The “Super Samoan” has had enough with the UFC.
Mark Hunt’s recent squabbles with the UFC have been no laughing matter. Actually, to call them “recent” might be a bit of a stretch, as they date back to at least his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 (and more specifically, the days following). And to call them “squabbles” might be a bit of an understatement, as Hunt has done everything short of challenging Dana White to a bare knuckle street fight, blasting the UFC President on Instagram and pretty much every available media outlet while simultaneously threatening to sue the UFC on top of the lawsuit he already filed against them.
So yeah, Hunto es furioso.
After being pulled from his Fight Night 121 headliner against Marcin Tybura back in October for medical reasons — a setback which led to Hunt threatening the UFC with that aforementioned second lawsuit — Hunt was finally given the go ahead to compete and booked against up-and-comer Curtis Blaydes at UFC 221 in February. It’s one of three fights remaining on the “Super Samoan’s” current contract, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Hunt won’t be attempting to re-up when the time comes.
Speaking with Submission Radio, the heavyweight legend revealed that he would be moving on from the UFC at the end of his contract for the greener pastures of literally any other MMA promotion on the planet.
“For the UFC, yeah. That will be the end of my career in the UFC. I have two fights left and that’s it. You probably know the path I’ve had with the UFC, but you know, it’s business. I haven’t done nothing wrong, I just don’t like to be treated like shit – even if I’m an employee or whatever and I speak my mind about it and, you know, I’ll go from there.”
It’s undoubtedly a smart move for Hunt, both in terms of available competition and the more basic reason of his mental sanity. As for where he expects himself to land next, Hunt hinted that we could very well expect to see him head back to his old stomping grounds in Japan, where he first earned his legendary status while competing in PRIDE and K1 kickboxing.
“So like I said, three fights left and I’ll move on,” said Hunt.
“I’m looking at going and fighting global fights for New Zealand, Australia and probably Japan. It depends on what happens. Like I said, I’m still chasing the dream of that world title.”
Where that world title will come from is anyone’s guess, but I think we all know that there’s only one man worthy of facing Hunt should he wind up in Japan…
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Jared Jones is a writer, musician, and filmmaker currently residing in Boston, MA. Angry comments can be directed to his Twitter and/or Facebook pages.
