Apparently, Alistair Overeem is not a “complain guy.” The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion currently sits at No. 3 on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 265-pound rankings. Overeem is coming off a first-round knockout loss to UFC heavyweight title holder Stipe Miocic. “The Reem” had earned the title shot by going on a four-fight winning streak. […]
Apparently, Alistair Overeem is not a “complain guy.” The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion currently sits at No. 3 on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 265-pound rankings. Overeem is coming off a first-round knockout loss to UFC heavyweight title holder Stipe Miocic. “The Reem” had earned the title shot by going on a four-fight winning streak. […]
UFC 209 will play host to a massive heavyweight contest, when No. 6-ranked Mark Hunt takes on No. 3-ranked Alistair Overeem in Las Vegas, however, it comes at a time where ‘The Super Samoan’ and the UFC are not on the best of terms. Following his co-main event meeting with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200,
UFC 209 will play host to a massive heavyweight contest, when No. 6-ranked Mark Hunt takes on No. 3-ranked Alistair Overeem in Las Vegas, however, it comes at a time where ‘The Super Samoan’ and the UFC are not on the best of terms.
Following his co-main event meeting with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, it was revealed that Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance after a test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), lighting a fire under the former K-1 champ who is seeking legal action on the matter.
In the midst of a lawsuit with the UFC Hunt finds himself booked in a bout with one of the deadliest heavyweights the UFC’s roster has to offer in Overeem, a bout that Hunt tells MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour he was forced into taking:
“They put me in a position, like well what am I supposed to do?” Hunt said. “They forced this fight on me, pretty much.”
“I couldn’t go anywhere else,” Hunt said. “That’s the position right now it is. If I couldn’t work anywhere else and I’m still trying to get my fair deal in this thing, what am I supposed to do? If they’re going to let me go, let me go. At least I can go work somewhere else. I’ve gotta look after my family and my commitments as well. And they can’t just sit me at the back of the bus without having any work. You can’t do that.”
Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports Images
When asked why he decided to take the bout against Overeem given his history of abusing performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), Hunt says he doesn’t ‘pick and choose’ his fights and is prepared to step into the Octagon with whoever the UFC throws at him:
“I don’t make these choices,” Hunt said. “I don’t ask to fight anybody. All I ask is to fight the best fighters in the world. All I’m doing is when they ask, ‘Will you fight this person?’ [I say,] ‘Yes, because I’m employed with them.’ So when they ask, ‘Will you fight this guy?’ Of course, I’ll fight anybody in the world.”
“This is why we’re here now, because of this situation,” Hunt said. “You want to close the door on me? We’re here now. So what are you gonna do?”
Overeem and Hunt will meet on the main card of UFC 209 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4, 2017.
You can check out Hunt’s full interview on The MMA Hour here:
Junior dos Santos is firing shots at everyone right now… Having sat absent from the heavyweight division for the majority of the last three years, former champ Junior dos Santos has averaged one fight per year. Keeping him from action have been a number of injuries, but his current physical condition appears to be fantastic.
Junior dos Santos is firing shots at everyone right now…
Having sat absent from the heavyweight division for the majority of the last three years, former champ Junior dos Santos has averaged one fight per year. Keeping him from action have been a number of injuries, but his current physical condition appears to be fantastic. Keeping fans updated to his progress, ‘Cigano’ has posted photos of his near-prime physique on social media. Finally a heavyweight clash with Stefan Struve was announced for February 19, but it soon fell apart. Dropping off the card injured, ‘The Skyscraper’ left ‘JDS’ without an opponent at Fight Night 105.
Since holding the title, ‘Cigano’ has seen the belt change hands three times. During that period dos Santos went 3-2, but arguably looked the best we’ve seen in years against Ben Rothwell last April. When Cain Velasquez fell off the UFC 208 card with Fabricio Werdum, ‘JDS’ threw his name in the hat. ‘Vai Cavalo’ reportedly refused the fight, and a war of words ensued. Now that he’s in search of a replacement, dos Santos appears frustrated during his interview with ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto.
Someone Let JDS Bang, Bro
Owning a win over Werdum from way back in 2008, ‘Cigano’ says his Brazilian rival doesn’t want the chance for revenge:
“The right thing now would be for me to fight Werdum. Everybody knows there is a rivalry between us. That would be a great moment for everybody, but he doesn’t want the fight.”
“He knows he can’t have a good performance against me. I imagine he wants to keep his high rank, because then people will give him attention he really doesn’t deserve.”
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Miocic/USADA
Also having defeated Stipe Miocic, dos Santos says if he can’t get another opponent in February, it’s title fight time.
“I hope the UFC finds me an opponent for Feb. 19, but if they don’t, I think the right thing would be me fighting Miocic for the title. Let’s get this division going.”
“I’m just really upset about everything happening in this division right now,” dos Santos said. “It’s completely stopped. I’m in shape. I’m doing very well. I’m actually in one of the best times of my life. I’m looking forward to fighting again, but the UFC is allowing these guys to do whatever they want to do.
“I don’t know why. [USADA] changed everything, too. With USADA here, things are different in this division. Weird things are happening. I’m just sad. Very sad. I’m ready to go, and I just need an opportunity. That’s the UFC’s job. They need to work on getting me an opportunity.”
Refusals
According to the report, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt were all unavailable to fight. ‘JDS’ mentioning USADA probably pertains to Barnett’s recent suspension, and Hunt’s reported insistence on a steroid clause. Evidently, ‘The Super Samoan’ and Overeem were eventually paired for UFC 209.
Not even anti-doping measures could prevent this from happening.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Mark Hunt is suing the promotion, its President Dana White, and his UFC 200 op…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYnJHjnsa-U&t=45s
Not even anti-doping measures could prevent this from happening.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Mark Hunt is suing the promotion, its President Dana White, and his UFC 200 opponent Brock Lesnar. Hunt has filed a civil suit because he feels the circumstances surrounding his loss to Lesnar were part of a collusion.
“I want the UFC to understand it’s not OK to keep doing what they’re doing. They’re allowing guys to do this. They had a chance to take all the money from this guy, because he’s a cheater, and they didn’t.”
Lesnar’s fight against Hunt was originally a unanimous decision win for the former heavyweight champion. Lesnar tested positive for banned substances and the result was changed to a no contest. He was suspended by both the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA) for one year.
Those suspensions and the result change were not enough for Hunt. The veteran said it’s on the UFC, its President, and his opponent to face the music.
“What message is that sending to the boys and girls who want to be a fighter someday? The message is, ‘You just have to cheat like this and it’s OK.’ In society, if you commit a crime, you pay. Why is it different in MMA? It’s hurt the business, so it’s even worse. They need to be held accountable for this.”
Despite the lawsuit, Hunt is still under contract with the UFC and is scheduled to face Alistair Overeem at UFC 209. Hunt realizes that this puts him in an awkward situation.
“I didn’t want to be in this position. It puts me in a weird spot because I’m still under contract. Fans say, ‘Mark, you knew he was juicing.’ I didn’t know. You look at him and think, ‘Yeah, he’s on the gear,’ but don’t judge a book by its cover and all that.”
Heavyweight fan favorite slugger Mark Hunt recently said he was ‘going all the way’ in his potential lawsuit against the UFC, and apparently he wasn’t kidding. News arrived from ESPN.com tonight (Tues., January 10, 2017) that ‘The Super Samoan’ has filed a civil suit in Nevada District Court after his opponent at July 2016’s UFC
Heavyweight fan favorite slugger Mark Hunt recently said he was ‘going all the way’ in his potential lawsuit against the UFC, and apparently he wasn’t kidding.
News arrived from ESPN.com tonight (Tues., January 10, 2017) that ‘The Super Samoan’ has filed a civil suit in Nevada District Court after his opponent at July 2016’s UFC 200, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, had failed in and out-of-competition drug tests for a banned performance-enhancing substance. The suit was filed against the UFC, President Dana White, and Lesnar, alleges the promotion “affirmatively circumvented and obstructed fair competition for their own benefit.”
Billed as the “biggest, baddest event of all time” by White, UFC 200 found itself lacking a big name to headline when Conor McGregor skipped a press conference and was pulled from his rematch with Nate Diaz in a show of power. Lesnar was announced as his pseudo-replacement at June’s UFC 199, and was then given a somewhat questionable exemption from the normal four-month USADA testing window for returning fighters.
Hunt believes the UFC knew his behemoth opponent was on something but allowed him to fight anyway, leading to accusations of racketeering and fraud according to the ESPN report. Hunt is seeking financial compensation for the physical and occupational harm he received as a result of his lopsided beating at the hands of a ripped and hulking Lesnar in the UFC 200 co-headliner.
Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports Images
Lesnar’s failures, including a pre-fight failure of a June 28 test for the July 9 card almost two weeks later, for banned estrogen blocker clomiphene were made public shortly after the card, and Hunt thinks the UFC could have expedited the test results to find out the truth before Lesnar took him down and repeatedly bludgeoned him in the Octagon.
The prolific knockout artist discussed the suit to ESPN, noting that the UFC had the chance to rectify the situation but did not:
“I want the UFC to understand it’s not OK to keep doing what they’re doing,” Hunt told ESPN.com. “They’re allowing guys to do this. They had a chance to take all the money from this guy, because he’s a cheater, and they didn’t.
“What message is that sending to the boys and girls who want to be a fighter someday? The message is, ‘You just have to cheat like this and it’s OK.’ In society, if you commit a crime, you pay. Why is it different in MMA? It’s hurt the business, so it’s even worse. They need to be held accountable for this.”
‘The Super Samoan’ has a bout with fellow convicted PED user Alistair Overeem at March’s UFC 209 from Las Vegas, a fight for which he asked for a ‘steroid clause’and one Hunt doesn’t seem to want after saying he ‘has to feed his family.’
Meanwhile, Lesnar was given a one-year suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and USADA and was fined $250,000 of his lofty $2.5 million purse. Hunt and his lead attorney are focusing on an article in the UFC’s anti-doping program which “authorizes the promotion to pull an athlete’s title, ranking, [and] purse or other compensation” in a fighter is found to be in violation.
Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports Images
Hunt is seeking damages “in the millions.” His lead attorney Christina Demming said they would have taken Lesnar’s purse (minus his fine), but the UFC failed to do what is right:
“Once we found out the penalty was only 10 percent of his purse, we went back to the UFC and offered to accept [Lesnar’s] purse amount, less than the $250,000 penalty,” Denning said. “We also wanted them to accept the clause moving forward.
“Mark says the penalties aren’t harsh enough. What’s interesting is that the penalties are harsh enough on paper, they’re just not being enforced by the UFC.”
As a bout with his fourth known PED user on the horizon, Hunt elaborated that he didn’t want to get to this point with his employers, but he tried to get out of his current contract and couldn’t:
“I didn’t want to be in this position, It puts me in a weird spot because I’m still under contract. Fans say, ‘Mark, you knew he was juicing.’ I didn’t know. You look at him and think, ‘Yeah, he’s on the gear,’ but don’t judge a book by its cover and all that.
“This was the last straw. I lost that fight, it ruined it for my fans. It wasn’t good. I asked to get out of my contract but I can’t. I need to work like everyone else.”
Mark Hunt has filed a civil lawsuit against the UFC, President Dana White and Brock Lesnar over his fight with Lesnar at UFC 200, claiming the parties colluded for an unfair competitive environment.
“I want the UFC to understand it’s not OK to keep doi…
Mark Hunt has filed a civil lawsuit against the UFC, President Dana White and Brock Lesnar over his fight with Lesnar at UFC 200, claiming the parties colluded for an unfair competitive environment.
“I want the UFC to understand it’s not OK to keep doing what they’re doing,” Hunt told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “They’re allowing guys to do this. They had a chance to take all the money from this guy, because he’s a cheater, and they didn’t.”
Lesnar failed two tests for performance-enhancing drugs, one before his fight with Hunt and another on the day of their bout. Making his return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly five years, Lesnar earned a unanimous-decision win over Hunt.
The decision was thrown out after Lesnar’s positive test, and the WWE Superstar was issued a one-year ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, Hunt has been increasingly public with his displeasure at allowing Lesnar to fight.
The UFC, which typically forces a competitor to undergo four months of drug testing prior to a return, waived that rule in negotiating Lesnar’s return. The promotion announced Lesnar would serve as the co-main event to UFC 200 on June 4, barely one month before the July 9 pay-per-view.
Hunt accuses the UFC, Lesnar and White of racketeering and fraud.
“What message is that sending to the boys and girls who want to be a fighter someday? The message is, ‘You just have to cheat like this and it’s OK.’ In society, if you commit a crime, you pay. Why is it different in MMA? It’s hurt the business, so it’s even worse. They need to be held accountable for this.”
Lesnar made $2.5 million in disclosed income for the bout, of which the NSAC took 10 percent ($250,000). Hunt, who made $700,000, sought Lesnar’s purse in negotiations with the UFC before filing a lawsuit. Christina Denning, Hunt’s lead attorney, offered this statement to Okamoto:
Once we found out the penalty was only 10 percent of his purse, we went back to the UFC and offered to accept [Lesnar’s] purse amount, less than the $250,000 penalty. We also wanted them to accept the clause moving forward.
Mark says the penalties aren’t harsh enough. What’s interesting is that the penalties are harsh enough on paper, they’re just not being enforced by the UFC.
Hunt is seeking “millions” in undisclosed damages. Neither White nor the UFC has commented on the suit.
