What’s the story?
Mark Hunt has some of the most vicious knockout power in not only the UFC’s heavyweight division, but in the entire sport of mixed martial arts. It has been the source of downfall for many who have decided to step into the Octagon with him.
Although Mark Hunt was unsuccessful in his last contest with Brock Lesnar, Lesnar’s drug test came back positive for a banned substance which sent Hunt into a rage.
He vowed never to fight in the UFC again. Now, Hunt has found himself in a match-up at UFC 209 against former title challenger Alistair Overeem only a few months since the Lesnar controversy.
During a recent interview (via The Mac Life) Hunt revealed why he accepted the fight.
In case you didn’t know...
Hunt took on Lesnar in the co-main event of UFC 200 this past July, but suffered a unanimous decision loss to Lesnar after being out-wrestled and ground-and-pounded for fifteen minutes.
Also read: Alistair Overeem open to facing Brock Lesnar in the WWE
Lesnar’s post-fight drug test by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) came back positive for the banned substance Clomiphene, and he was thus suspended from the sport for a year.
The heart of the matter:
Here’s what Hunt had to say about accepting the fight with Overeem:
“I’m not young, I’m 42 years old. In six months I’ve already missed out on a couple of fights, I’ve already missed out on a couple million dollars”, Hunt said. “At the end of the day I’ve stuck to my word. I’ve got no option, I’m in a contract that I can’t get out of.
All the doors I’ve gone through are closed and it’s not like I can go and work somewhere else. Ages ago I was gladly ready to walk away and work somewhere else but they wouldn’t allow it.
Think it from my position, I had no other option. I can’t work anywhere else so what am I supposed to do – let my family starve?”
What’s next?
Hunt will face-off against Overeem on the main card of UFC 209 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4, 2017. It will be a rematch of their initial bout which took place at Dream 5. Overeem had won the fight via a first round submission.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
Steroid users definitely need to be punished more harshly in the sport of MMA. Anyone going into the Octagon with an illegal significant physical advantage is putting the life of the person they’re fighting against in greater danger.
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