Mark Hunt’s legal battle with the UFC seems to be far from over.
It all began last year in July when “The Super Samoan” and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar co-main evented UFC 200 in Las Vegas. The current WWE Universal Champion defeated Hunt via unanimous decision, however, his win was later overturned after he was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
A second test sample confirmed that Lesnar was using a banned substance and he was subsequently fined $250,000 in addition to a one-year ban from competition. He won’t be eligible to return to the Octagon until July of this year, however, “The Beast” announced his second retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition this past February.
In response to all the chaos, Hunt grew outraged that he once again was competing against someone who was ‘juicing’ and demanded to be paid all of Lesnar’s fight purse. He is now suing the UFC and Lesnar for the debacle, while still continuing to compete inside the Octagon simultaneously.
Recently, Hunt joined Submission Radio to discuss the lawsuit and what he’s looking to get out of it. The former K-1 champ says he’s simple looking for an even playing field (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“The reason I fell out with the UFC is because, like I said, all I’m asking for when I sued them was an even playing field. I spoke to Dana before all this shit happened and said, ‘I need you guys to make this right. You promised [Lesnar] was gonna be clean.’ It’s just like I said, me even going on about steroids and everything, it’s illegal and they shouldn’t be doing them.
“All I was doing without suing, I asked first if this could be rectified another way. They wouldn’t. They didn’t want to do it so then I had no choice but to push forward with my legal thing, with my lawyer, because I’ve had no choice. I’m not gonna keep fighting juicers. Why should I? Why should I be fighting juicers my whole career? I’ve done it most of my career.”
Hunt is tired of fighting against men who could potentially put his life in danger, as a bulk of the opponents he has stepped into the cage against have at one point in time abused performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Hunt previously competed under the PRIDE banner which had a history of turning the other cheek when it came to steroid abuse, as well as having half of his 14 opponents in the UFC failed a drug test at one point in their careers.
“The Super Samoan” is tired of the ‘rubbish’ and is looking to make things right in the courtroom:
“Three times in a row. Three times in a row [I fought fighters who failed drug tests]. I mean, anyone would ask the question. You know, three guys in a row and then it would have been a fourth guy if I fought in Melbourne against Josh Barnett. Why do I keep getting the short end of the stick? Why should I? I shouldn’t have to accept this rubbish.”
While it is likely that some charges in the case will get dropped, there are some charges that are likely to make it to trial. The UFC may attempt to settle with Hunt in order to prevent the case from going to discovery, but it seems the Samoan may not be interested in a settlement:
“Do I want it to go to discovery? Yeah, of course I want it to go to discovery. Like I said, this shit is going all the way. These guys are gonna have to make this right, and not just with me, but with every fighter’s contract. I want the Mark Hunt clause put in their contract. I want every fighter’s contract to put in – if you are juicing, all their money should go to the other guy. If you’re both juicing, none of you guys should get money. People say, well why don’t you take 80 percent, blah blah blah? I say, okay, so me losing my life is 80 percent worth? No. They shouldn’t get anything. Cheaters don’t deserve any sort of money.”
“Like I said, this didn’t even need to happen. It could have been sorted out way before. Like I said, three cheaters in a row. I want something done about it. And the last straw was Brock Lesnar. . . The bottom line is, the guy’s done wrong, the company’s done wrong and he needs to pay for that shit. Why should I go in there and fucking lose my eyeballs when I’ve done nothing wrong.
“All I’m fighting for is an even playing ground.”
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