Tag: Caged In

It all started with Alistair Overeem. Whether it was the cream, the clear, a needle or simply the product of being something more than human, a surprise Nevada State Athletic Commission drug test showed the Dutch kickboxer had 14 times the normal amount of testosterone in his body. That is, needless to say, against the rules.

With his title fight against Junior dos Santos subsequently in jeopardy, fans began looking ahead, trying to figure out who would replace Overeem in the UFC 146 main event.

• Brock Lesnar was out. He had recently signed with the WWE and those close to him suspect he will never fight again.
• Frank Mir, fresh off a huge submission win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, seemed a logical choice. But UFC president Dana White put the kibosh on that, saying Mir’s fight with Cain Velasquez, presumably a title eliminator, would go on as planned.
• Looking up and down the Bleacher Report heavyweight rankings, it seemed like slim pickings. Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier were tied up in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Fedor Emelianenko and Cole Konrad aren’t signed to a Zuffa contract. Shane Carwin has lost twice in a row. Fabricio Werdum doesn’t quite feel ready for dos Santos.

Who’s left? A “Gal’s Guide to MMA” writer saw one heavyweight he thought would be perfect for a title shot. The ultimate underdog story. What, he posited, about Mark Hunt, the former kickboxing champion on a three-fight win streak? From that simple question, a movement was born.

“I jumped on hearing that Alistair Overeem was out of the bout and thought of likely replacements,” Gal’s Guide to MMA writer Nolan Howell said. “To me, the only logical ones are Frank Mir and Mark Hunt. However, Mir has had four title shots already and would play right into the hands of Junior dos Santos’ boxing. Mix in a little love for Mark Hunt since he got me into the sport via K-1 and PRIDE clips on YouTube, and there you have the recipe for #RallyForMarkHunt.”

You may have seen them on your Twitter feed. If you follow enough people in the MMA community, you certainly have. The hashtag #RallyforMarkHunt spread like wildfire, even trending at one point. And it all started with a handful of hardcore fans.

Say this for them—whether you support Hunt’s candidacy or not, the folks behind #RallyforMarkHunt are meticulous and organized. Their marching orders leave little to the imagination:

People you need to tweet: @danawhite, @lorenzofertitta, @ufc, and any other MMA fighters, media, fans, etc.

People you need to follow: @markhunt1974, @rally4markhunt, and any other supporters and people that would like to learn about #RallyForMarkHunt 

Persistence, more than sheer numbers, seemed to pay off. The tweets came, and came, and came. It was non-stop. All the while, they plotted their attack on the MMA Internet in the comments sections of various websites.

“I basically just wanted to start this out as a Twitter bomb,” Howell said. “Just annoy Dana White as much as possible. Myself and a lot of the community on BE kind of did a domino attack. Get MMA fighters, media and personalities, then move on to celebrities who are fans of the sport, although we didn’t get much support from the likes of Justin Bieber and David Spade! In the end, people saw it and jumped on it. I guess you could say we got really lucky!”

Which celebrities have ever expressed the slightest interest in MMA? They rooted out the answer and tried to get a retweet from them all. Progress was carefully tracked. Each retweet or mention was documented, especially if it came from a fighter or MMA media personality. Even my own meager contributions were noted.

Soon, high-profile figures were on board. Michael Schiavello, the HDNet announcer with ties to the kickboxing world and a longtime Hunt supporter, was perhaps the most vocal. Schiavello has called Hunt’s fights since 1999 and even coined his famous catchphrase “the Big Kabosh” for the New Zealander.

“It is very cool. It shows how much fan power has a true online voice in MMA,” Schiavello told Bleacher Report. “Let’s hope UFC is fan friendly and actually takes this amazing twitter movement on board and gives Mark the shot. I’m proud to be on the #RallyForMarkHunt bandwagon.

“I was probably one of the first media people to go public with the whole Mark Hunt for the title shot campaign when I appeared on MMA Junkie Radio earlier this week. So all aboard! Grab your placards, grab your signs and grab your buckets of KFC and let’s march in the Rally for the Cinderella Story, the People’s Fighter, the Common Man.”

Joining Schiavello as he rallied the troops was UFC announcer Joe Rogan. He told the Underground, a popular MMA message board, that he was down with a Hunt versus dos Santos throwdown:

There are some wise people on this board, and I support this movement. Style wise that might be the most exciting match up. Either way, even if Hunt doesn’t replace the reem I would still love to see this matchup down the road, especially considering how good Hunt looked against Kongo.

Whether Hunt actually deserves a title shot is a complicated bit of calculus. He’s won three in a row, including fights with legitimate gatekeepers like Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. But before his improbable run of success, the 38-year-old had lost six consecutive MMA fights.

In a perfect world, Hunt would probably need one more big win to secure a shot. But Overeem blew up that perfect world with his test failure. It may be that Hunt’s Cinderella story is, believe or not, the best thing going.

“If the UFC really knows how to market a fight then Mark Hunt is the most marketable candidate for a title tilt. He is a former K-1 World Grand Prix Champion who won that 2001 GP championship in one of the greatest Cinderella stories of modern sport,” Schiavello said.

“Everyone thought Mark would be fodder for the K-1 greats, especially Jerome LeBanner, but Mark came out and shocked the world, beating LeBanner with a 16 punch KO combination in the quarters then winning the tournament. What does this say about Mark? He doesn’t care about reputation. He doesn’t care to prance about and score points. He doesn’t care what your record is or if people say you’re unstoppable.

“He’s going to go in there and go for your chin and hurt you and pressure you. You know Mark may not beat JDS but he will give the champ a helluva shake up. Everyone loves a Rocky story and Mark is just that.

“Mark throws a new spanner in the works completely. He is a man capable of withstanding enormous punishment, so could wear JDS awesome right hand, and then give it back. He has been so impressive in his last three fights and he is not one of the usual suspects who we have seen time and time again in the championship fights like Mir and Cain. Mark’s takedown defence continues to improve, his groundwork continues to improve, but on the feet is where him vs JDS becomes so tantalizing. “

No one will no for sure how this will work out in the end. Overeem will meet the Nevada Commission head-on on April 24. Although he seems unlikely to be licensed, until his fate is sealed, the UFC will remain mum on the issue. But if (or most likely when) Overeem is denied a license to fight in Nevada, it may be Hunt’s day after all. If it is, Howell should be first in line for a pat on the back.

“To know you are getting an idea out there and affecting a situation somewhat is a pretty good thing,” Howell said. “The interaction thing is really cool. It really shows that these guys you see on TV or in the cage or ring aren’t these untouchable demigods that media can often push them to be. They are fans, just like us. They support the same things, the same fighters.

“…MMA media, just have fun with it. If Overeem is gone, the PPV will be dead in the water anyway. So if you look at it that way, do you really want a Fabricio Werdum rematch or Frank Mir’s fifth title shot?…Why not just throw in Mark Hunt and have a feel good story and a fight that will be a guaranteed closer on Ultimate Knockouts 10?”

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