(Yeah, that was pretty much our reaction to this news.)
We’re not sure if this is a simple miscommunication or some Jon Jones-level troll job, but for some reason, heavyweight contender and PRIDE legend Mark Hunt recently took to Twitter to lament his apparent release from the UFC, stating:
Well I’m unemployed that sucks. Not my choice guys but going from being exited [sic] at the prospects of the future of fighting to being unemployed in a day lol this sucks.
This of course led to some public outcry, because nobody sweeps “The Super Samoan” under the rug like he’s just some…regular Samoan. Nobody. Enraged fans proceeded to put Daddy Dana on blast via the Twitter, which led to this concise yet somehow ridiculously hyperbolic response from the UFC prez…
YOU HEAR THAT, AXEL? THE DUMBEST THING DANA WHITE HAS *EVER* HEARD. And this is a man who has had at least two — count ‘em, two – conversations with Tiki Ghosn. A man who for some fifteen years, employed the likes of Tito Ortiz. Who allowed Tim Sylvia, a legally retarded, morbidly obese troglodyte hailing from a state that has since been set adrift, to serve as the heavyweight champion of his promotion. And your inquiry about Hunt’s employment tops *all* of that.
Just get the fuck out of here, Axel. I can’t even look at you.
Hunt has not fought since drawing with Antonio Silva in a “Fight of the Decade” contender at Fight Night 33, and is scheduled to face the hard-hitting Roy Nelson at Fight Night 52 (a.k.a “The Japan Card“). I can only think of a couple reasons why Hunt could be suddenly dropped by the UFC, and one of them rhyme with “bailed hug rest.” But if the early, middle, and late career of Vitor Belfort has taught us anything, it’s that bailed hug rests are mere road bumps on the path to title contendership.
(Hate! Hate! Hate Hate Hate!!)
We’ll force our interns to keep an eye on Hunt’s Twitter until something pops up, but in the meantime, anyone care to speculate the cause of Hunt’s confusion? Like, do you think some “Bigfoot” fan who does a spot-on Dana White called up Hunt and tricked him? Or is this Hunt’s way of pulling some Nick Diaz-Nate Diaz powerplay? Do you really think that Axel’s question was the dumbest thing Dana White has *ever* heard? And can you imagine what a UFC contract negotiation with Tito Ortiz was like, especially toward the end?
“Good extranoon, Dana, uh, I’d just like to say that ‘The People’s Champ’ fights like no other, and, uh, that should be reflexive in my deal. Like no other.”
“Tito, you’re old, you haven’t won a fight in years, and you’re clearly drunk again.”
“Bryan Bader. I beat Bryan Bader.”
“God damn it, Tito.”