Mark Hunt wanted to fight in Australia late last year. He’s likely to get his wish now.
A fight between the popular heavyweight, who was born in New Zealand and now lives in Sydney, and fellow contender Stipe Miocic is in the works to headline UFC Fight Night 65 on May 10 in Adelaide, sources have confirmed with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.
It’ll be the UFC’s first trip to the city and the show will air live on UFC Fight Pass. Combat Press was the first to report the news Monday.
Hunt (10-9-1) is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Fabricio Werdum in an interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 180 on Nov. 15. Before that, “The Super Samoan” was unbeaten in six of his previous seven fights. Hunt’s second-round KO of Roy Nelson last September was one of the best knockouts of 2014. The always exciting 40-year-old fought Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva to a draw (later overturned to a no contest when Silva failed a drug test) in December 2013, a bout that was considered the Fight of the Year.
Miocic (12-2) was closing in on a title shot of his own before falling in a close unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 14 on Dec. 13. The Ohio native had won three straight prior to that loss. Miocic, 32, remains one of the top heavyweights in the world. He and Hunt are both still ranked in the top five of the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings.
No other bouts have been announced for the Adelaide card. The initial date was supposed to be May 15, but that weekend is already crowded with UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber taking place May 16 in Manila.
The UFC was in Sydney on Nov. 8, a card headlined by Luke Rockhold’s submission victory over Michael Bisping. That event featured a finish in every single fight. The 11 finishes are a modern-day UFC record.