When it was announced that Brock Lesnar had failed a drug test surrounding his UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) co-main event bout with Mark Hunt, a bout in which he competed in and won via unanimous decision, “The Super Samoan” went on an epic tirade blasting not only Lesnar, but the UFC as well. Shortly
When it was announced that Brock Lesnar had failed a drug test surrounding his UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) co-main event bout with Mark Hunt, a bout in which he competed in and won via unanimous decision, “The Super Samoan” went on an epic tirade blasting not only Lesnar, but the UFC as well.
Shortly after the news was announced, Lesnar was given a temporary suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). “The Beast” was scheduled to finally appear in front of the commission earlier this week, but he was granted extra time. He has also hired a lawyer, Howard Jacobs, to prepare his defense, and apparently Jacobs needs ‘more time’.
To no surprise, Hunt isn’t too pleased with the extra time given to Lesnar, and the former K-1 champion took to his official Twitter account to once again rip into the former heavyweight champion:
@mmamania@BrockLesnar why u need more time for stupid steroid user fucken pathetic dog stick more needles in your ass cheater
It has not yet been made clear when Lesnar will in fact meet with the commission, but what’s your take on the situation? Do you agree with Hunt, or has he blown things out of proportion?
Once upon a time in the UFC Brock Lesnar reigned as the promotion’s heavyweight champion of the world after having defeated Randy Couture in only his fourth ever mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, in their main event clash at UFC 91 via second round TKO back in November of 2008. Lesnar would successfully defend the
Once upon a time in the UFC Brock Lesnar reigned as the promotion’s heavyweight champion of the world after having defeated Randy Couture in only his fourth ever mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, in their main event clash at UFC 91 via second round TKO back in November of 2008.
Lesnar would successfully defend the heavyweight crown twice more before being dethroned by perennial contender Cain Velasquez in their title meeting at UFC 121 in 2010, where the Mexican phenom demolished the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star in the first round.
Fast forward six years later and Velasquez is arguably one of the greatest heavyweights to have ever strapped on a pair of 4 oz. gloves, while Lesnar is coming off of his first MMA bout in almost five years.
Following a vicious TKO loss to highly-decorated striker Alistair Overeem in 2011 ‘The Beast’ announced his retirement from MMA competition. Lesnar couldn’t escape the Octagon bug, however, and wound up back in the cage taking on Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 200 just over four years later.
Lesnar would go on to defeat Hunt via unanimous decision in the heavyweight contest, but it wouldn’t come without controversy as an out-of-competition United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) test flagged Lesnar for a potential violation shortly after the event.
100% clean, bro, 100%…ish
When recently speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, courtesy of MMA Fighting, Velasquez revealed that just by Lesnar’s sheer freakish size he wasn’t surprised by the former NCAA Division I wrestler’s USADA flagging:
“I would say from looking at his body that it didn’t surprise me, you know?” Velasquez said. “He’s just a big, massive guy and you don’t see other fighters like that.”
“That he came out positive, it kind of sucks because I just want my competitors, the guys who I fight against, I want them to be on the same level that I am, you know?” said Velasquez.
“Just some of the people out there that are cheating, it’s good that we’re catching them, USADA is doing a great job of catching them, and hopefully discourages others from doing them so this sport can be a clean sport.”
Lesnar is currently awaiting a hearing date from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), after testing positive for the anti-estrogenic agent Hydroxy-clomiphene. Do you believe we’ll ever see the former heavyweight champ back in the Octagon again?
You have to have a thick skin to choose to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, an unforgiving sport where the difference between success and failure can narrow down to split-second decisions made in the heat of combat. Never is that more apparent than in a fighters professional debut, where deciding to bob when
You have to have a thick skin to choose to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, an unforgiving sport where the difference between success and failure can narrow down to split-second decisions made in the heat of combat.
Never is that more apparent than in a fighters professional debut, where deciding to bob when they should have weaved, or to attack when they should have defended, can result in a knockout or submission that leaves them questioning whether they have chosen the right path in life.
There’s a seemingly endless list of up and coming fighters who have called it quits at this formative stage of their career, hanging up their gloves for good with an 0-1 record, and in many cases they may have made the right call and spared themselves from further punishment.
However, there’s also been examples over the years of fighters who have had the courage to continue their mixed martial arts journey, either due to their unflappable self-belief, their passion for the sport, their desire to prove the doubters wrong, or simply because they had nothing else to fall back on.
In this article we’ll look at 12 inspirational examples of fighters who came up short in their MMA debuts, but overcame that early adversity and eventually fought their way onto the sport’s biggest stage to become UFC stars, and in some cases even world champions.
Andrei Arlovski
At M-1 MFC: World Championship in 1999, a 22 year-old fresh-faced, clean-shaven Andrei Arlovski made his MMA debut against one of the sports most infamous villains, Viacheslav Datsik who was also competing for the first time.
The fight turned out to be an exceptionally sloppy affair, with commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros giggling in bemusement at what they jokingly dubbed as ‘The Lunch Money School Brawl’ that was playing out in front of them.
Datsik wacky, unpredictable striking paid off midway through the first round though, as he launched his body weight behind a right hand that flattened Arlovski.
”If Arlovski gets up from this it’ll be shades of Dracula rising from the coffin,” Quadros declared as the fight was waved off, handing Datsik an unexpected highlight-reel KO finish.
Despite the brutal loss, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about ‘The Pitbull’ over the years it’s that there’s no quit in him, and he’d go on to become a UFC heavyweight champion, and is still ranked in the top 10 today, some 17 years after his debut.
As for Datsik, he’d go on to produce a losing record in the sport, but became notorious for his crazy antics, which would eventually lead to him being put in prison as well as spending time in a mental institution.
Mark Hunt’s journey through the UFC heavyweight ranks started way back in 2010. After leaving the Japanese MMA scene with a losing 5-6 record, ‘The Super Samoan’ decided to try his hand under the Zuffa banner. This was all against the advice of UFC president Dana White, who reportedly offered Hunt a lump sum to
Mark Hunt’s journey through the UFC heavyweight ranks started way back in 2010. After leaving the Japanese MMA scene with a losing 5-6 record, ‘The Super Samoan’ decided to try his hand under the Zuffa banner. This was all against the advice of UFC president Dana White, who reportedly offered Hunt a lump sum to drop his dream of fighting for the UFC. The heavy-handed K-1 veteran looked to be on the brink after losing to Sean McCorkle in his UFC debut.
Somehow Hunt managed to turn his career around, and built up a four fight win streak including stunning knockouts over Stefan Struve and Cheick Kongo. A gutsy albeit losing performance against Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 cemented Hunt’s place in the hearts of the fans. After a fight of the year winner against Antonio Silva, the Pride veteran would become the first man to KO Roy Nelson in the UFC.
Walk Away KO
Tough losses to Stipe Miocic and Fabricio Werdum once again threw up talks of retirement for Mark Hunt. As we’d become accustomed to throughout his career, Hunt wasn’t going to give up. He once again built a winning steak, this time with trademark walk-away knockouts over Frank Mir and Bigfoot Silva. Then came arguably his biggest fight to date, as Mark Hunt was booked in to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. Ironically this bout would also prove to be his most controversial, not by his own doing though.
After being smothered for three rounds by Lesnar on the already waning UFC 200 main card, Hunt was respectful and humble in defeat. This didn’t last long though, as days later we learned Lesnar had failed a drug test. Following the announcement of Lesnar’s USADA bust, Mark Hunt lost his cool.
Mark Hunt’s last fight?
The events following UFC 200 may confirm Mark Hunt will never fight for the promotion again. It’s far from his last fight though, as ‘The Super Samoan’ now stands against his employers. Furious that not only Lesnar, but also Silva and Mir had all failed drug tests, Hunt unleashed his anger during a series of interviews. Also taking to social media, the former K-1 champ blasted anyone who supported Lesnar, made massive accusations against the UFC and declared he’d be starting a fighters association.
During his most recent post on Facebook and Instagram, Hunt has taken swipes at his fellow fighters. The one-punch knockout artist claims fighters under the UFC banner are scared to speak up.
Clearly still very angry, Mark Hunt also reacted to the news of Jon Jones’ lawsuit…
Just over a month ago the UFC attempted to highlight the year with their 200th pay-per-view show. On July 9, 2016 fans were promised a blockbuster, ground breaking card from Las Vegas, Nevada. Oddly enough, that fateful night in the desert may well have proved the key to a legitimate fighters union finally being formed.
Just over a month ago the UFC attempted to highlight the year with their 200th pay-per-view show. On July 9, 2016 fans were promised a blockbuster, ground breaking card from Las Vegas, Nevada. Oddly enough, that fateful night in the desert may well have proved the key to a legitimate fighters union finally being formed. The reason behind this highly unexpected chain reaction? Two failed drug tests, featuring the main and co-main event stars, that threw the entire card in to turmoil.
When interim light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones was pulled from the card three days out, anxiety for the event was fraught among fight fans. How would the card recover with so little time to shuffle things around? Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva gallantly stepped in to face Daniel Cormier. We now know that fight wasn’t exactly the most entertaining. We are also too aware that Jones’ discrepancy wasn’t the only one.
Mark Hunt’s last ever UFC fight?
The immediate moments after the somewhat lacklustre UFC 200 event was filled with reflections. Was the UFC’s biggest card ever a bust? Well, yeah, and it was only going to get worse. Now it was Brock Lesnar’s turn to get scalped by USADA, who announced he’d failed a drug test on July 9 and also June 28. Both Lesnar and Jones tested positive for a form of anti-estrogen called Clomiphene. Here’s where things got interesting.
Distraught by the fact Lesnar had banked a whopping $2.5 million disclosed pay check, Mark Hunt went on the attack. He blasted the UFC and Lesnar, who’d beaten him by decision in the UFC 200 co-main event, demanding the WWE star’s entire purse. He was denied, as the promotion announced they wouldn’t fine Lesnar or Jones, and this led to outrage from ‘The Super Samoan.’
Hunt announced he would be starting a fighters union. Weeks later it was revealed that a fighters association had indeed been formed, headed by sports agent Jeff Borris. Hunt’s arguments may well have a proper platform to be launched from, as he is continuing to do so at present over social media. The hard-hitting former K-1 champion points out the UFC ‘took money over his health’ in allowing Lesnar to compete while ‘they knew he was doping.’
I will not let this go. Fighting is something I used to love doing ok now these cheating scum plus this piece of shit company has screwed me over. They would rather make millions of dollars over my fucking health and every fighter who abides by the rules they set, just to let some steroid using loser make his own rules. I absolutely believe they knew about him doping and should be held accountable for putting my life come second to their greed.
It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon. The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than
It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon.
The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than merely tease his potential return in the time since, but recently there have been noteworthy signs he would finally lace up the four ounce gloves yet again.
Citing a need to get his Under Armor sponsorship deal in accord with the UFC’s own apparel agreement with Reebok, St. Pierre told Ariel Helwani that a return was all but imminent on a recent episode of “The MMA Hour.” There are also the concerns over the promotion’s uncertain future under new ownership group WME-IMG, who purchased the UFC for $4 billion only days after the supposed blockbuster UFC 200.
A third aspect of St. Pierre’s return, the overarching use of performance-enhancing drugs in fighting, was also at the forefront of his semi-retirement and whether it would become official or not. In the last year, the UFC has implemented new and stringent drug-testing in conjunction with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that is catching fighters using banned substances of many kinds at an alarming pace.
So it seems the champ is slowly but surely overcoming the obstacles to his official return. A clear example of that is the fact that GSP revealed that he has kickstarted his return by beginning the process of entering into the USADA testing pool in an interview with Bloody Elbow:
“I want to. My agent is negotiating with the UFC, they had an offer, we made a counteroffer, you know that’s how business goes. And then we heard a day after that UFC sold for $4 billion dollars. So we waited for a few days, to see what was going on, because even some of the employees were afraid of losing their job – even some of the high ranking people in the UFC were afraid. We wanted to let the management to take care of their own company first, and then see what happens.
“Now we’re talking again and I’m starting the USADA process to be tested, I’m starting it Aug 10. in Las Vegas. Because to be eligible to fight you need to be tested.”
GSP was questioned about the controversial exemption Brock Lesnar was given when he returned to the UFC to face Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 200, where he ultimately won but failed two drug tests (both in and out-of competition) for the estrogen blocker clomiphene. Because of his strong anti-PED stance, St. Pierre said he didn’t want to cut any corners as Lesnar did:
“Yeah exactly, but he had a free pass, I think it was an exemption of a month or something like that. But me, I don’t want to be an exception, because I was very outspoken about Performance Enhancing Drugs. It would be bad for my reputation if I would have an exemption – I don’t want to have a free pass, I want to be like everybody else. That’s why I’ll be starting the process Aug 10. I don’t have any fight yet, but it’s gonna happen now, because I’m getting tested, if I’m getting tested it’s for a reason.”
Several high-profile fights have been teased for GSP, from a middleweight title bout with Michael Bisping to a welterweight title fight with Tyron Woodley. Nothing is official as of yet, and while St. Pierre stated he does want to return, he also had to focus on the much-discussed topic of fighter treatment and pay in the UFC from the top down:
“Yeah. I would like to say, they need to make sure they take care and negotiate the problems. You know, I have a very good agent with me. The fighters, they complain they’re not getting paid a lot, they get exploited sometimes; The UFC runs a business, but it’s also the fault of a lot of the fighters – they accept any fight, they will sign anything. They have to look at their career as a business as well. They have to hire some confident people to do that job.
“I’m an athlete, my job is not negotiating, it’s not my field of expertise. I’m an emotional guy – it’s normal, a lot of athletes are, and we’re very susceptible to get our ego cut because of that. Dana White came out very often in public saying I’m this and that; I’m sure it’s also to play with my ego, to make me, for example, come out of retirement and say ‘Oh ok, I’ll fight for peanuts.’ No, I’m not like that. I know the game.
“That’s how it is, and I will never blame a fighter if he doesn’t fight me because he takes care of his own interest first, and prioritize the interests of his family first, that’s completely normal.”
Some strong words and opinion from the former champ, who seems to want a MMA return while simultaneously wanting to be a voice for fighters he feels have been treated poorly for all too long.
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