Upcoming UFC interim heavyweight title challenger Mark Hunt is known for having cinder blocks for hands, but many pundits wonder if he’ll be able to deal with Fabricio Werdum‘s dangerous submission game.
During an interview with Submission Radio, “The Super Samoan” explained his submission defense is simply a good striking offense.
Well everyone’s a world class ground fighter until they get a punch to the face. So that’s how I deal with all these ground fighters like everyone else. I hit ’em in the head and there goes your f—ing black belt…I know his game will be to push the pace to try and get me tried, to try and shoot the takedown so I’m on the ground, you know what I mean? It’s the same thing. If he tries to stand and bang, well then good for me.
After an abysmal 0-6 run inside the cage between July 2006 and September 2010, Hunt staged a career resurgence, compiling a 5-1-1 record since then.
Hunt most recently had his punching power on full display when he knocked out the typically iron-chinned Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 52 in September.
His only loss since September 2010 was when he got knocked out by former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 in May of last year.
As for Werdum, a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he has compiled a solid 4-0 mark since returning to the Octagon in February 2012.
During that 20-month span, “Vai Cavalo” has defeated Nelson, Mike Russow, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Travis Browne.
Werdum was originally supposed to fight UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez for the strap at UFC 180 next Saturday, but Velasquez withdrew from the bout about two weeks ago due to a knee injury, per UFC.com.
As a result, Hunt will fill in for Werdum at the November 15 pay-per-view and they will battle for an interim championship belt.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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