For heavyweight Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (5-7) fighting at home in front of a big crowd will be pressure enough, but knowing that this is his last chance with the Ultimate Fighting Championship puts that much more pressure on his shoulders.
Born in neighboring New Zealand, Hunt now resides in Australia and has the hometown advantage when he meets Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 in Sydney on Feb. 26.
Both men enter the fight on losses with the worlds biggest promotion, so it’s almost assured that both men will lay it on the line when they step into the octagon.
Hunt debuted against Sean McCorkle at UFC 119 last September and is still upset over the first round submission loss having been submitted five times out of his last six defeats. The “Super Samoan” wants to make the most of this opportunity against Tuchscherer and has been busy working on his takedown defense to avoid another quick exit.
“I already know what these guys are gonna do or try and do anyway, they’d rather put me down and try the ground game; they don’t want to stand and muck around with me. I’ve been trying to get a lot of training with wrestlers, and I’ve been getting in some guys from Perth to come and help me with some wrestling and takedown defense. For sure if I don’t win this fight I’m gonna have to probably look for a different organization or do something else, but that’s the bottom line for me. There aren’t any more chances after this fight. Hopefully, I haven’t been out of the ring for too long – only 3 or 4 months – and I’m pretty confident about winning, but I’m gonna have to go in there and do my best.”