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Saturday night sees the UFC go to Russia for the very first time in the organisation's 25-year existence. The event will take place in the country's Olympic Stadium located in the capital, Moscow. Many will argue the person responsible for this, is the current lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
When it was announced that the UFC had booked a date in Russia it was widely expected that 'The Eagle' would be headlining the card. This is now obviously not the case as the champ is facing his predecessor to the belt, Conor McGregor, in a huge clash for the 155-pound crown on October 6 in Las Vegas. The main event on this historic night, however, pits two heavyweight veterans of the sport against one another as Mark Hunt takes on Aleksei Oleinik. Despite both fighters being in their 40's, neither man shows any signs of giving it up just yet.
Oleinik comes into this one on the back of an impressive victory over Júnior Albini where he submitted the up-and-comer by way of Ezekiel Choke. However, today we are going to be talking about the 'Super Samoan'. The New Zealander has a résumé that can only be matched by few. We are going to be taking a look at his 5 best fights to date leading into the 28th of his illustrious career.
#5 Frank Mir
At number 5 we've gone for the UFC Fight Night 85 main event where Hunt took on Frank Mir. We've chosen this one as more of a personal one for Hunt as opposed to the fight itself. The bout only lasted for 3 minutes, that was before the Samoan scored a signature walk-off knockout after landing a huge overhand to settle things. This display earned Hunt a performance of the night bonus. The victory was also made sweeter for the, now 44-year-old, when Frank Mir failed a post-fight drug test. It is well documented how the New Zealander feels about that subject.
#4 Junior dos Santos
Number 4 was a less satisfying night for Hunt. He came in as a late replacement to take on Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 after Alistair Overeem pulled out of the fight with a leg injury. Despite the late notice, Hunt gave JDS three very competitive and entertaining rounds before unfortunately being knocked out in the final minute of the fight with a highlight reel, spinning hook kick. This battle was awarded the fight of the night.
#3 Derrick Lewis
Number 3 was a big one for Hunt, he came into this main-event against Derrick Lewis after back-to-back defeats and it was vitally important that he returned to winning ways; and return to winning ways he did.
Hunt put in the sort of performance fitting a home fighter as he took out 'The Black Beast' in the 4th round. The hometown favourite had to weather an early onslaught from Lewis, an onslaught in which ironically was Lewis' downfall in the end. 'The Black Beast' was exhausted in the 4th round and Hunt was able to capitalise on that and forced referee, Marc Goddard to step in before things turned from bad to worse for Lewis. This fight was also awarded the fight of the night.
#2 Antonio Silva 1
Number 2 was a fight for the ages, just look at the picture. This was the first of two meetings between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva.
On this occasion, the result was a rare majority draw. This was probably a best-case scenario as it was very difficult to name either fighter a loser on the night. It also meant that there would almost certainly be a rematch which came to fruition, albeit 2 years later. It was 5 rounds of absolute war which saw two judges score it a draw, the third giving the decision to Hunt, therefore resulting in the majority draw. 'Bigfoot' failed a post-fight drug test which saw his result changed to a no-contest, Hunt's remained a draw. Again, this war was awarded fight of the night.
#1 Roy Nelson
Number one has been chosen, again, based on a personal level for Mark Hunt. He faced off against Roy Nelson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 52 which took place in Japan.
Hunt became only the second man to knockout 'Big Country' and what a knockout it was. The New Zealander landed a huge uppercut to turn the lights out for Nelson which claimed 'Knockout of the Year'. This also earned Hunt a performance of the night bonus.
Do you think Mark Hunt will win in Moscow? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
