UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is an angry man, but it’s not an opponent who has him ripping mad. It’s the fact he doesn’t have an opponent, or any real clue where his career is heading, following the UFC’s decision to pull him from a November bout with Marcin Tybura.
While it’s been nearly three weeks since the promotion made that call, Hunt is still most displeased with the situation and is stating that the move is a punitive measure from the company. He discussed this, and where he is heading, in an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (warning: NSFW language).
“The truth is, I don’t even know what’s happening right now. We’ve asked them to pinpoint what it is that is wrong with me, and they still haven’t said what it is,” he said. “They sent some lame-ass email saying ‘blah blah blah. … Unless we find out what’s wrong with you, then we’ll get back to you.’ You’re never going to find what’s wrong with me because there’s nothing wrong with me.”
Hunt has long had a testy relationship with UFC brass, dating back to 2013. Things exploded in January, however, when the former K-1 kickboxer filed a lawsuit against the promotion stemming from his UFC 200 fight with Brock Lesnar, who failed a pre-fight drug test but was allowed to compete because the test was not screened until after the contest.
Despite speculation that the case would result in his being “put on ice” by the UFC, Hunt’s career seemed to progress normally from there, as he competed in a high-profile pay-per-view bout at UFC 209 and headlined UFC Fight Night 110 three months later. When a ghostwritten article bashing the UFC and discussing the toll his career has taken on his brain appeared on PlayersVoice, however, the company made the rare move to pull him from a scheduled match.
On the one hand, it’s difficult to blame the UFC for playing it safe with Hunt. But on the other hand, it’s hard not to notice that it’s only the Super Samoan being given this sort of treatment despite many similar stories coming out from active fighters.
“Look at [Georges St-Pierre]. He’s fighting this week, I think, and he says he’s seeing aliens and missing four or five hours at a time,” he said earlier in the interview. “Why haven’t they pulled him? Do they send him to the same doctors they wanted me to go to? … Why is he still competing?”
Unfortunately, it’s not clear what the future holds for Hunt, who closed the interview by stating his willingness to go through additional testing administered at the UFC’s discretion. Either way, given his indication that he wants to leave the promotion at the end of his contract, his days with the company are numbered.
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