Mark Hunt got the call he’s been waiting for on Tuesday morning — the call to ask if he’d like to fight for the UFC heavyweight title.
By now you know the details: A knee injury forced Cain Velasquez out of UFC 180, leading to a UFC interim heavyweight title fight between Fabricio Werdum and Hunt getting booked for Nov. 15 in Mexico City.
Hunt told MMAFighting.com he didn’t think twice when he got the call, despite the fact that he’ll only get a little over three weeks to prepare for the biggest fight of his MMA career.
“Don’t think I [hestitated],” he said. “Only challenge is making weight.”
Hunt weighed 137 kg (302 pounds) when he was officially offered the fight on Tuesday, meaning he’ll need to lose 37 pounds before the weigh-in on Nov. 14.
Hunt, who weighed 264 pounds prior to his Sept. 20 win over Roy Nelson in Japan, said he had a bit of trouble making weight prior to the fight but doesn’t seem concerned about hitting the 265-pound mark come next month in Mexico City. After that, he’ll be just about 24 hours away from completing one of the greatest career turnarounds in MMA history.