Mark Hunt will take on Justin Willis on the UFC’s Australia event in December, and it could very well be Hunt’s last appearance inside the Octagon.
Having competed in enemy territory less than two weeks ago, heavyweight legend Mark Hunt will perhaps end his UFC career with a fight in front of his home fans.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Tuesday that Hunt is set to face American prospect Justin Willis at UFC Fight Night 142 in Adelaide, Australia. This would be the last bout on Hunt’s UFC contract, and unless he’s drastically changed his tune, he has no intentions of sticking around.
Hunt (13-13-1, 1 NC) is on a two-fight losing streak, having lost a unanimous decision to Curtis Blaydes and most recently been choked out by Alexey Oleinik in this month’s UFC Moscow main event. The 44-year-old had a memorable and unlikely run towards the top-tier of the heavyweight division, including a 2014 interim title fight vs. Fabricio Werdum, which he ultimately lost by TKO.
In recent times, Hunt has had an adversarial relationship with the UFC, and he has a pending lawsuit against the promotion over Brock Lesnar’s drug test failure at UFC 200. Hunt lost by unanimous decision, but the result was overturned to a no-contest after it was confirmed that Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene in a sample collected before the contest.
Willis (7-1) recently signed a new four-fight UFC contract, having gone 3-0 in his previous appearances inside the Octagon. He made his UFC debut in July 2017 with a decision over James Mulheron, then knocked out Allen Crowder at UFC 218, and most recently got past Chase Sherman by unanimous decision at UFC Atlantic City. The 31-year-old figures to be a promising talent at heavyweight, and he has a big opportunity to get a win over the #10-ranked Hunt.
UFC Adelaide is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Junior dos Santos and Tai Tuivasa. The main card airs live on FS1, and due to the time zone difference, the event will be Saturday, December 1st in North America, but Sunday morning/afternoon in Australia.