Just as he’s quick to pull the plug on a presumably boring fighter’s career, UFC president Dana White has a propensity to give exciting fighters second chances.
One of those explosive fighters, volatile heavyweight Mark Hunt, got his opportunity from White in the midst of the most miserable and self-destructive stretch of his career.
A former standout in K-1, Hunt went on a four-year winless drought that spanned from July 2006 to February 2011. In that stretch, Hunt lost six straight fights, astoundingly dropping five by submission and one by KO.
But amazingly, five losses into his losing streak, White offered Hunt a contract and a fight with Sean McCorkle at UFC 119.
At the time, White’s move appeared foolish, especially considering how Hunt appeared content simply collecting paychecks in his waning days in Japan.
Three fights later, however, Hunt, a star in his early days in the Pride Fighting Championships, once again stands of on the brink of fighting the world’s best.
But Hunt isn’t the only seemingly down-and-out fighter who received a second chance from White.
Here’s a look at three other fighters who took similarly strange paths to success in the UFC.