Mark Hunt Explains Importance Of UFC Moscow Main Event

Hunt breaks down why his UFC Moscow headliner is key for the heavyweight division.

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Mark Hunt explains importance of his upcoming fight against Aleksei Oleinik at this weekend’s UFC event that takes place overseas. This fight will serve as the main event of UFC Moscow.

Hunt has hit some rough times as of late by going 1-2-1 in his last four bouts including suffering losses to Brock Lesnar, which was later ruled a no-contest, Alistair Overeem, and Curtis Blaydes while his only victory coming over Derrick Lewis last June in New Zealand.

Hunt has fought some of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport including former champion Frank Mir, Derrick Lewis and Roy Nelson throughout his tenure with the promotion. Meanwhile, Oleynik is coming off of an Ezekiel choke victory over Junior Albini at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and before that, he had won two of his previous three fights.

Hunt stated in a recent interview that he respects his opponent and believes it will be a fight great but there is an importance that comes along with it.

“Hard work and a strong mind,” Hunt said during a Q&A with UFC commentator Dan Hardy (transcript courtesy of MMAJunkie). “This is the top 10, best in the world. “It’s who stays and who goes to be honest. I respect Aleksei, he’s similar in age and it’s going to be a great match this weekend. Look forward to putting on a great fight.”

UFC Moscow (also known as UFC Fight Night 136) is set to take place on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow, Russia.

The main card will air on the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 2 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will also air on UFC Fight Pass, at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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Mark Hunt Reacts To Brock Lesnar’s Drug Test Exemption

The buzz around UFC 200 was amplified ten fold this past Saturday June 4, as the promotion teased the return of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for the July 9 event. The major milestone pay-per-view card was already rather stacked, with the rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones s the main event and title fights

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The buzz around UFC 200 was amplified ten fold this past Saturday June 4, as the promotion teased the return of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for the July 9 event. The major milestone pay-per-view card was already rather stacked, with the rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones s the main event and title fights at women’s bantamweight and (interim) featherweight to boot. The addition of Lesnar with his soon revealed opponent Mark Hunt in the co-main event was truly the icing on the cake.

Lesnar would go one ESPN’s SportsCenter this week to make his opening statement about the fight, confirming he’d be going against the heavy handed ‘Super Samoan’ in a one-time deal allowed by the WWE. The return of Lesnar threw a very interesting twist on the UFC 200 card, but the news hasn’t come without it’s fair share of controversy.

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Although there is a drug testing procedure in place over in the WWE, there were obvious questions about whether or not Lesnar would be ‘clean’ coming in to his UFC return. Any athlete returning to action in the UFC is required to give four months notice to abide by the new USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) policy, a policy that was recently waived to accommodate Lesnar’s comeback.

On June 6, 2016, UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar was registered by USADA into the UFC Anti-Doping Policy testing pool. As part of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, UFC may grant a former athlete an exemption to the four-month written notice rules in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete. Given Lesnar last competed in UFC on December 30, 2011, long before the UFC Anti-Doping Policy went into effect, for purposes of the Anti-Doping Policy, he is being treated similarly to a new athlete coming into the organization.” 

“While conversations with the heavyweight have been ongoing for some time, Lesnar required permission from WWE to compete in UFC 200 and only agreed to terms and signed a bout agreement last Friday. He was therefore unable to officially start the Anti-Doping Policy process any earlier. UFC, however, did notify Lesnar in the early stages of discussions that if he were to sign with the UFC, he would be subject to all of the anti-doping rules. Lesnar and his management have now been formally educated by USADA on the policy, procedures and expectations.”

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So Lesnar gets a pass on the four-month rule, which does not mean he’ll be able to avoid drug testing fr this point onward, but it’s not surprising that the waiver has caused a bit of a stir among other UFC fighters.

Mark Hunt has heard this news, and is seriously unhappy about it, as was former Lesnar opponent Shane Carwin.

Skip to page 2 for Mark Hunt and Shane Carwin’s reactions…

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Mark Hunt Wants Junior dos Santos At UFC 200

The UFC heavyweight division got a new ruler at UFC 198 in Brazil, as Stipe Miocic squashed Fabricio Werdum in Brazil. A common opponent that both men have is Mark Hunt, the fan pleasing knockout artist who originally made his name in K-1 and Pride FC. Since his grizzly TKO loss to Miocic at UFC

The post Mark Hunt Wants Junior dos Santos At UFC 200 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The UFC heavyweight division got a new ruler at UFC 198 in Brazil, as Stipe Miocic squashed Fabricio Werdum in Brazil. A common opponent that both men have is Mark Hunt, the fan pleasing knockout artist who originally made his name in K-1 and Pride FC. Since his grizzly TKO loss to Miocic at UFC Fight Night 65, ‘The Super Samoan’ has bounced back with a couple of dominant wins.

After taking out Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in a brutal first round massacre at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, Hunt returned down under to blast former heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane.

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Now looking back in resurgent form once again, Hunt wants to avenge one particular loss that happened at UFC 160. Former champion Junior dos Santos knocked ‘The Super Samoan’ out with a spectacular spinning head kick, ending his four fight win streak and now Hunt wants a second crack.

Speaking with The Herald Sun, Mark Hunt says he’s asked UFC president Dana White for the rematch with ‘Cigano,’ and now simply awaits the answer.

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“I’m still waiting on word but it should be not far away at all,” Hunt said of a possible appearance at UFC 200.“I’ve asked Dana if I can fight JDS

“I can’t tell you much more. I was talking to Dana the other day but that’s all I know.

“Maybe is all I can say. I’ve just started training in the Gold Coast and I’m just tossing up whether to set up camp in Vegas,” Hunt said.

“Not knowing whether there’s a fight or not … it’s just one of those things where I have to keep training.

“I’ll probably set up camp in America, have two weeks sparring and Bob’s your uncle. I’m just the fill in guy at the moment.”

“I’ve asked for all of them…

Much more on page 2…

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Four Possible Opponents For Mark Hunt’s Next Fight

Mark Hunt put in another top notch performance at UFC Fight Night 85, so what’s next for the heavy hitting ‘Super Samoan?’ The heavyweight division wouldn’t be the same without Mark Hunt, and he proved it once again with a thunderous knockout win against Frank Mir in Australia. The two mixed martial arts legends collided

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Mark Hunt put in another top notch performance at UFC Fight Night 85, so what’s next for the heavy hitting ‘Super Samoan?’

The heavyweight division wouldn’t be the same without Mark Hunt, and he proved it once again with a thunderous knockout win against Frank Mir in Australia. The two mixed martial arts legends collided in the UFC Fight Night 85 main event last night (Saturday March 19, 2016), but it was a purely one sided affair. For ‘The Super Samoan,’ it was just about finding the opening to land one fight ending strike.

That opportunity came in the opening round, with less than three minutes transpired, as Hunt launched a spectacular right hand that bounced off Mir’s head. As the ex-UFC heavyweight champion flopped to the canvas, the New Zealander walked off like a gangster. Another one punch KO under Hunt’s belt, and now a range of potential big fights await him.

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So what’s next for Mark Hunt? We’ve picked out five possible opponents for the fan friendly ‘Super Samoan’ to battle next, check it out:

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Winner of dos Santos vs. Rothwell

Another former UFC heavyweight champion in Junior dos Santos will tangle with Ben Rothwell at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 86 on April 10. Now might be the right time for Hunt to avenge his spectacular knockout loss to ‘Cigano,’ but that would all depend on ‘JDS’ getting past ‘Big Ben’ next month. Rothwell could also be a great fight for Hunt if he beats dos Santos, with either fight being worthy of headlining a Fight Night card, or perhaps a co-main on a pay-per-view.

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