(This shit again? Oh, yes. This shit again. / Photo via Getty Images)
Twitter rallies, brutal victories and even celebrity endorsements could not get Mark Hunt what he deserved — a clear path to the UFC heavyweight title. When Hunt was booked for UFC 160 against former champion Junior Dos Santos, however, it looked like the New Zealander’s violent campaign had finally paid off.
Dana White said that Dos Santos would get a title shot should he beat Hunt, so if Hunt crushed those plans, then he would be the unquestioned #1 contender in the division, right? UFC gold appeared to be within stumpy-limb striking distance for the former K-1 Grand Prix Champion.
Alas, ‘The Man’ just didn’t want to see Hunt get his. Last week, a 2002 arrest from which no charges resulted magically came to the attention of U.S. officials, who as of yet have refused to issue the New Zealander a visa to travel to the states, threatening his chances of competing at the “Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2″ event on May 25th. (If you have to ask who ‘The Man’ is in this situation, you are clearly a part of the conspiracy against Mark Hunt. Narc.)
The UFC is not giving up on Hunt fighting at UFC 160, though they do appear to be hedging their bets. “To put anything to rest, we are confident the issue will be resolved and we anticipate Mark competing in the co-main event for UFC 160,” the UFC’s Director of Communications, Dave Sholler, told media during a Tuesday teleconference. ”Our team is working through that issue and we anticipate Mark making his way to the United States this weekend.”
“We’re working towards keeping this original fight that was scheduled and everybody’s excited about intact. Our team is continuing to work with all the necessary officials to get this visa issue sorted out.”
The UFC claimed to not have a Plan B at this point to keep Junior Dos Santos competing at UFC 160 in the event that his opponent drops out (again), but MMA Fighting also reported Tuesday that the organization has asked Roy Nelson to apply for a license to fight Dos Santos May 25th.
Nelson got beat up badly by Dos Santos in their first meeting but proved to be the former champ’s biggest challenge up until the Brazilian lost his belt to Cain Velasquez last year. Do you think Big Country would have a shot at taking out Dos Santos this time around, ‘taters?
Also, does anyone know the over-under on Hunt simply jumping on the back of a Great White Shark and surfing it to the states to fight Dos Santos if his visa isn’t granted? #RallyForMarkHunt, you guys.