Mark Hunt – UFC 144 – Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Image
Following Saturday night’s (April 14, 2012) UFC on FUEL TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva event promotion president Dana White was put to task reference the current Twitter campaign, #RallyForMikeHunt, to get UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt a title shot versus champion Junior dos Santos.
Speaking to the media at the post fight press conference, White stopped the campaign cold by saying a fight between the two would just not happen for next months UFC 146 event.
“They can keep rallying. It ain’t going to happen… I have apologized and praised Mark Hunt for what he’s accomplished in the situation he was in. And I think this fight with Struve is a good fight for him. If he beats Struve, he’ll break in and start fighting some of the top five heavyweights in the world. Anything can happen in a fight, but in all reality, it’s not fair to Mark Hunt either, to throw the guy right in there with Junior Dos Santos for a title shot. The guy worked his way up, he beats Struve, he fights somebody in the top five. I guarantee you this, he beats Struve, his next fight will be someone in the top five that can get him closer to that title shot.”
(Quote via BJPenn.com)
Hunt will meet Struve at the upcoming UFC 146 show set for May 26, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ‘Super Samoan’ has won three straight in the Octagon, defeating Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell and Chris Tuchscherer in that span.