a martial artist, none of them are. They get no respect from me. None. I wouldn’t want to waste my f-king time watching that s-t!”

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

Last night, we learned that Jon Jones had failed a drug test in the buildup to his UFC 214 fight with Daniel Cormier – a fight he won by third-round knockout, which earned him the UFC light heavyweight title. Unsurprisingly, this disappointing news generated grave reactions from many of the game’s top fighters, and from UFC President Dana White. One of the most interesting reactions to this news came from heavyweight legend Mark Hunt, who is one of the most outspoken advocates against steroid use in MMA. Shortly after this unfortunate news broke, Hunt took to Instagram to trash Jones, referencing Jones’ Philippians 4:13 tattoo.

Justin Golightly - August 19, 2017

Mark Hunt only has three modes: chill, no chill, and absolute destruction. Luckily, his last opponent Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis, didn’t pop for any drugs. Before that, his last four opponents in a row have been fighters who violated the UFC’s anti-doping policies, so it’s easy to understand why Hunt has been more no chill than usual. However, this isn’t about doping. Cowardice isn’t against USADA regulations, but Hunt claims that Fabricio Werdum has tested positive for it. The Super Samoan has been wanting that rematch with Werdum, but supposedly he avoided him at all turns. The kicker? Werdum is scheduled to fight Lewis, the hype train that Hunt just derailed.

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

Over the weekend, Lowking.pl reported that the UFC’s November 19 return to Sydney, Australia, would be headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Mark Hunt and Marcin Tybura. This report was later confirmed by MMAJunkie.com, and now, it’s been officially announced by the UFC. #UFCSydney: @markhunt1974 vs @MarcinTybura Sunday, Nov 19 | @qudosbankarena 🎫 👉 https://t.co/T3qpToug8G pic.twitter.com/iaTU5w4x2A

Justin Golightly - August 11, 2017

It is no secret that “The Super Samoan” Mark Hunt is not a fan of current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. The former heavyweight title challenger has ripped “The Beast” for pretty months following their fight in July of 2016. Hunt was defeated by the former UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 200 via unanimous decision. However, that bout was later overturned to a no-contest after it was revealed that Brock had tested positive for Clomiphene. Lesnar, who returned to the WWE following his scrap with Hunt, recently found his way back into mixed martial arts headlines. Or, should we say forced back into the MMA media world? All it took was a single answer on Jon Jones’ Facebook live to spark talk of a super fight between Jones and Lesnar. The fight has garnered some mixed reactions, but overall there seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding the potential scrap. Not from Mark Hunt though, who flamethrowed both of their names on Mike Swick’s “Quick Swick” podcast.

Tom Taylor - August 1, 2017

On July 8, on the undercard of the anticipated UFC 213, Russian-Ukrainian heavyweight Alexey Oleynik built on the momentum of his dazzling, Ezekiel choke defeat of Viktor Pesta with a slick rear-naked choke defeat of former contender Travis Browne. With this impressive win, Oleynik set himself up for more big opportunities inside the heavyweight top-10, and from the sounds of it, he’s already got an opponent in mind. His desired opponent is legendary knockout artist Mark Hunt. Oleynik made his callout of Hunt on Instagram, explaining that he’d been waiting for Hunt to agree to fight him for two weeks.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2017

Over the weekend, the UFC touched down in Auckland, New Zealand with an exciting, 11-fight card (one fight was cancelled at the last minute). This card was headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Kiwi MMA legend Mark Hunt, and streaking heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis. Hunt won this fight with a fourth-round TKO.

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2017

On Saturday night, in the main event of the 11-fight UFC Auckland card, 43-year-old heavyweight legend Mark Hunt stepped into the cage with the much younger Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis. Though Lewis was not without his moments in this fight, Hunt was able to turn back the clock, punishing his exhausted foe to an impressive, fourth-round TKO win. With this win, Hunt separated himself from a thunderous, knee-induced knockout loss to Alistair Overeem, and reaffirmed himself as one of the game’s premier heavyweights – despite being one of the most senior fighters on the roster.

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in the country of New Zealand for a second time with the exciting UFC Auckland card. In this card’s main event, we saw Kiwi MMA legend Mark Hunt collide with surging American heavyweight contender Derek Lewis. Hunt would win this fight by punishing an exhausted Lewis to a fourth-round TKO.

Tom Taylor - June 11, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in beautiful New Zealand for a second time with UFC Auckland. In the card’s main event, we saw bona fide MMA legend and Kiwi hero Mark Hunt collide with streaking heavyweight contender Derek Lewis. Hunt would win this fight by punishing an exhausted Lewis to a fourth-round TKO.