Tag: Derrick Lewis

Mark Hunt’s legal battle with the UFC seems to be far from over.

It all began last year in July when “The Super Samoan” and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar co-main evented UFC 200 in Las Vegas. The current WWE Universal Champion defeated Hunt via unanimous decision, however, his win was later overturned after he was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

A second test sample confirmed that Lesnar was using a banned substance and he was subsequently fined $250,000 in addition to a one-year ban from competition. He won’t be eligible to return to the Octagon until July of this year, however, “The Beast” announced his second retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition this past February.

In response to all the chaos, Hunt grew outraged that he once again was competing against someone who was ‘juicing’ and demanded to be paid all of Lesnar’s fight purse. He is now suing the UFC and Lesnar for the debacle, while still continuing to compete inside the Octagon simultaneously.

Recently, Hunt joined Submission Radio to discuss the lawsuit and what he’s looking to get out of it. The former K-1 champ says he’s simple looking for an even playing field (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“The reason I fell out with the UFC is because, like I said, all I’m asking for when I sued them was an even playing field. I spoke to Dana before all this shit happened and said, ‘I need you guys to make this right. You promised [Lesnar] was gonna be clean.’ It’s just like I said, me even going on about steroids and everything, it’s illegal and they shouldn’t be doing them.

“All I was doing without suing, I asked first if this could be rectified another way. They wouldn’t. They didn’t want to do it so then I had no choice but to push forward with my legal thing, with my lawyer, because I’ve had no choice. I’m not gonna keep fighting juicers. Why should I? Why should I be fighting juicers my whole career? I’ve done it most of my career.”

Hunt is tired of fighting against men who could potentially put his life in danger, as a bulk of the opponents he has stepped into the cage against have at one point in time abused performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Hunt previously competed under the PRIDE banner which had a history of turning the other cheek when it came to steroid abuse, as well as having half of his 14 opponents in the UFC failed a drug test at one point in their careers.

“The Super Samoan” is tired of the ‘rubbish’ and is looking to make things right in the courtroom:

“Three times in a row. Three times in a row [I fought fighters who failed drug tests]. I mean, anyone would ask the question. You know, three guys in a row and then it would have been a fourth guy if I fought in Melbourne against Josh Barnett. Why do I keep getting the short end of the stick? Why should I? I shouldn’t have to accept this rubbish.”

While it is likely that some charges in the case will get dropped, there are some charges that are likely to make it to trial. The UFC may attempt to settle with Hunt in order to prevent the case from going to discovery, but it seems the Samoan may not be interested in a settlement:

“Do I want it to go to discovery? Yeah, of course I want it to go to discovery. Like I said, this shit is going all the way. These guys are gonna have to make this right, and not just with me, but with every fighter’s contract. I want the Mark Hunt clause put in their contract. I want every fighter’s contract to put in – if you are juicing, all their money should go to the other guy. If you’re both juicing, none of you guys should get money. People say, well why don’t you take 80 percent, blah blah blah? I say, okay, so me losing my life is 80 percent worth? No. They shouldn’t get anything. Cheaters don’t deserve any sort of money.”

“Like I said, this didn’t even need to happen. It could have been sorted out way before. Like I said, three cheaters in a row. I want something done about it. And the last straw was Brock Lesnar. . . The bottom line is, the guy’s done wrong, the company’s done wrong and he needs to pay for that shit. Why should I go in there and fucking lose my eyeballs when I’ve done nothing wrong.

“All I’m fighting for is an even playing ground.”

The post Mark Hunt Reveals What He’s Looking To Get Out Of UFC Lawsuit appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Derrick Lewis could care less if he never becomes the UFC heavyweight champion of the world.

“The Black Beast” is currently on an impressive six fight win streak in which he has finished all but one of his opponents via knockout. His last Octagon appearance saw him defeat Travis Browne via second round knockout, after surviving some nasty shots to his body that seemed to have him in trouble.

Lewis was recently in Dallas this past weekend for the UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV), which saw UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic defend his title against Junior dos Santos in the main event, and spoke to the media regarding his upcoming bout against Mark Hunt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 110 from Auckland, New Zealand, on June 10th.

The trip is Lewis’ second overseas trip to perform inside the Octagon, and after having a bad experience his first time away from the states, he’s not really looking forward to it (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I think I need to keep my mouth quiet,” Lewis said. “Because I think they heard me whenever I said that, and now they’re going to send me to the furthest place there is.

“I didn’t know anything about New Zealand at first, so they said New Zealand I said, ‘OK, something new.’ So I come to find out (Wednesday) that it’s going to be wintertime. I thought it was going to be hot. Now I have to pack extra, brah – keep myself warm. I don’t think I’m going to like it too much.”

Lewis takes on Mark Hunt, one of the hardest hitting heavyweights of all time, who he knows won’t be afraid to keep pressing forward and putting on an entertaining fight. Lewis also said he’s glad he doesn’t have to worry about Hunt trying to get him down or run from him:

“It’s one of the fights that I wanted, because I just knew Mark is going to come out and bang,” Lewis said. “He’s not going to try to hold me. He’s not going to try to run from me or anything like that, he’s just going to come forward. And coming forward, like he does, is going to make it an entertaining fight.”

While many UFC fighters’ ultimate goal is to become the champion of the world in their respective weight class, Lewis claims he could care less about the strap and is only interested in the financial benefits of competing under the UFC’s banner:

“I don’t care about the belt,” Lewis said. “The reason why I do want to fight for the belt is because that’s the guy who’s making all the money right now. So, if I never fight for the belt, I never get it, I don’t care.

“I’m not doing it for the top 10, I’m not trying to be the best fighter in the world. I’m not trying to be the prettiest fighting style out there. It ain’t nothing like that. I’m just doing it for the money. And just to take care of my family, that’s about it.”

Recently No. 5-ranked heavyweight Francis Ngannou called Lewis ‘slow’, but Lewis invites the Frenchman to get inside the Octagon with him and find out for himself. “The Black Beast” also has his eyes on fighters such as Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos if all goes well against “The Super Samoan”:

“That’s fine,” Lewis said. “That’s what everybody says. I’m a heavyweight. Just get up in there and whip me. He’s one of the guys I want to fight next, if everything goes good with Hunt. Him, (Junior dos Santos), Cain (Velasquez), I even want in with the guys for the belt.”

At this point in his career, Lewis is focused on taking on the most exciting fighters in the sport that can offer him the biggest paycheck, and if the belt is involved in one of those match-ups down the road, then that’s fine:

“I stack up right along with everyone else,” Lewis said. “I have a puncher’s chance, just like everyone else does. I’m just excited, and I’m happy that I’m on this roll – this six-fight winning streak right now. And I just want to fight – all the entertaining fighters. Nobody that wants to run and make a fight boring. I just want entertaining fights.”

The post Derrick Lewis Doesn’t Care About Heavyweight Title: I’m In This For The Money appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.