MMA-URLS

UFC 146 heavyweight Stefan Struve is blogging on MMA Fighting in the leadup to his bout next Saturday. His first blog earlier this week was about his path to MMA and his admiration for then-opponent Mark Hunt. But the day after it was posted, Struve found out that Hunt was out of the bout with an injury and Lavar Johnson would be taking his place. This blog talks about finding out about that, and gives his thoughts on his new opponent.First, the timeline on the shocking news: The news arrived at a very funny and awkward time actually. I was at my girlfriend's place and we were looking for potential holidays after the fight. It was then that my manager sent me a text message telling me I needed to call him immediately because Mark Hunt was injured and out of the fight. At that moment I panicked, as I wasn't sure whether I'd still be fighting or not. I didn't want my whole training camp to go to waste. Luckily, I spoke with my manager and he told me Lavar had already been put in place as the stand-in opponent - I was delighted. It's a really cool fight. He believes that Johnson is actually a better fight for him that The Super Samoan: As it turned out, Lavar Johnson is every bit as exciting for me as Hunt was. Credit to him for stepping up to the plate. All in all, Lavar is a big, strong guy who likes to stand and punch, and he's also far easier to take down than Hunt. I truly believe Mark has better takedown defense than Lavar, and that makes it a fun fight for me. He hopes that he can fight Hunt in the future: Of course, it goes without saying, it would have been an absolute honor to fight Mark Hunt. I've been watching Mark's fights for years and was genuinely excited at the prospect of testing my skills against him. I hope he gets well soon and doesn't suffer too much as a result of the injury. It would be great to fight him at some point in the future and pick up where we left off. He's great for the sport and, so long as he can continue performing the way he's done recently, that man's going in the right direction. Is Struve right when he says that Johnson is actually an easier fight than Hunt?

Posted in: fight, mark, hunt, johnson, lavar

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Just when you think it's okay to look forward to your upcoming fight, somebody pulls a rug from under your feet at the last minute. That happened to me on Thursday evening, when I was told my opponent at UFC 146, Mark Hunt, had suffered an injury in training and would be unable to face me on May 26. The news arrived at a very funny and awkward time actually. I was at my girlfriend's place and we were looking for potential holidays after the fight. It was then that my manager sent me a text message telling me I needed to call him immediately because Mark Hunt was injured and out of the fight. At that moment I panicked, as I wasn't sure whether I'd still be fighting or not. I didn't want my whole training camp to go to waste. Luckily, I spoke with my manager and he told me Lavar had already been put in place as the stand-in opponent - I was delighted. It's a really cool fight.I just wanted to fight, and didn't mind who I was put up against. Obviously, Hunt would have been a great opponent, and is somebody I look up to, but it was important to just get some sort of fight. By Thursday evening, I didn't really care who it was against. As it turned out, Lavar Johnson is every bit as exciting for me as Hunt was. Credit to him for stepping up to the plate. All in all, Lavar is a big, strong guy who likes to stand and punch, and he's also far easier to take down than Hunt. I truly believe Mark has better takedown defense than Lavar, and that makes it a fun fight for me. After learning who my new opponent would be, I did a little bit of research, but already knew plenty about him. Lavar fought two weeks ago against my friend, Pat Barry, and that was a fight I have now watched a couple of times. I also saw Johnson's fight with Joey Beltran and a few of his Strikeforce fights from the last couple of years.The next day I went to train with my BJJ coach and gather his thoughts on the match-up. He is the guy who tells me what to go for and what not to go for on the ground, and we discussed this fight with Johnson at length on Friday.In the end, it doesn't matter who they put in front of me – the fight is still just three rounds of five minutes. Nothing changes. I'm not suddenly being asked to fight ten rounds of ten minutes.Of course, it goes without saying, it would have been an absolute honor to fight Mark Hunt. I've been watching Mark's fights for years and was genuinely excited at the prospect of testing my skills against him. I hope he gets well soon and doesn't suffer too much as a result of the injury. It would be great to fight him at some point in the future and pick up where we left off. He's great for the sport and, so long as he can continue performing the way he's done recently, that man's going in the right direction. It's a shame I won't be fighting Mark at UFC 146, but I'm more than happy with my new fight. Besides, I can't afford to live in the past - Lavar Johnson currently stands in my way of getting where I want to get in this sport and it's him, not Hunt, who I must now beat. Although they may have different faces, different bodies and a different set of skills, both Johnson and Hunt are still obstacles that needed conquering. That doesn't change, no matter who the actual person is. In order for me to keep living the dream in the UFC, I have to do my best to defeat everybody in my path, be it Mark Hunt or Lavar Johnson. It doesn't matter to me...Stefan 'Skyscraper' Struve fights veteran Mark Hunt at UFC 146 on Saturday, May 26, live on pay-per-view. Follow @StefanStruve on Twitter for all the latest news ahead of his bout at UFC 146.

Posted in: fight, mark, hunt, johnson, lavar

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If you're looking for a feel-good story in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), look no further than the surprising career resurrection of one of the hardest hitting men in the sport, Mark Hunt. Heading into Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on a five-fight losing streak, the "Super Samoan" failed to make a splash in his debut, losing to Sean McCorkle in the second round of their UFC 119 fight. Surprisingly, Hunt was given an opportunity to redeem himself and narrowly avoided the dreaded pink slip. Making the most of his opportunity, Hunt has now reeled off three straight victories over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. The hard-hitting heavyweight was on such a roll that his loyal fans, "The Army of Doom," hit the Twitter boards and started a rally to the powers that be at Zuffa to allow Mark to step in for Alistair Overeem against UFC heavyweight kingpin Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though the support was strong, UFC president Dana White stated, "It ain't going to happen." Hunt was to remain on the card to take on the towering Stefan Struve in the promotion's first all-heavyweight main card, and in the process, look for his fourth consecutive win and get himself closer to a potential title shot. One week away from the event, an unfortunate injury to the former K-1 Grand Prix Champion forced him to bow out of his scheduled fight and add yet another crushing blow to the stacked event. With the injury, Lavar Johnson got the call to step in against Struve, leaving Hunt to face the road to recovery. Speaking on The MMA (After) Hour, the New Zealander talked about the disappointment he feels after making the tough decision to pull out of the fight, which happens to be the first time he's had to do so in his eight year MMA career. Check it out: "I am so gutted about this. I never pulled out of any fight, this is the first time ever in my whole career that I actually pulled out of a fight because of an injury. I've never been injured before. I put so much work into this fight, you know? I trained hard, it's just so disappointing for me now. I was going to go and do the fight anyway, I was still trying to tell my mind not to do it. When a fighter goes into the Octagon, the ring, they go in one hundred percent. They go in bazookas, guns and everything. You don't go in there to a fight with a butter knife. If you go in there you're supposed to go a hundred percent. If one fighter goes in there fifty percent, he is giving the other fighter the other fifty percent. So the other fighter is coming in a hundred and fifty percent and you only got fifty percent. So, it doesn't make sense to go in there. I don't think Stefan Struve would have liked to beat me the way I am injured anyway. So, I might as well would have just said, 'Here, take the fight, I don't want it.' It was disappointing to me, I wanted to do the fight, I still want to do the fight but my brain says it's not good. You'll have one kick on the leg and then it will just be a waste of time anyways. So be smart about it and come back a different day and fight. I'm more depressed than anybody. You know, I put so much time, despite of what I was talking about before, I never really trained (like this), I put so much hard work into this and a lot of people put some time into me. I wanted to gout there and prove that I'm a better fighter, but, the Lord has a plan for everyone and I'm just disappointed it happened. It's just the way it is, it's the first time pulling out of a fight with an injury. I could go in there and fight but you won't see much of a fight. Your probably see me get a hurting for three rounds and that's about it. I don't think you want that." As evidenced by some recent pictures floating around, which you can see here, Hunt did indeed look to be in the best fighting shape of his career. The heavy-handed brawler revealed that a tear in his meniscus is the root of the problem and though he still wanted to take the fight, people around him convinced him that it would just be better to bow out, recover, and come back one hundred percent. "The Super Samoan" is now scheduled to undergo surgery to repair his knee and is looking at a couple of months of recovery time. Upon his return, Hunt says he wouldn't mind facing the winner of the Struve vs. Johnson showdown, both of which could prove to be very intriguing match-ups. Do you agree?

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MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani talks to Mark Hunt about the knee injury that forced him out of his fight against Stefan Struve at UFC 146. In short, Hunt sustained a small tear in his meniscus and is missing his PCL, possibly due to an old kickboxing injury.

Posted in: mark hunt, hunt, injury, stefan struve, knee injury

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Mark Hunt will not return to the Octagon at UFC 146. The Aussie will be replaced on the UFC 146 fight card by Lavar Johnson, who will face Steven Struve less than two weeks after his last performance at UFC on FOX 3. Find out why Hunt had to drop out and Johnson's thoughts on why he took the fight below. Mark Hunt has been forced to pull out of his UFC 146 fight against Stefan Struve due to a knee injury, MMA Fighting has learned from sources close to the fight. As a result, Struve will now face Lavar Johnson on less than two week's notice. Johnson last fought just 12 days ago at UFC on FOX 3. He knocked out Pat Barry in the first round of their main card fight. Hunt, a winner in his last three fights, has enjoyed a career renaissance in the UFC, so much so that there was a strong online movement to get him to replace Alistair Overeem against Junior dos Santos in the UFC 146 main event. As fate would have it, neither Overeem or Hunt will end up fighting on the card after all. Both Struve and Johnson enter the fighting riding two-fight winnings streaks. UFC 146, headlined by dos Santos vs. Frank Mir, airs live on pay-per-view on May 26. UPDATE: UFC has confirmed the news.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, johnson, lavar johnson

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When Alistair Overeem was removed from his UFC heavyweight title match with Junior dos Santos, there was a social media movement to get feel-good story and surging Mark Hunt the shot. Dana White shot the idea down and Frank Mir got the nod instead, leaving Hunt to remain in his fight with Stefan Struve on the UFC 146 undercard. However, Hunt said on Twitter Thursday that he is now off the event due to a PCL injury, leading to Lavar Johnson getting a major opportunity against Struve instead. @markhunt1974mark richard hunt yyea well army u have herd,i am out of 146 i cant even apologize about it cause injuries are injuries May 17 via Twitter for iPad Favorite Retweet Reply At the time of this writing, Hunt (8-7) didn't go into many other details but said he said he hopes to have surgery in California and then will head home to Australia. Going into the Struve fight, he had won his last three in a row, recently defeating Cheick Kongo by first round TKO. The 34-year-old Johnson (17-5) has done well since being brought over from Strikeforce, knocking out Joey Beltran in his debut and following that up with a first round TKO of Pat Barry to open up UFC on Fox 3. ESPN's Chuck Mindenhall noted that with this injury, every main card fight for UFC 146 has been altered. SBN coverage of UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir

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On this breaking news edition of The MMA (After) Hour we spoke to Mark Hunt, who explained why he was forced to pull out of UFC 146. Hunt talked about the injury, having to pull out of a fight due to an injury for the first time in his career and when he expects to return. Listen to the interview after the jump or download the audio here. The MMA (After) Hour: Mark Hunt Interview

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Mark Hunt has been forced to pull out of his UFC 146 fight against Stefan Struve due to an undisclosed injury, MMA Fighting has learned from sources close to the fight. As a result, Struve will now face Lavar Johnson on less than two week's notice. Johnson last fought just 12 days ago at UFC on FOX 3. He knocked out Pat Barry in the first round of their main card fight. Hunt, a winner in his last three fights, has enjoyed a career renaissance in the UFC, so much so that there was a strong online movement to get him to replace Alistair Overeem against Junior dos Santos in the UFC 146 main event. As fate would have it, neither Overeem or Hunt will end up fighting on the card after all. Both Struve and Johnson enter the fighting riding two-fight winnings streaks. UFC 146, headlined by dos Santos vs. Frank Mir, airs live on pay-per-view on May 26.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, johnson, struve

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Lavar Johnson is getting another big opportunity. A source close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com that Johnson is expected to replace Mark Hunt in a heavyweight bout against Stefan Struve at UFC 146, which takes place May 26 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  Hunt declined comment when contacted today. The reason for his withdrawal is unknown.

Posted in: mark hunt, hunt, johnson, stefan struve, heavyweight bout

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UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve is blogging on MMA Fighting leading up to his UFC 146 tilt with Mark Hunt, and the first in the series gives some pretty interesting insight into the big man. This blog basically talks about how he got into fighting, who his inspirations were, and tells an amusing story about his job prior to MMA. He starts off by talking about feeling just like the other UFC heavyweights despite his 6'11 frame, and the other sports he tried before getting into the gym. Then he goes onto discuss a hero of his, who just happens to be the main he'll be standing across the cage from in nine days - Mark Hunt: My next opponent, Mark Hunt, was actually one of the guys I watched a lot of during my teenage years. He has competed in both K-1 and Pride, and was always somebody who loved to stand and trade kicks and punches. His style of fighting was a personal favorite of mine and, to be honest, I was a big fan of Mark for many years. He closes it out with a story about how he's never really been a fighter outside the cage, and how he's happy he doesn't have to be a bouncer anymore: Despite my early love of punching, I've never been the type of guy to get involved in fights away from the gym. That's just not my thing. Even as a kid, I was never the sort to scrap in the playground. Also, I towered over a lot of kids my age, so they would have been foolish to pick a fight with me. Still, when I was 18, I started working as a bouncer to make some money and help out my parents, and that was a real eye opener for me, as many fights would break out on a nightly basis. You always hoped they wouldn't – and did your best to prevent them – but alcohol and testosterone is never a good mix. Working the door consisted of lots of late nights and fist fights, though I tried to stop the fights before they got out of hand. Looking back, I'm now happy I get paid to fight and can get to bed at a reasonable time. SBN coverage of UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir

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Lavar Johnson (17-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will be replacing Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a Heavyweight fight against Stefan "Skyskraper" Struve (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at UFC 146, which takes place May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Hunt was forced out due to a knee injury (PCL), during training. Hunt tweeted earlier:   @GHETTO_FABOLOUS well its my first time i had to pull out of a fight — mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) May 17, 2012 its a sore leg injury pcl lol — mark

Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, mma, time i

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"I know he’s a wrestler. I don’t know too much about him. I don’t even watch his fights. I believe in God, I believe in training hard. I’m just going to go there and fight a street fight again. Everybody says 'Oh, he has overhands.' Yeah I have overhands. If I catch your face I knock you out. My overhand is too high, so this is why I hunt. Hunt is like, you snipe. You find the chin. You gonna hunt, you gonna come in, jab, you need to, moving, counter, so this is basically hunt. Escape from the move and attack at the same time. This is the hunt. Keep moving, angles, keep putting the guy pressure, break the guy’s mind, so this is how hunt is." Mixed martial arts? Pffft ... this is Diego Brandao we're talking about, the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14 madman who smashed and crashed his way to the featherweight finale before taking home the coveted "six-figure contract" -- and the lower half of Dennis Bermudez's arm. Now "Ceara" (via Bloody Elbow) is getting ready for his encore performance against Darren Elkins at UFC 146, but hasn't bothered to watch any tape on his opponent, instead relying on his belief in God and penchant for street fighting. Will it be enough on May 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada?

Posted in: fight, hunt, darren elkins, street fight, arts pffft

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This is the greatest shape we've ever seen Mark Hunt and if you have any evidence that disputes that previous statement, feel free to present it. This may be the greatest unintentional anti-KFC advertisement. Two years ago, Mark Hunt stated that along with giving up chocolate, he also stopped eating KFC in order to get in shape for his UFC 119 bout with borderline UG legend, Sean McCorkle. This picture that surfaced this week from Throwdown's Mark Hunt campaign illustrates what giving up KFC will do to the human body. It also brings up the question of just how much fried chicken Mark Hunt was consuming prior to not consuming fried chicken. Props to MattyBlayze for the find.

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, antikfc advertisement, chicken props

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UFC 146 heavyweight Mark Hunt ... with abs? The Samoan kickboxing champion, who went from bloated banger to incredible shrinking man, will certainly be light on his feet when he steps into the Octagon on May 26 in Las Vegas. But will it make a difference against the sky-scraping reach of Stefan Struve? A fourth win in a row and Hunt may not need to have the fans rally for a title shot. Props: Bloody Elbow

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Photo: Looks Like Mark Hunt Got In Shape For Stefan Struve HT: BE Reader Dustin Luff

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Fan-favorite Super Samoan shared his thoughts about Alistair Overeem's 9-month suspension, which was announced at last week's Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing. Hunt will return to action next month, facing Stefan Struve on the main card of UFC 146 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White recently confirmed that if Hunt beats Stefan Struve, he will find himself in the cage against a Top 5 Heavyweight, in what could be a number one contender bout. Further Reading: Submit your picks for UFC

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UFC 146's Mark Hunt talks about his upcoming fight with Stefan Struve, fans "rallying" for him to replace Alistair Overeem against Junior dos Santos, high levels of testosterone and much more.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, alistair overeem, struve, stefan

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Despite the valiant effort of countless fans across cyberspace it looks like Mark Hunt will fight Stefan Struve at UFC 146 as planned rather than slide into a potential title-shot at the same event. UFC President Dana White confirmed the news over the weekend saying Hunt would not be considered even if top contender Alistair Overeem is pulled from a fight against champion Junior dos Santos due to the inability obtain a license to compete after showing an elevated level of testosterone in a recent drug test. Overeem faces the Nevada State Athletic Commission on April 24 to plead his case. “They can keep rallying. It ain’t going to happen,” said White of the public movement backing Hunt. Hunt is a fan-favorite based on his time in the PRIDE organization in addition to his knockout power and desire to keep things standing rather than work takedowns. However, he only holds an overall record of 8-7 even with a recent three-fight winning streak inside the Octagon including a February knockout of Cheick Kongo. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

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It appears that the many fans lobbying to get Mark Hunt into the title fight at May's UFC 146 have fallen just short.  The effort put forth by his fans was staggering and very respectful, but UFC President Dana White made it clear that Hunt will have to work his way up the ladder and best a top-tier Heavyweight in order to get a title shot.  Not wanting to give anyone preferential treatment, White had the following to say on the issue:"They can keep rallying. That ain't going to happen. Listen,

Posted in: ufc, mark hunt, hunt, title shot  , toptier heavyweight

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STOCKHOLM - It was a valiant effort, Mark Hunt fans. But the rally will come up short. Following a massive online campaign to get Mark Hunt under consideration for a potential title fight - complete with its own #RallyforMarkHunt hashtag - UFC president Dana White squelched the possibility. If Alistair Overeem isn't cleared to fight heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, Hunt won't be the replacement.

Posted in: fight, mark, hunt, title fight, fight champ

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All it took was one simple statement is all it took to shoot down the online community that has actively been rallying for Mark Hunt to slide into a potentially vacant title-shot. During the post-event press conference for UFC on Fuel 2, organizational president Dana White was asked about the recent outpouring of support for Hunt to replace Alistair Overeem and face Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight title next month. Hunt is currently scheduled to face Stefan Struve on the same card and it appears he’ll remain in that position despite the support. “Mark Hunt will not get title shot…will have to fight a contender,” White said. “They can keep rallying. It ain’t going to happen.” Hunt seemed to be the fighter most online wanted to see replace Overeem if he’s not licensed to fight later this month when he faces the NSAC to address his use of testosterone. Though Hunt has righted his ship as of late, winning three fights in a row, jumping straight from being outside the Top 10 into title-contention seemed a long shot even before White made his comments. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Posted in: fight, mark, mark hunt, hunt, president dana

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Despite fan support from around the world, which had an ever-growing fanbase create a campaign ‘Rally for Mark Hunt’ to convince UFC officials to slide Hunt into Alistair Overeem’s slot as challenger against Junior dos Santos at UFC 146, UFC President Dana White has said that those fans can halt their rally. At the UFC on Fuel TV 2 post-fight press conference, this was White’s first opportunity to address this issue. Even though White applauded Hunt’s fanbase’s effort, he said “They can keep rallying. It ain’t going to happen.” That rally had been going strong for the past few weeks. So strong, in fact, that the always-brief Hunt joined Twitter during that span, and he seems to have yet to sign off. Now with over 10,000 followers, Hunt has been quite active with his fans. White has been quick to praise the New Zealand native’s tenure in the UFC, which started off poorly thanks to a quick submission loss to Sean McCorkle at UFC 119 in September 2010. But since then, Hunt has won three straight, with two coming by knockout. Following his decision win over Ben Rothwell at UFC 135, White admitted that when the UFC bought Pride in 2007, Hunt had a chance to take a buyout and get paid not to fight in the UFC. But Hunt wanted to fight, and insisted he be allowed to be given the opportunity. Hunt was matched up with fellow heavyweight Stefan Struve at UFC 146, an all-heavyweight main card. But with the former K-1 champion now on a three fight win-streak, Hunt’s fans felt he was the one that should replace Alistair Overeem if Overeem is not allowed to fight champion Junior dos Santos at the event. With White declaring that Hunt will not be replacing Overeem, he explained why he feels the matchup with Struve is the right one for Hunt at this time. “I think this fight with Struve is a good fight for him,” said White. “If he beats Struve, he will break in and start fighting some of the top five heavyweights in the world. Anything can happen in a fight, but in all reality, it’s not fair to Mark Hunt either, to throw the guy right in there with Junior Dos Santos for a title shot. The guy worked his way up. If he beats Struve, he fights somebody in the top five. I guarantee you this, if he beats Struve, his next fight will be someone in the top five that can get him closer to that title shot.”

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, overeem, struve

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The dream is dead, folks. Ever since Alistair Overeem tested positive for elevated testosterone, the fate of his UFC 146 title shot against UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has been up in the air. If Overeem was indeed pulled from the fight, who would take his place? Lately fans have been rallying for fellow UFC 146 competitor Mark Hunt to take his spot, and the movement built enough momentum to make Hunt a star on twitter. It all came crashing down today at the UFC on Fuel 2 post-fight press conference though, courtesy of UFC president Dana White. When asked if he had seen the rally, he crushed Super Samoan fans everywhere with his response: "Yes. They can keep rallying. You don’t just jump right into the title shot. I guarantee you this, if he beats (Stefan) Struve, his next fight will be against somebody in the top five that can get him closer to that title shot." I think I speak for at least some people when I say that I'm happy Dana finally shot this goofy idea down and we can now move onto talking about stuff that is actually realistic. As much as I like Mark Hunt (and have for many years), Dana's right - it doesn't make any sense for Hunt to skip the line. Sorry. Related Stories UFC 146's Mark Hunt: 'I Don't Really Care How Long It Takes To Get a Title Shot, I'm Just Going To Keep Fighting' | UFC 146: Mark Hunt Should Not Fight For The Heavyweight Title | UFC 146: Mark Hunt Discusses Possible Bout With Junior dos Santos | Fans Clamoring For Fedor Or Mark Hunt Vs. Junior Dos Santos SBN coverage of UFC 146

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We don't yet quite know who Junior dos Santos will be stepping into the cage against when he walks into the MGM Grand on May 26. We know one person who it most certainly will not be: Mark Hunt. The heavy-handed New Zealander has been the subject of a social media movement since questions have arisen about Alistair Overeem's eligibility to fight Dos Santos, but White says Hunt won't get the nod, even if Overeem can't go. "They can keep rallying. It ain’t going to happen," White said. Hunt was an unlikely candidate to begin with. Although he's won three straight fights, those victories have only moved his career record to 8-7. Then again, it's been an impressive climb back for him. When UFC-owned Zuffa bought PRIDE, White tried to buy Hunt out of his contract, thinking he had no remaining value as a fighter. The proud athlete could have taken the payout and gone elsewhere, but instead demanded his contracted bouts. In his first UFC match, he lost to then little-known Sean McCorkle in just 63 seconds, tapping out to a straight arm bar. But in his next match, he rallied to knockout Chris Tuchscherer, and since then he's beaten respected veterans Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. He's currently scheduled to fight Stefan Struve on May 26, and according to White, that's exactly where he'll stay. "I have apologized and praised Mark Hunt for what he's accomplished in the situation he was in," White said. "And I think this fight with Struve is a good fight for him. If he beats Struve, he’ll break in and start fighting some of the top five heavyweights in the world. Anything can happen in a fight, but in all reality, it's not fair to Mark Hunt either, to throw the guy right in there with Junior Dos Santos for a title shot. The guy worked his way up, he beats Struve, he fights somebody in the top five. I guarantee you this, he beats Struve, his next fight will be someone in the top five that can get him closer to that title shot." Meanwhile, the mystery of who exactly will face Dos Santos at UFC 146 continues. At the time Overeem's elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio was revealed, White lambasted him, saying he was "beyond pissed," and calling him a "moron." Over one week later, White still voiced frustration with the situation, but said he would let the system run its course. "I don't have the temperament to talk about this," he said. "I will say things you guys will love and I will hate next week. So let me just say this: everybody gets due process. Alistair Overeem will have his due process with the Nevada state athletic commission. We'll see what happens and we'll go from there. And when it all goes down, somebody else will speak about this. Not me."

Posted in: fight, mark hunt, hunt, overeem, struve

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Well, it was cute while it lasted, huh? The "Rally for Mark Hunt" to get a title shot against Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada is officially dead. This according to UFC President Dana White himself, who squashed the hopes of fans all across social media sites with these biting words at today's UFC on FUEL TV 2 post-fight press conference: "They can keep rallying. It ain't going to happen," he said. White would go on to say that Hunt can beat Stefan Struve over the Memorial Day weekend, then it's definitely a possibility that he'll fight a top-five opponent. But that's only after he gets past "The Skyscraper," assuming he's able to do so. What's for certain, though, is that a title shot is nowhere in the cards for "The Super Samoan." At least not right now and not in the near future. Sorry, but a three fight win streak (with the best win coming over Cheick Kongo) and an 8-7 record isn't good enough to fight the best heavyweight on the planet. Even if a segment of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans wanted it to be. Plus, we still don't know what will ultimately happen with Alistair Overeem. He could very well leave his hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on April 24 with a license and the originally scheduled main event at UFC 146 could go right along as planned. But even if he doesn't, Mark Hunt will not be taking his place. Sorry.

Posted in: ufc, title shot, mark hunt, hunt, alistair overeem

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The Army of Doom is the latest in a string of MMA calls to action. It is the movement to get Mark Hunt in as a replacement for Alistair Overeem, who is slated to challenge Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight title at UFC 146. It is uncertain if Overeem is officially out, but that fact doesn't seem to sway the MMA activists from their task. From the moment Mark joined Twitter and started actively tweeting, a mass of ardent fans started tweet-bombing Dana White with pleas to let the New Zealander have his shot at the belt. In a recent interview with TapouT Radio, Hunt talked about his newly discovered talent for social media. *Note: I never include the opening pleasantries from interviews, but I am for this one. Mark was quite a handful, and the very first thing out of his mouth sort of set the tone for the entire segment. He also laughed. A lot. Interviewer: Hey Mark, it's a pleasure to talk to you. What's going on? Mark Hunt: Nothing much, really. Just a lot of porn and a lot of Twitter. [laughs] You didn't know about that, did ya? Interviewer: How did the Army of Doom come into existence? Mark Hunt: The Army of Doom, brother. The Army of Doom. Thanks to the guys at the Underground. I think they started it. It was pretty cool, so good on them. I'm on board 100%. And Twitter, I'm on it all the time. I'm like a junkie. I can't get off it. If my phone dies, you'll know why, because it's only got a little battery left. (author note: It did die) Interviewer: Have you talked to Dana about any of this? Mark Hunt: No. I don't think the guys up there talk to the small people like me. They just bark orders at us. [laughs] Interviewer: How does it make you feel, knowing that so many people are campaigning for you like this? Mark Hunt: It's great. I can feel the love. I'm enjoying it, and it's a whole lot of fun. Interviewer: You got in the UFC, and outside of your first bout, you've beaten all your opponents. How many fights would you say it will take for you to get a title shot without it being a replacement fight? Mark Hunt: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...I don't really care how long it takes to get a title shot. I'm just going to keep fighting. It's not my decision, what goes on with who gets a title shot. I mean, some people get their shots in two or three fights. They're pretty lucky. I wish I could be like them. Interviewer: You've been at this for a long time. Can you even remember a time when you weren't fighting? Mark: I think I was fighting from the moment I was coming out the bloody hole [laughs]. Interviewer: What are your thoughts on Stefan Struve? Mark Hunt: He's a young kid, but a food fighter. I'm looking forward to the challenge. It'll be a good scrap. Interviewer: Even though Stefan has a kickboxing background, do you think he'll try to get this one to the ground? Mark Hunt: Yeah, I think so. I think everyone will try to get me down. Interviewer: Describe what it was like for you, fighting in Denver. Mark Hunt: I just loved it! I love feeling like I'm going to die. I wish I could wake up to that feeling every day [laughs]. Honestly, it was just hard. The altitude there is ridiculous. How was I feeling? Run 800 meters about three or four times, and then start your fight. That's how it feels. Interviewer: If they offered you another fight at elevation, would you turn it down? Mark Hunt: No. I don't turn down any fights. I'd have to go out a couple months early, to climatize. That's what I'd do. I'd never turn a fight down. I'd just be there two months prior. Interviewer: How do you feel about Alistair and other guys that get caught using TRT or other banned substances? Mark Hunt: That's on Alistair and those other people that are taking it. It's like those sprinters that took it. Ben Johnson and Marion Jones lost all their gold medals. That was the same sort of sh*t, wasn't it? So now, everything he's (Overeem) done and accomplished is in question now. They f*cked their sh*t up. I'm not going to sit here and judge, but you asked me the question, so that's my opinion on it. Interviewer: What are your thoughts on steroids in MMA? Does it bother you, or it doesn't really make much of a difference? Mark Hunt: It's a cutthroat business, but I don't take that sh*t. I don't really care what they're taking. They can take as much as they like, but when you get punched in the teeth or the lips or whatever it is, you're still gonna be going to sleep. It doesn't matter how much steroids you take. People take that stuff to train harder or for recovery, but if you get hit, you'll still go to sleep. Interviewer: You seem to be fairly healthy and injury free. Do you like a high level of fight activity or do you prefer a little more recovery time in between? Mark Hunt: Of course. I'm pretty glad to get this fight so soon. I think the guys that don't fight for such a long time, they don't stay sharp. It's hard to fight again, if you take a long time off, but if you fight constantly, it's pretty good, and it keeps you skills sharp. Injury-wise, I'm pretty good. I haven't been injured that badly, so I've been lucky. Interviewer: Do you miss K-1 at all? Mark Hunt: No. I'm over it. I've been there and done that. Now I'm on to something bigger and better. Interviewer: How much do you bench? Mark Hunt: Cheeseburgers and cake [laughs]. At this point, I asked Mark about Billy Idol, and he was about to belt out White Wedding for us, but his phone finally died. Hopefully, I'll get him to sing it next time around. Follow Mark via his Twitter, @markhunt1974

Posted in: fight, mark, hunt, im, interviewer

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NickTheFace posts his newest video on Mark Hunt.

Posted in: hunt, video, nicktheface, post, nicktheface posts

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This week's MMA Roundtable goes to extremes, showcasing the good and bad of the sport. On one side, you have the "Rally for Mark Hunt," a feel-good movement designed to mobilize around an unlikely possible contender to the UFC heavyweight title. On the other, we have more about the ongoing PEDs in MMA situation, with Alistair Overeem preparing to meet with the Nevada state athletic commission and explain his elevated T/E ratio. What case is he going to present? Who knows? He's been completely mum since the results were released -- not even a single Tweet -- but from the information we know, we have our suspicions about his possible explanations. My colleague Luke Thomas and I delve into Way-Overeem, discuss whether Hunt fanatics are on the Mark, and much more. Take it away, Luke. 1. What will Alistair Overeem's defense be during his NSAC hearing on April 24th?Luke Thomas: I can't possibly imagine, but I suppose there's no harm in trying. What's baffling about this was that he was clearly over the legal limit in terms of testosterone coursing through his body. And he was able to be tested as part of a conditional license regimen he also agreed to prior to the Lesnar fight. So we have clear legal threshold being crossed and legitimate grounds under which to test. The case seems air tight to me, especially since Overeem never elected to have the B sample tested.Perhaps he'll challenge the legal basis under which he was tested. Maybe he'll suggest he didn't know he couldn't be above 6:1 T/E. It could be that since English is his second language and commissioner Pat Lundvall never 'laid a foundation' about his English language proficiency, Overeem can claim he never understood the legal documents presented to him.Either way, I'm expecting a pretty novel defense. When you're clearly breaking the rules and yet asking for things the government grants only as a privilege, you better have one very special ace up your sleeve.Mike Chiappetta: Let's go through this logically. Overeem is not asking for his B-sample to be tested. There has to be a purpose for that. What is it? Well, it basically means that he is conceding that the results are accurate. A B-sample test would trigger a carbon isotope ratio test, and NSAC would be able to determine whether the testosterone was synthetic. By not going through that, he is admitting the original results are correct. So from there, there are only three options. He can say: 1) his testosterone levels are naturally high, 2) his epitestosterone levels are naturally low, or 3) he took testosterone. Let's examine each. We can basically throw the first option out the window immediately because he took three urine tests in the leadup to UFC 141, and his ratio was within normal range each time. A drastic change would be unlikely from then until now. The second option is nearly the same thing. Nevada has tests results that prove his T/E ratio normal as recently as three months before his failed test. That leaves option three. I believe Overeem is going to argue that he was recently diagnosed with low testosterone.NSAC's Keith Kizer recently shared the commission's therapeutic use exemption procedures with MMA Fighting, and those procedures only require a fighter to submit a TUE application within 20 days of his scheduled fight. That means Overeem can argue that he wasn't obligated to inform them he was on testosterone at the time of his March 27 random test, and planned to do so after collecting all the relevant information. After the December testing fiasco, I don't expect NSAC to give him the benefit of the doubt this time around, but that's the likely direction it's headed.2. "Rally for Mark Hunt." Is this idea pure genius or totally insane?Chiappetta: At the risk of offending an entire movement, I'd say they've gone a bit loony, but at least it's for a good cause.Like them, I appreciate Mark Hunt's strong kickboxing resume, the fact that he turned his MMA career around, and how he's become the sport's feel-good story. I also admire his willingness to scrap anytime against anyone. Those are all wonderful qualities he brings to the table. But I can't say he's the most qualified heavyweight to face Junior Dos Santos, and that's a problem when you're handing out something as important as a title fight opportunity.While he has won three in a row, none of those opponents were top 10 at the time. I think former champs Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez are simply more deserving whether you're basing a pick on recent history or overall success. "Rally for Mark Hunt" has become MMA's "Linsanity" or "Tebow Time," a cause célèbre that excites many but doesn't seem likely to have real long-term legs. Then again, Tim Tebow did win a playoff game, so I suppose anything is possible. If Hunt gets the call, I won't object, but for now I'll let the Hunt war wagon pass along without me and wish them luck in accomplishing their goal.Thomas: I'm with Mike on this one. I suppose I admire the fervor, but this is not a ride I'm trying to catch.The movement for Hunt is as much about fan enthusiasm as it is an act of desperation. There are other, more qualified candidates. Werdum could possibly be shuffled despite his itinerary. Mir and Velasquez are also infinitely more deserving. Hunt's on the list after three wins, but he's much closer to the bottom than the top. And he's only even at the bottom of the list because of the mess Overeem has created.Part of me just feels like Hunt's fans are sadists. That isn't to say he has zero chance of winning, but if we're talking about the most likely outcome, it's the kind where Hunt gets hurt significantly more than JDS. Did people forget a middleweight in Melvin Manhoef turned Hunt's lights out in under a round? Sorry, but if you're a real Mark Hunt fan, you want to see him in competitive affairs, not the bad end of a Mortal Kombat fatality.3. Should Cris "Cyborg" be cut from Strikeforce after her year-long suspension was upheld?Thomas: Probably not. Is Strikeforce really in a position to be cutting people, especially those with some measure of name value or who can contribute in potentially lucrative fights?I don't know what the right punishment is. Is it six months and a fine? Just a fine? What about a stern talking to? It feels like there's really never any consistency athlete to athlete, promotion to promotion when it comes to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). There's precedent to go in virtually any direction.The sad reality is MMA exists in a space where it cannot be absolutist about PEDs. It's irrational to think you can run a high-level MMA organization and simply cut those who pop positive, no questions asked. I'm not saying we have a responsibility to tolerate outright drug abuse or that there isn't a tipping point. But major promotions who risk losing major fights do not have the luxury to jettison those who run afoul of commissions for using testosterone, steroids or whatever else is banned. These people are necessary for keeping the organization afloat. What's the old saying? Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.Chiappetta: The hard thing about answering a question like this is the double penalties that would be involved. Cyborg faced the California state athletic commission and received a one-year suspension and was fined $2,500. Those are pretty significant penalties. Beyond that, she was stripped of her Strikeforce featherweight championship. For the promotion to also fire her would be understandable. It would send a much-needed message that no one is untouchable, but it's the same stand they could have taken with Chael Sonnen or Thiago Silva or Alistair Overeem or Chris Leben, and the list goes on. At some point it's going to have to be a card they have to play. Employing a one-strike-and-you're-out policy is a powerful statement but it also may be excessively punitive. Even the internationally recognized World Anti-Doping Agency sides with a bit of mercy, with a two-year ban from competition its punishment of choice. That seems about right.4. Dana White said this week that UFC 146's Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir will still happen. If neither of them replaces Overeem, who will?Chiappetta: Four words: "Card subject to change." That applies to White's mind as well. Perhaps the UFC boss is trying to stay positive with Overeem's NSAC hearing coming up. The UFC, which submitted Overeem's licensing application to NSAC, is seemingly supporting his bid for licensure. They're not ready to throw in the towel and say Overeem vs. dos Santos isn't happening. That's their prerogative, but you can bet your last dollar that they're making contingency plans if Overeem's bid is, as expected, denied. I still contend that the most obvious pick, Frank Mir, will get the call. He's already voiced a willingness to take the fight, even on short notice. But since this question is hypothetical, and in this scenario neither of them does get the call, I'm going to guess it's Fabricio Werdum. White does follow his emotion at times, so if he's moved by the "Rally for Mark Hunt" movement, maybe he goes with the ultimate dark horse. Or maybe he gives Dan Henderson a chance to win a major title in a third weight class. But Werdum is the highest-ranked heavyweight after the Dos Santos-Overeem and Velasquez-Mir pairings, and so he probably deserves the call before anyone else.Thomas: The maxim everyone should remember is this: the UFC needs to put on fights the fans want to pay money to see. That makes the case for a virtual unknown to the casual fanbase in Mark Hunt almost impossible, but in fairness, it's not like the other choices are pop culture superstars.Again, I'll have to tip my hat to my colleague Mike. I say Mir gets the call. He's got some casual fan recognition, is 'deserving' of the placement all things considered and can carry the responsibilities (media and otherwise) of a headliner. I'm not the biggest fan of the Dan Henderson option, although I don't think it's the worst option either. And if Mark Hunt did get the call, that's obviously great news for him. But I'm betting White has suggested Mir vs. Velasquez is still on because a) he hasn't cancelled it yet and b) UFC is helping Overeem obtain a license in Nevada. Until Overeem's situation is definitively changed, why wouldn't White say Mir vs. Velasquez is still on?

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, overeem, he

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The online 'rally' to get Mark Hunt a UFC title shot against Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 continues. Despite having an outrageous amount of testosterone in his system, Alistair Overeem intends on getting a license to fight in Nevada. And hey, there's a UFC event this weekend, so the cold winter is officially over. That means there is much to discuss. Join me at 1 p.m. ET today for the MMA Fighting Live Chat. We'll discuss about whether the online campaign for Hunt has been effective, what Alistair Overeem could possibly say to still get a license, offer fight predictions for UFC on FUEL TV 2 and go over anything YOU want to talk. Remember: you can login with your Twitter or Facebook account into the ScribbleLive service, or you can just create a profile with the service. It doesn't matter how you get involved as long as you get involved. Be back here at 1 p.m. ET to share your best questions, comments and complaints. Talk with you then, friends.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, overeem, alistair, scribblelive service

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Two years ago Mark Hunt wasn’t even supposed to be in the UFC. Today he’s on the cusp of receiving a title-shot. The strange journey of Hunt began when Zuffa acquired PRIDE where the 38-year old had made a name for himself with a slew of entertaining bouts against the likes of Mirko Filipovic, Wanderlei Silva, and Fedor Emelianenko. Though the company was willing to buy out his contract, letting him walk with salary, the proud New Zealander preferred to honor the deal and made his Octagon debut instead. Though he lost the match-up, he won his next outing with a brutal knockout to set up the three-fight run he’s currently on that was capped off in February with a beautiful finish of Cheick Kongo. With Alistair Overeem likely out of a May 26 title-fight with Junior dos Santos due to a failed drug test, Hunt has now become the unlikely candidate of an underground movement to see him fill the probable vacancy. The push was given even more steam when UFC President Dana White removed Frank Mir from the equation by stating he’d face Cain Velasquez as expected, thus leaving Hunt in a very enviable spot. “I think people like to see an underdog in there,” said Hunt on The MMA Show when asked about the online movement to see him get a crack at Dos Santos’ belt. “I wasn’t even wanted in the UFC, put it that way. And here we are talking about me having a title shot. Two years ago you’d have laughed at the thought. I think people like to see a good Rocky story.” If by some strange stroke of fortune Hunt is given an opportunity to face Dos Santos he’s also confident he can pull off the upset, paying homage the fans who would have potentially helped him get the shot. “I match-up good against anyone, so of course I feel like I match-up good against him,” explained Hunt of the Brazilian champion. “The people that think I don’t have a chance against anybody on this planet, they are certainly mistaken. But it’s good to be underestimated. I like to be the underdog. I don’t have a chance. That’s great, it gives me more drive, more fire.” Hunt is currently scheduled to face Stefan Struve at UFC 146 where Dos Santos-Overeem is still set as the headliner until Overeem’s status is resolved with the NSAC on April 24. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Posted in: ufc, hunt, do, people, matchup

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Since Alistair Overeem's positive drug test theories and speculation abound about what would happen if he is removed from his UFC 146 bout against UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos. While he has not officially been removed, many fans are playing matchmaker and trying to pick the ideal man to replace Overeem to contend for the title. One fighter getting very vocal fan support is Mark Hunt. A decorated kick-boxer, Hunt competed in the competitive K-1 kickboxing promotion and won the 2001 K-1 Grand Prix. Hunt is currently on a three fight winning streak, most recently his one round KO win over Cheick Kongo. A kickboxing based fighter with an exciting style with three straight wins seems like an ideal fighter to fill in for Overeem, a fellow K-1 Champion. While I am certainly a horrid match maker there seem to be clear problems with Hunt receiving a title shot. The first issue with Hunt is his record in MMA. While most fans know that records in MMA are very different than in other combat sports, the fact that Hunt's last win put him at a 9-8 record can't be ignored. Can a fighter just one win over .500 really be competing for the biggest Heavyweight title in the sport? While this is mostly a cosmetic issue, it would not look good for the UFC for a fighter to all appearances a journeyman fighting for a title. Now I know what your thinking, you want to bring up Brock Lesnar getting a title shot with 2-1 record, but that was a very different situation. First the true Heavyweight title, held by Randy Couture, had been inactive for over a year and the UFC had created an interim title. The UFC decided to host a mini Heavyweight tournament and Lesnar was selected to face Randy in the semi-finals. It was a smart move for the UFC, if Couture had won Lensar would have been an excellent fight to build towards the finals and Lesnar was a huge PPV draw, so his win only made the finals against Frank Mir the biggest event in UFC history. And even then the UFC did face critiques from sporting media who didn't fully understand MMA records for having a champion with so few fights. Hunt does not have that kind of marketing gravity and the heavyweight division is not anything close the same situation today than it was in 2008. Another problem is that a big part of Hunt's revival is based around this idea of improvements in his grappling. While he does appear to have made strides on the ground, he is still not a well rounded fighter. His only recourse against Junior dos Santos is to attempt to strike with him, because he will not be able to grapple with him. And while many will say that a K-1 Champion would have the edge on the feet, it has been proven time and again that MMA is a different sport. A sport in which accomplished strikers can get beat up on the feet by guys who have never had a professional kick boxing match. In fact, dos Santos has already dispatched one former K-1 Champion in Mirko "Cro Cop" Flilpovic, soundly beating the him on the feet, forcing a stoppage in the third. This would be a showcase fight for the champion, and while not unheard of, the UFC is really trying to build the resume of the Heavyweight division. They have a crop of truly elite fighters at the that weight now, both in the UFC and in Strikeforce, and now is the time make the Heavyweight division into that casual fan division. Throwing in a one dimensional fighter to get pounded by the Champion flies in the face of the UFC's best fighting the best model. The final problem is that there are far more deserving fighters in the UFC of a heavyweight title shot. While champions have been thrown fighters who may not have been ready for title shots before, like Dan Hardy facing Georges St. Pierre or Thales Leites challenging Anderson Silva, that has been in a situation where challengers have been lacking. There is no lack of challengers for Junior dos Santos. Frank Mir and Cain Velsaquez came up almost instantly and Dana White seems committed to those two fighting each other. This seems like an ideal #1 contender match if the UFC is willing to wait for another heavyweight championship fight. Mir would be very interesting to see against the Champion as the two have never faced each other, and while Velsaquez lost his belt to dos Santos that rematch is just a matter of time. Also, much improved Fabricio Werdum is sitting idle and his fresh off his three round destruction of Roy Nelson. Both of these matches make much more sense for the UFC than Mark Hunt fighting for the title. And with Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett moving to the UFC, Shane Carwin returning from back surgery, and prospects like Travis Browne and Shane Del Rossario continuing to develop there doesn't appear to be a place in the title picture for Hunt. While an entertaining notion, Mark Hunt fighting Junior dos Santos for the UFC title would not be a good move for the UFC. This is not to demean Mark Hunt as a fighter or a man, and his fight with Stefan Struve is the perfect contest for him. Hunt has a clear path to victory and Struve could test Hunt's improved grappling if the fight hits the mat. The UFC has worked hard in the past years to bring legitimacy to the much maligned Heavyweight division. And with an infusion of talent coming from Strikeforce it makes no sense to rush into a fight that will make no sense when we look back on it.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, title, fighter, heavyweight

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Mark Hunt didn’t just let Alistair Overeem’s recent failed drug test slip by like it was a once-in-a-blue-moon slip. No, Hunt, who has been receiving an online push to fill the possible vacancy caused by Overeem against Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight title, came down hard on “The Reem” during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “Drugs in all sports is a big problem. Alistair is now in court, and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now,” Hunt said. “At the end of the day, he just got caught cheating, so what’s the deal? That’s on him, he has to look himself in the mirror.” Hunt has said that he doubts the UFC will look in his direction to face dos Santos at UFC 146 for the belt, but added, “I think maybe, they want to see a feel good story of the year,” in regards to him fighting for the belt. Currently, Hunt is set to meet Stefan Struve at the same May card, so he’ll remain in training regardless of the opponent. Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

Posted in: ufc, hunt, overeem, alistair, problem alistair

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UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is a pretty popular guy right now. With Alistair Overeem seemingly out of his scheduled UFC 146 bout with UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, fan support for Hunt stepping in has been spreading like wildfire. The Super Samoan was a guest on The MMA Hour with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, and discussed the whole surreal situation. He also had some harsh words for Mr. Overeem. First off, he talks about the possible shot at JDS (transcribed by MMA Mania): "I have no idea. I think maybe, they want to see a feel good story of the year. I think people like to see an underdog. I mean, I wasn't even wanted in the UFC and here we are talking about getting a title shot. I think people like the feel good story. No one's told me nothing. I'm always last to find out. I'm still looking to fight Struve, but if I get a title shot then that is better for me and that will be thanks to the 'Army of Doom.' It's not up to me but the chances are good. I think the 'Army of Doom' has been bombing Dana Whites twitter. But whatever happens, it is what it is. But I won't be disappointed and Struve is a tough opponent and I will be moving on and when it is my time to get a title shot, I will. You can say whatever you want, but the UFC, at the end of the day they are going to do what they want, it's their call." How does he think he matches up with the champ? "I match up good against anyone so I do match up against him. It's good to be underestimated and be the underdog, it's great, it gives me more drive and more fire. When someone tells you can't beat anyone or are not good enough, I get motivated." Hunt was pretty direct when the topic switched to The Reem and his failed test: "Drugs in all sports is a big problem. It's a cutthroat business, people take this sh*t just to get by. I don't use that sh*t, but when Alistair takes that shit or whoever takes it they just screw themselves out. Like when Barnett screwed himself out of the fight with Fedor. But who am I to judge anybody. I don't take that shit and no one else should. If they do, that's on them, Alistair is now in court, and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now. At the end of the day he just got caught cheating, so what's the deal? I lost to him, so did he use that sh*t when I was fighting him? That's on him, he has to live with that sh*t not me. It's not my position to judge him, he has to look himself in the mirror. At the end of the day, I don't give a crap who's taking what. The steroids are not going to help them when I hit them. Take as much as you like, I don't care." Hunt is currently scheduled to take on Stefan Struve on the main card of UFC 146 on May 26th, and nothing will be confirmed in terms of who Dos Santos faces until Overeem's hearing on April 24th. Could it be Hunt? Dan Henderson? One of the other UFC 146 main card heavyweights? Or maybe even Overeem himself? We'll finally get some answers in two weeks.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, overeem, alistair, shot

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submitted by ilikecakeandpie [link] [comment]

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, army, ilikecakeandpie link

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What happens when you get two heavyweights with a combined weight of over 500 lbs? You get an elevator that will be unable to elevate. The door will just endlessly open and close in an attempt to lure someone out. The elevator doors will resemble an oversized and immobile Pac-Man, unable to get those little white pellets that it desires. Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem have the ability to make handicapped Pac-Mans, and there's nothing you can do about it -- except politely tell one of them to get off the elevator. In an interview on the MMA Hour, Mark Hunt takes a few jabs at Alistair Overeem for his positive drug test, but ultimately states that it doesn't matter if any fighter is taking steroids. According to Hunt, it won't matter when he delivers a one-two piece on their chin. Check out this excerpt transcribed by MMAMania. "Drugs in all sports is a big problem. It's a cutthroat business, people take this shit just to get by. I don't use that shit, but when Alistair takes that shit or whoever takes it they just screw themselves out. Like when Barnett screwed himself out of the fight with Fedor. But who am I too judge anybody. I don't take that shit and no one else should. If they do, that's on them, Alistair is now in court, and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now. At the end of the day he just got caught cheating, so what's the deal? I lost to him, so did he use that shit when I was fighting him? That's on him, he has to live with that shit not me. It's not my position to judge him, he has to look himself in the mirror. At the end of the day, I don't give a crap who's taking what. The steroids are not going to help them when I hit them. Take as much as you like, I don't care." Now that you've read what Mark Hunt said regarding his fists, Skate or Die! Ah, that has no relevance to this article, but it's incredible that those were the two options presented to Generation Y via Nintendo. Learn how to skate, or face an early death is how we lived. Kids today are nincompoops. What's that? You want to see Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem at Dream 5 back in July 21st 2008? Sure, you don't have to ask me twice. Now Skate or Die! Ah, that has no relevance to this article, but it's incredible that those were the two options presented to Generation Y. Learn how to skate, or face an early death is how we lived. Kids today are nincompoops.

Posted in: mark, hunt, alistair, shit, dont

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The UFC has always prided itself on keeping its ear to the pulse of the fans. In the coming weeks, we're about to see just how far that dedication goes. Following the announcement of Alistair Overeem's failed drug test, a new surprise candidate for UFC 146's title shot has emerged. Led by a burgeoning #RallyForMarkHunt crusade that shows no sign of slowing down, former K-1 champion Mark Hunt and his ‘Army of Doom' have besieged the MMA community, bombing the social networks of Dana White, Lorenzo Feritta, and anyone else with a say in the UFC's decision making process, in the hopes of awarding "Super Samoan" a shot at the UFC heavyweight strap. "That's what the army does. They terrorize," Hunt laughed on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "It's an honor for me to have such loyal fans. It's great. I feel like I'm very appreciated." Initially awarded a UFC fight against Sean McCorkle because of a unsettled contract formality, Hunt's entrance into the UFC was assuredly than glorious. But he has since thundered through a stunning three-fight win streak, which was violently punctuated by a first-round knockout over Cheick Kongo at UFC 144. Now what was at first just a pipe dream, has become a very real discussion, and Hunt is just as surprised as anybody. "I think people like to see an underdog in there," he said with a chuckle. "I wasn't even wanted in the UFC, put it that way. And here we are talking about me having a title shot. Two years ago you'd have laughed at the thought. I think people like to see a good Rocky story." Not knowing which opponent to prepare for would be an uncomfortable spot for most fighters, but Hunt has never been much of a stickler for the details. And as he sits at the spry age of 38, hitting one of a largest waves of momentum and popularity of his professional career, right now is just too much fun to not enjoy the ride. So regardless of the outcome, Hunt is sure about one thing -- he's going to work on May 26, 2012. Whether it's against Junior dos Santos or Stefan Struve is irrelevant until those cage doors swing shut. "I just train to make myself better. I don't really care about the opponent that I'm fighting," Hunt mused. "I match-up good against anyone, so of course I feel like I match-up good against (dos Santos). The people that think I don't have a chance against anybody on this planet, they are certainly mistaken. But it's good to be underestimated. I like to be the underdog. (People say) I don't have a chance. That's great, it gives me more drive, more fire." Not surprisingly, Hunt's easy-going outlook also extends to the subject that started this entire debate. As the conversation turns to Overeem's failed 14:1 drug test and the growing TRT discussion in MMA, the Samoan's words drip with a comical mixture of confidence and indifference. "Honestly I don't give a damn if they're on drugs or not," Hunt proclaimed. "I'll knock their head off. At the end of the day, those steroids ain't going to help them when I hit them." Of course Hunt, along with the rest of the UFC's heavyweight division, will likely be caught in limbo until after Overeem's NSAC hearing on April 24. But in the meantime, his message to his devoted network of supporters is simple. "Thanks to the Army of Doom. Keeping bombing away."

Posted in: ufc, title shot, hunt, i dont, i matchup

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Posted in: ufc, hunt, alistair overeem, mattyblayze, cheating everything

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Mark Hunt. The name has been all over mixed martial arts (MMA) forums and websites over the past few weeks thanks in large part to his fans and supporters rallying for the "Super Samoan" to fill the vacant spot that will (possibly) be left by Alistair Overeem against Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 on May 26, 2012, due to his testing positive for elevated testosterone levels. The rally for Mark Hunt hashtag on Twitter has taken on a life of its own and has been supported by fellow fighters on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster, color commentator Joe Rogan, and fans and MMA media worldwide. Hunt made an unsuccessful UFC debut in 2010 against Sean McCorkle, upping his losing streak to six straight. In all fairness, prior to losing to "Big Sexy," Hunt's previous five losses didn't exactly come at the hands of mediocre fighters. If anything, it was murderer's row of elite fighters which includes Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef, Gegard Mousasi and one Fedor Emelianenko, who was arguably in the prime of his career at the time. Now, the heavy-handed striker has reeled of three consecutive victories against Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and most recently, a knockout victory over dangerous striker, Cheick Kongo at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan on Feb. 26, 2012. So what does Hunt himself have to say about his new-found twitter fame and support to be the one to receive a possible heavyweight title fight against Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 on Memorial Day Weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada? Check out what he told "The MMA Hour" today, (April 9, 2012), after the jump. "I have no idea. I think maybe, they want to see a feel good story of the year. I think people like to see an underdog. I mean, I wasn't event wanted in the UFC and here we are talking about getting a title shot. I think people like the feel good story. No one's told me nothing. I'm always last to find out. I'm still looking to fight Struve, but if I get a title shot then that is better for me and that will be thanks to the 'Army of Doom.' It's not up to me but the chances are good. I think the 'Army of Doom' has been bombing Dana Whites twitter. But whatever happens, it is what it is. But I won't be disappointed and Struve is a tough opponent and I will be moving on and when it is my time to get a title shot, I will. You can say whatever you want, but the UFC, at the end of the day they are going to do what they want, it's their call." On how he matches up against "Cigano:" "I match up good against anyone so I do match up against him. It's good to be underestimated and be the underdog, it's great, it gives me more drive and more fire. When someone tells you can't beat anyone or are not good enough, I get motivated." When the topic of Alistair Overeem and PED's in MMA in particular came up, a normally quiet and reserved Hunt, seemed to get a little heated: "Drugs in all sports is a big problem. It's a cutthroat business, people take this shit just to get by. I don't use that shit, but when Alistair takes that shit or whoever takes it they just screw themselves out. Like when Barnett screwed himself out of the fight with Fedor. But who am I too judge anybody. I don't take that shit and no one else should. If they do, that's on them, Alistair is now in court, and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now. At the end of the day he just got caught cheating, so what's the deal? I lost to him, so did he use that shit when I was fighting him? That's on him, he has to live with that shit not me. It's not my position to judge him, he has to look himself in the mirror. At the end of the day, I don't give a crap who's taking what. The steroids are not going to help them when I hit them. Take as much as you like, I don't care." So now that the former K-1 Grand Prix champion has seemingly found his groove, does he deserve to step up and potentially challenge for the UFC's heavyweight title against Dos Santos? Or do Frank Mir, who would gladly accept the bout and even Dan Henderson, who has thrown his name in the hat, deserve to be considered before Hunt? Of course, the fate of "The Reem" and who will possibly be his replacement will be clearer as the Dutch striker is scheduled to appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on April 24, 2012. In the meantime, Maniacs, sound off on the "Super Samoan's" case for a title shot and stance against drugs in MMA, in the comments section below.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, title, alistair, shit

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UFC announcer Joe Rogan has expressed a measure of support for fan efforts to get UFC Heavyweight Mark Hunt a title shot against Junior dos Santos should Alistair Overeem be unable to get licensed for the May 26th bout. Rogan posted on the UG: There are some wise people on this board, and I support this movement. Style wise that might be the most exciting match up. Either way, even if Hunt doesn't replace the reem I would still love to see this matchup down the road, especially considering how good Hunt looked against Kongo. Has anyone started a twitter bomb campaign for this? Related Stories NSAC Sets Overeem Hearing For April 24 | Dan Henderson Would Fight Dos Santos If Offered Bout | Dana White Says Frank Mir Vs. Cain Velasquez 'Will Happen' | Dos Santos Responds To Overeem Results |Fans Clamoring For Fedor Or Mark Hunt Vs. Dos Santos | Overeem's T/E Ratio 14:1 | Is A Million Dollar Program The Solution For The UFC's PED Problem? | Overeem's Win Over Lesnar Should Be Overturned, But It Won't Be | Dana Responds To Overeem's Failed Drug Test | Overeem Tests Positive For Elevated Testosterone Levels | UFC 146 Fighters Tested By NSAC After Press Conference What do you think? Are you supporting Hunt? Hoping Overeem can somehow still convince the NSAC to license him? Rooting for Fedor? Calling for Frank Mir? SBN coverage of UFC 146

Posted in: ufc, hunt, overeem, do, nsac

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The farther removed we get from Alistair Overeem's failed drug test, the more bizarre this UFC 146 situation seems to become. You see, at first it was easy. Back when Frank Mir was the inevitable replacement, this looked like a one-step process. But then Dana White put the kibosh on that, and now we're left to thumb through a top-15 list of heavyweight contenders, meticulously weighing the pros and cons of each man, and somehow the idea of gifting Mark Hunt a title shot is starting to look plausible. Regardless of how you feel about the affable Samoan, right now two things are clear. 1.) The #RallyForMarkHunt isn't going away, and 2.) no matter whether you agree or disagree with the movement, it's only going to get bigger. Even if the book has yet to be closed on Overeem, if I was a betting man, I'd lay a hefty sum down that he won't be in Las Vegas on May 26, 2012. And even though the UFC is known for catering to the match-making whims of fans, this one would be the most far-fetched example, by far. But seriously guys, what if Mark Hunt winds up fighting for the UFC heavyweight championship? 5 MUST-READ STORIES Weekend MMA results. Catch up on the latest MMA weekend with fight results for TUF Live, TUF Brazil, Bellator 64 and Super Fight League 2, plus video of Todd Duffee vs. Neil Grove and Bellator 64's main card. Alistair Overeem receives hearing date, applies for Nevada license. No decision regarding the status of UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem will be made until an April 24th hearing with the NSAC. In the interim, Overeem reportedly filed for his license to fight in Nevada at UFC 146, which is scheduled for May 26, 2012. Joe Rogan supports rally for Mark Hunt. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan hitched his ride to the Mark Hunt bandwagon, stating that the popular former K-1 champ presents "the most exciting match-up" against Junior dos Santos. Frank Mir vs. Cain Velasquez 'will happen,' says Dana White. According to an early Saturday morning tweet from UFC President Dana White, UFC 146's co-main event between Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez "will happen." Fedor Emelianenko returns in June. Former PRIDE legend Fedor Emelianenko is set to return to the ring against an undetermined opponent on June 21 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to M-1 officials. MEDIA STEW When you're the youngest world champion in UFC history, there's no better way to celebrate Easter weekend than by busting out the NERF guns with your NFL brother. Not too long ago we brought you the Anderson Silva-esque debut of British fighter Michael Page. Naturally, after seeing something that ridiculous, it's hard for us to resist checking out his follow-up effort from Saturday's UCMMA 27 show. This may simultaneously be the most adorable and most impressive thing we've ever seen. Ten bucks says this girl could run knowledge circles around half the people watching pay-per-views at Hooters. (HT: Middle Easy) If you missed the early stages of Bellator 64, definitely do yourself a favor and check out one of the most underrated bits of violence from this past weekend. IF YOU SAY SO The rape video was funny,but I did it because I hope that happens 2 any low life that has 2 rape a woman,I'll get on car jackers next — Quinton Jackson (@Rampage4real) April 7, 2012 BE AFRAID hahahha man the crazied HUNT ARMY OF DOOM grows — mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) April 6, 2012 AND WE SHALL NAME HIM LUKE Just became a dad to a healthy baby boy! #fb twitter.com/ryanbader/stat… — Ryan Bader (@ryanbader) April 7, 2012 THE MAN For sure..RT @Jitterbug2Djent: @danhendo Would you take the JDS fight if offered? — Dan Henderson (@danhendo) April 6, 2012 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announced over the weekend (Friday, April 6, 2012 - Sunday, April 8, 2012): - UFC 149: Mitch Clarke (9-1) vs. Anton Kuivanen (16-5) - The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: Jonathan Brookins (13-4) vs. Charles Oliveira (15-2) - The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: Max Holloway (4-1) vs. Pat Schilling (5-1) - The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: John Albert (7-2) vs. Byron Bloodworth (6-2) - UFC on FX 3: Sean Pierson (11-6) vs. Jake Hecht (11-6) FANPOST OF THE DAY Today's Fanpost of the Day is a fascinating international piece from MMAMania's James Goyder: Super Fight League: How Did the Indian Promotion Manage to Lose 300,000 Viewers? The most worrying statistic was in the bottom right hand corner of the screen where the viewer count told a story which casts doubt on not just the future of the SFL, but the state of the entire sport of MMA in India. Over 300,000 people watched the first show, an extraordinary figure and, given that this is roughly double what the UFC gets for its free undercards, it is safe to assume that the vast majority of these viewers were in India. SFL 2 got just 3,000 viewers on YouTube, which represents an almost unbelievable 99% decrease from the first show, and neither event was shown live on TV in India so it's not possible that figures could have been affected by a simultaneous broadcast elsewhere. It is a staggering statistic and one which I really struggled to understand, particularly given that the second card was to my mind much stronger. I enlisted the help of Andrew Lu, a magazine editor and long term MMA fan from Delhi, to try and help me get to the bottom of it. Found something perfect for the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we'll include it in Monday's post.

Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, vs, april

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Mark Hunt doesn't give a damn if you take steroids - he'll still knock your head off. That's according to the Austrailian himself, who says that his take on the whole PED subject is simple - none of it's going to help when someone punches you in the mouth.

Posted in: mark, hunt, ped subject, someone punches, steroids hell

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In case you've been living under a rock, Alistair Overeem failed a surprise drug test at a press conference to promote his UFC 146 main event heavyweight championship bout against reigning titleholder Junior dos Santos on May 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This has led to the mixed martial arts (MMA) community getting as whacky as "The Reem's" testosterone levels. That includes a campaign by fans to get the powers that be at UFC to insert the one and only Mark Hunt into the vacant slot opposite "Cigano" over the Memorial Day weekend. Supporters of this movement have got a Rally for Mark Hunt hashtag on Twitter and they've taken over popular MMA forum, The Underground. Now, a high profile name is lending his support, as well. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan dropped a recent post on The UG explaining why he's on board with it: "There are some wise people on this board, and I support this movement. Style wise that might be the most exciting match up. Either way, even if Hunt doesn't replace the reem I would still love to see this matchup down the road, especially considering how good Hunt looked against Kongo." Again, it needs to be noted that Overeem may not actually be out of the running for the fight. According to Jeremy Botter, he has now filed for a license in the state of Nevada and his hearing in front of the commission is set for April 24. To that end, UFC President Dana White has already stated a decision on the main event will not come until after said hearing. Still, the calls for Hunt to be given a title shot have grown from a whisper to a cry to a full blown rally. In the event Overeem fails to get licensed, would that be enough to convince the folks in power to give Hunt his chance at glory? He's on a three-fight winning streak, after all, and heavyweight isn't exactly a loaded division. Why the hell not?

Posted in: ufc, hunt, case youve, jeremy botter, profile name

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Here's hoping that everyone's Easter Egg hunt goes better than the one pictured above.

Posted in: elbow heres, easter, everyone, egg, hunt

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UFC color commentator Joe Rogan made a forum post on The Underground, discussing the possible Cinderella story of Mark Hunt replacing Alistair Overeem for a title shot against Junior dos Santos. Rogan agreed that stylistically Hunt could be the most exciting match-up for JDS, if not at UFC 146, then sometime "down the road": From: Joe Rogan Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 5462 There are some wise people on this board, and I support this movement. Style wise that might be the most exciting match up.

Posted in: title shot, mark hunt, hunt, joe, rogan

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There's still no word from the UFC as to who will step up and fight Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146. All we know right now is that Junior Dos Santos will still headline the card and the Frank Mir vs Cain Velasquez fight is being left alone. So who else could step in? Perhaps it will be Mark Hunt, who has a fan-led twitter campaign called #RallyForMarkHunt on his side. USA Today's Sergio Non puts lipstick on that pig: It's easy to dismiss Hunt as a serious option. He barely has winning record at 8-7, hasn't beaten any top-10 fighters and hasn't shown much offensive skill beyond striking. Yet Hunt has a three-fight winning streak. More important, his approach to fighting suggests he would pose a formidable obstacle to Dos Santos. The stylistic possibilities that made Overeem interesting as a challenger apply to Hunt, a fellow winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix. Like Overeem, Hunt does some of his best work as a striker at close quarters. Although Hunt has a less refined style, he has a sharp sense of timing and a killer instinct. He knocked out five of his eight victims in mixed martial arts overall and two of three in UFC, most recently Cheick Kongo, No. 17 among heavyweights in the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings. Meanwhile, Mark Hunt has both the most hilarious summary of Overeem's situation AND the best explanation for why people are cheering him on as a replacement for Overeem: "I didn't think it was horsemeat he was eating," Hunt said. "I think Alistair really [expletive] that [expletive] up. Just like (Josh) Barnett when he [expletive] that [expletive] up. ..."I think they just like to see someone that's been down for such a long time and come back," Hunt said. "Everyone has hard times. This whole planet is going through bad times. I think it's just that they like to see the underdog get some. It's always the other way around." In other opponent news, Dan Henderson says he'd step up and fight for the belt if asked, winning back double the badass points he'd lost over recent fight-ducking accusations. And Fedor is out of the running (as if he was ever really in it) with his camp announcing he'll be fighting in St Petersburg this June. So who the hell is gonna fight Junior???

Posted in: hunt, overeem, mark hunt, expletive, fight

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Posted in: hunt, vs, shot, mir vs, colbertrepor

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Posted in: hunt, campaign, rallyformarkhunt campaign, chadraynard, rallyformarkhunt

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Ever since yesterday's announcement that #1 Heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem had failed a pre-fight drug test and likely won't be facing champion Junior dos Santos at UFC 146, speculation as to possible substitutes for Overeem has been rampant. Frank Mir, the #4 ranked heavy on the USA TODAY/MMA Nation Consensus Rankings, seems the most likely substitute as he's riding a 3 fight win-streak and has never lost to JDS. He was also already training to fight on the UFC 146 card against former champ Cain Velasquez. Fabricio Werdum, ranked #4 is another possibility although a distant one. Werdum lost to JDS back in 2008 at UFC 90. Related Stories Alistair Overeem's T/E Ratio 14:1 | Is A Million Dollar Program The Solution For The UFC's PED Problem? | Mir Ready To Step In For Overeem | Overeem's Win Over Lesnar Should Be Overturned, But It Won't Be | Drug Issues Taint Strikeforce Legacy | Dana Responds To Overeem's Failed Drug Test | Who Will Face Dos Santos? | Overeem Tests Positive For Elevated Testosterone Levels | UFC 146 Fighters Tested By NSAC After Press Conference But the fans seem even more excited about two less-likely possibilities: Mark Hunt and Fedor Emelianenko. Thomas Myers makes the case for "The Last Emperor" at MMA Mania: (Dana) needs to switch gears on the fly -- a familiar, albeit refined talent at this point -- and again book a match up that will "blow the fucking minds" of fight fans and help them forget that Overeem was even his first choice to co-headline such a significant event. Frank Mir, the most logical option, isn't going to do that. Josh Barnett is stuck in Strikeforce, and even if he was available, his steroids skeletons are too spooky under the extenuating circumstances. Dan Henderson -- who is sitting around just waiting for meaningful fights -- would be a mistake on so many levels. Enter the wily wildcard: Fedor Emelianenko. ... Sure, Emelianenko doesn't deserve the opportunity based on his most recent body of work. Knocking out Satoshi Ishii and decisioning Jeff Monson are not major accomplishments for a man of his esteemed caliber. Nonetheless, his legendary body of work, as well as his personal history with the UFC and White, prove otherwise. The case for Mark Hunt is after the jump. More SBN coverage of UFC 146 The Bloody Elbow community is leading the charge to give Mark Hunt, a most unlikely title contender given his 8-7 career record, the title shot. Mountaineers101 makes the case: In my humble opinion, this is the most exciting option for the UFC heavyweight strap. Frank Mir doesn't have a prayer against dos Santos and is usually a contender with a win or two over so-so competition after losing a bout. Cain Velasquez just lost to dos Santos and needs another win or two to prove himself. So really, who else does that leave us? Mark Hunt! If you are against it, that is understandable. Frank Mir can be the more logical choice. But to suggest that Mark Hunt doesn't have a shot against dos Santos and that his three-fight winning streak has been replicated by many in the shallow pool that is the UFC's heavyweight division is laughable. Regardless, if you can't do it for the love of Mark Hunt, do it for the social media experiment that it is. This has been an interesting trip that has even landed us on Yahoo. That is really something special and shows that we have made a dent in the proverbial armor of social media. Hopefully Dana is a man of his word and pays attention to the going ons of Twitter and MMA internet communities. Mike Chiapetta set the odds for each of the possible challengers for JDS at UFC 146: The Likely Pick: Frank MirOdds: 2:1 The Darkhorse: Fabricio WerdumOdds: 4-1 Unlikely: Cain VelasquezOdds: 8-1 The Longshots Mark HuntOdds: 50-1 Josh Barnett or Daniel CormierOdds: 100-1 Fedor EmelianenkoOdds: 100,000-1 Poll Who is your first pick to fight dos Santos for the heavyweight title at UFC 146? Frank Mir Cain Velasquez Fabricio Werdum Josh Barnett Daniel Cormier Fedor Emelianenko Mark Hunt   131 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, overeem, do

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After Alistair Overeem's random pre-fight screening was flagged by the Nevada Athletic Commission for too much testosterone , the search for Overeem's possible replacement at UFC 146 began. With a title on the line in the main event of the all-heavyweight main card, the UFC wouldn't want to scrap the bout. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir has already noted his desire to step in against Junior dos Santos, but fans are pushing for an unlikely replacement: Mark Hunt. In a rundown of possible replacements, MMA Fighting's Mike Chiappetta pointed out that Hunt nearly guarantees an exciting fight. There are a couple things working in Hunt's favor here For one, he's already on the UFC 146 card. Of course, that doesn't distinguish him from Mir or Velasquez. But you know what does? His style. Hunt basically ensures that the fight will be a slugfest between the big boys, and that's never a bad thing when it comes to fan satisfaction. On the other hand, he's not nearly well known enough to headline a major event, and his 8-7 career record isn't exactly going to send people scrambling to plunk down $55 on pay-per-view. At least you can play up the "Rocky" angle with him. Hunt, who has fought in Pride, K-1 and Dream before heading to the UFC, then became the subject of a fans' campaign on Twitter. Using the hashtag #RallyforMarkHunt , his fans and friends flooded Twitter to ask UFC executives Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta to put Hunt into the bout with dos Santos. Though Hunt does have seven losses, he has won his last three in the UFC. While Mir is more deserving based on records alone, the White has been known to listen to the fans. If Mir's fans want to see him get another shot at the heavyweight title, they should speak up. Who do you want to see fight dos Santos at UFC 146? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter .

Posted in: ufc, hunt, mir, do, fan

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For the first time in promotional history the UFC has booked a main card made solely from heavyweight match-ups. Already headlined by divisional champion Junior dos Santos putting his title on the line against Alistair Overeem, UFC 146 was recently rounded out by the addition of a bout between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt. The bout was confirmed on Wednesday by UFC officials. Hunt’s run inside the Octagon has been one of the true “feel good” stories from recent years, as the K-1 veteran opted to finish his contract out from PRIDE when the UFC acquired the famed Japanese promotion rather than accept their offer to pay it out and let him go. After losing the first of two remaining fights Hunt has since picked up a trio of consecutive wins including a knockout of Cheick Kongo at UFC 144. Like Hunt, Struve has also been hot as of late with back-to-back victories over Dave Herman and Pat Barry. The 6’11” Dutchman holds an overall career mark of 23-4 despite only being 24-years old with 21 finishes and seven instances of UFC success in the bunch. “Skyscraper” Struve Plans for Many Memorable Moments Inside the Octagon The May 26 show will also boasts former heavyweight champs Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir meeting in the ring for top contendership with other PPV pairings in the form of Antonio Silva-Roy Nelson and Shane del Rosario-Gabriel Gonzaga. Were that not enough, the undercard will also feature action from Dan Hardy and Jason Miller. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, stefan struve, struve

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Get ready to see a stubby "Super Samoan" battle a stretched "SkyScraper" on Memorial Day weekend. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced that a Heavyweight showdown between Mark Hunt, one of the shortest fighters in the division (5'10"), will collide with Stefan Struve, its tallest (6'11"), at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 26, 2012. It's a 265-pound scrap that completes the first-ever all-heavyweight pay-per-view (PPV) main card for the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Hunt, a hard-hitting former K-1 kickboxing champion with an cast-iron chin, snapped an ugly six-fight losing streak and has now strung together three straight inside the Octagon. The soft-spoken New Zealander, 37, most recently blasted Cheick Kongo in the first round of their bout at UFC 144 to register an impressive technical knockout. Struve, meanwhile, is also in a groove, winning four of his last five bouts, including back-to-back wins over Pat Barry and Dave Herman. The lanky Dutch fighter, 24, was just 10 years old when Hunt made his professional combat sports debut. He'd certainly be wise to use his length and superior submission skills against a dangerous and crafty veteran like Hunt. UFC 146 will be headlined by the biggest fight of the year (literally), when heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos puts his strap on the line for the very first time against division number one contender and famed Dutch striker Alistair Overeem. Also rounding out the all-heavyweight main card are super-sized match ups between Frank Mir vs. Cain Velasquez, Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva and Shane Del Rosario vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. For the latest UFC 146 news and notes check out our complete event archive right here. To check out the latest "Dos Santos vs. Overeem" fight card and rumors click here.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, vs, heavyweight champion, struve

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A heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Stefan Struve at UFC 146 will complete one of the biggest (literally) main cards in UFC history. The UFC confirmed the matchup earlier today. The match-up is reminiscent of Hunt’s K-1 kickboxing days where the shorter heavyweight battled another incredibly large Dutchman, Semmy Schilt. Struve would do well to learn from that bout, as Hunt struggled with insane reach and height advantage of Schilt before being knocked out. Struve is currently riding a two-fight win streak including two finishes over Dave Herman and Pat Barry. In the fight with Herman, Struve finally used his reach in the second round and it paid off big. With a win over Hunt, Struve would likely put himself “in the mix” as a possible contender. Hunt has recovered nicely since losing his first UFC bout to Sean McCorkle by reeling off three straight wins in the division. Hunt has shown a true commitment to becoming a true mixed martial artist since joining the UFC. Hunt recently devastated Cheick Kongo at UFC 144 by putting his K-1 pedigree on full display. UFC 146 is headlined by a UFC heavyweight title fight between champion Junior Dos Santos and former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem. The event will be in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be co-headlined by a bout between former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, bout, heavyweight, struve

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The UFC's Memorial Day weekend heavyweight extravaganza just got a little bigger. Revitalized bruiser Mark Hunt and Dutch knockout-artist Stefan Struve have agreed to meet at UFC 146, slated for May 26, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC officials confirmed the match-up on Wednesday morning, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole. The contest rounds out an all heavyweight main card, featuring a title bout, Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem, a number-one contenders match, Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir, and a pair of barnburners, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva vs. Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane del Rosario. UFC mainstays Dan Hardy, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and Diego Brandao also highlight the undercard. Hunt (8-7) returns with his first win streak since 2006 in tow, after blazing through upset victories over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. The 37-year-old New Zealander, who was initially given a UFC fight due to an unresolved contract situation, now surprisingly finds himself perched on the ledge of contendership, and could conceivably enter the title picture with another win. Struve (23-5), meanwhile, has carved out his place in the UFC's heavyweight division while earning victory in seven of his last nine contests, six of ended by way of finish. At just 24 years old, "Skyscraper" appears to be hitting his stride and now enters carrying a two-fight win streak over Pat Barry and Dave Herman.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, heavyweight, vs, contest rounds

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An all heavyweight main card for UFC 146 is set with the addition of Stefan Struve versus former K-1 fighter Mark Hunt.

Posted in: mark, hunt, heavyweight, stefan struve, stefan

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Posted in: ufc, hunt, heavyweight, card, epicthomtime

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What a weekend we have in front of us. Two events. Two days. One brand new division. Finally, after years of teasing hints and playful false starts, the flyweights have truly arrived, and it couldn't have gone down any other way. A good old-fashioned tournament, just like the old days. The two men who fans and pundits alike have always referred to as future titleholders at 125-pounds, and the two champions of the world's most renown flyweight organizations. When the blood settles tonight, two of these fighters will be one step closer to the UFC's eighth and final goldcard. And that's still not even mentioning a blistering welterweight showdown with guaranteed fireworks, plus the most heavily-hyped women's bout since 2009. So fellow fight fans, with that being said, get ready for a weekend to remember with the Morning Report. 5 MUST-READ STORIES UFC on FX 2 weigh-in results. All 22 fighters met their required weight in advance of Friday night's FX card. What's at Stake? UFC on FX 2/Tate vs. Rousey Edition. Luke Thomas breaks down the implications for this weekend's biggest Strikeforce and UFC stars. Association of boxing commissions tells members to not license fighters from Michigan. The ABC mailed a letter to state athletic commissions requesting they no longer recognize MMA events in Michigan or license fighters from the state. UFC 144 medical suspensions and injuries. Nine fighters from last Saturday's Japan card have received medical suspensions for their work, including Frankie Edgar, Ben Henderson, and Rampage Jackson. Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki II official for April 20. Bellator's biggest rematch is set to headline Bellator 66 at the I-X Center in Cleveland, OH. MEDIA STEW Urijah Faber took his trash talk to the next level after hearing Dominick Cruz's latest string of insults. (HT: Reddit) If you don't know what Ian McCall is all about, trust me, this video is worth checking out. "Uncle Creepy" takes on Darrell Montague last August for the Tachi Palace flyweight title. Anderson Silva's cameo in this Brazilian national soccer ad is a testament to how big he's become in his home country, and the indescribable amount of pressure that will be on his shoulders to beat Chael Sonnen. You've been wondering what Bob Sapp was up to last weekend? Well, let me show you. (HT: Bloody Elbow) Chad Mendes, Cain Velasquez, and Mike Pyle tried to not make fools of themselves while the Sydney Swans taught them Australian rules football. (HT: Middle Easy) Well, it was bound to happen. Ben Henderson finally snapped (albeit, as nicely as possible) after the week-long flood of criticism. Wow, seems like a lot of ppl have a lot of stuff to say...somebody interview me so I can get some things off my chest... — Benson Henderson (@SMOOTHone155) March 1, 2012 I have a lot to say but like saying things thought out first...you know, Think before you Speak...just my own humble opinion... — Benson Henderson (@SMOOTHone155) March 1, 2012 THANK YOU!!!RT @HeathBTN: @Smoothone155 Funny how people think you dictate who you fight, you already said you are open to anybody. — Benson Henderson (@SMOOTHone155) March 1, 2012 Australia really is a magical place. One of my dreams just became a reality... twitter.com/JoeJitsu/statu… — Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) March 1, 2012 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announced yesterday (Thursday, March 1, 2012): - Bellator 66: Eddie Alvarez (22-3) vs. Shinya Aoki (30-5, 1 NC) - UFC on FUEL 3: Dustin Poirier (12-1) vs. Chan Sung Jung (12-3) confirmed as main event, winner to "emerge as a challenger to the UFC 145-pound title" FANPOST OF THE DAY Today's Fanpost of the Day goes to BE's Luke Nelson: On The Hunt, In The Mix: An In-Depth Evaluation of Mark Hunt vs. the UFC Heavyweight Top-Ten 1. Junior dos Santos Strengths: Boxing, Speed. Dos Santos has destroyed everyone he's faced in the UFC, with only Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin managing to make it to the judges scorecards. I could be wrong but I don't believe that he has lost a round in the UFC. He has a devastating uppercut and closes distance like a heavyweight Georges St. Pierre. Weaknesses: One dimensional. If you were to find a weakness, it would be that dos Santos has only shown that he can win a fight in one way: Punching his opponent in the face. Joe Rogan has been pleading for dos Santos to throw more leg kicks for as long as I can remember, but dos Santos seems content to simply blast away with uppercuts and hooks. He hasn't gone to the ground at any point when a fight hangs in the balance. He did take Shane Carwin down a couple of times but he had already beaten him to a pulp and the take downs were academic. How would a fight against Hunt look: It's difficult to imagine that Hunt would be able to match the speed that dos Santos would bring. That being said, the fight would almost surely be fought on the feet and you could never count Hunt out of a stand up fight. We've yet to see how dos Santos responds to adversity, so Hunt would need to land early if he was going to have any chance of winning. Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just send it to @shaunalshatti and we'll include it in tomorrow's post.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, fighter, do

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(Warning: The following article is over 3000 words long.) I knew very little about either Mark Hunt or his fighting career going into UFC 144. I knew that he was an aging Samoan heavyweight with an iron jaw and iron fists. I knew that he was a former Pride fighter and a former K-1 Kickboxing world champion but if you had asked me what year he won, or who he had defeated, I would have had to look it up. I knew that Hunt was on a two fight win streak in the UFC and I knew that many fans were claiming that a third consecutive victory, over Cheick Kongo, would elevate him to contender status. I had a hard time reconciling this. After all, Hunt had most recently defeated Ben Rothwell in a pretty uninspiring performance, at least by my standards. Both men looked gassed by the time the third round rolled around, with Rothwell looking particularly out of shape. That Hunt had out-grappled Rothwell was the lone bright spot in the fight; Hunt had not shown much proficiency in the ground aspect of mixed martial arts competition, with all but one of his losses coming due to submission. His previous UFC victory was a knockout over Chris Tuscherer, who never really belonged in the UFC in the first place. So I found the talk of a title run to be extremely pre-mature, even if he could manage to earn a victory over Kongo. Then I started doing some research. My first stop when learning about a fighter is to check out their record. I look for things like most used method of victory, number of times they've been knocked out, strength of scheduled, length of time between fights, etc. etc. Mark Hunt has a very interesting MMA record: He is 8-7 overall, but is 3-1 in the UFC. He entered the UFC on a five fight losing streak, surely the first and only time this will ever happen. His first 10 fights included Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Josh Barnett and Melvin Manhoef. He fought each man when they were at their absolute prime, save for perhaps Overeem. No one has, or will ever face that level of competition in their first 10 fights ever again. What's more, he was the man who brought an end to Wanderlei Silva's 20 fight Pride unbeaten streak, when Wanderlei was considered the best fighter in the world. I also learned that Hunt was told by the UFC not to bother coming to fight for the organization when his contract was included in the deal that saw Zuffa purchase Pride Fighting Championships. So skeptical of his ability to compete that Dana was content to simply pay him the money on his contract, no questions asked, but no fights either. Hunt turned down the offer and demanded that he be allowed to earn his pay. It was an attitude that might seem typical of a fighter, but when you consider that he was on a five fight losing streak and would be entering an organization which was far more wrestling-centric than Pride, it would be understandable if Hunt had taken the president up on his offer. I was intrigued, to say the least. Then Hunt went out and absolutely destroyed Kongo in the first round, finishing what Pat Barry had started, in clinical fashion. He joked around with Ariel Helwani in his post fight interview, although he was very serious when he stated a desire for his next fight to be this weekend in Australia. I was now sold on Hunt as a character, but wasn't yet on board with the idea that he was a legitimate heavyweight title contender. I wrote that a match-up with Mike Russow would be appropriate for Hunt, as Russow is on a nice little four fight win streak himself and has exactly the type of game that would vet Hunt's chances against the top of the division (a strong chin and solid wrestling). Yet over the past few days, I've read in many places that Hunt is a contender right now. Could it really be? Even though I wasn't convinced, I set about to analyze every potential match-up for the "Super Samoan" on the road to the title, just to see if maybe I was wrong and everyone else was right. See how Hunt stack's up against the UFC's current top 10 heavyweights following the jump. 1. Junior dos SantosStrengths: Boxing, Speed. Dos Santos has destroyed everyone he's faced in the UFC, with only Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin managing to make it to the judges scorecards. I could be wrong but I don't believe that he has lost a round in the UFC. He has a devastating uppercut and closes distance like a heavyweight Georges St. Pierre.Weaknesses: One dimensional. If you were to find a weakness, it would be that dos Santos has only shown that he can win a fight in one way: Punching his opponent in the face. Joe Rogan has been pleading for dos Santos to throw more leg kicks for as long as I can remember, but dos Santos seems content to simply blast away with uppercuts and hooks. He hasn't gone to the ground at any point when a fight hangs in the balance. He did take Shane Carwin down a couple of times but he had already beaten him to a pulp and the take downs were academic.How would a fight against Hunt look: It's difficult to imagine that Hunt would be able to match the speed that dos Santos would bring. That being said, the fight would almost surely be fought on the feet and you could never count Hunt out of a stand up fight. We've yet to see how dos Santos responds to adversity, so Hunt would need to land early if he was going to have any chance of winning. 2. Alistair Overeem Strengths: Offensive Kickboxing, Striking defense, Take down defense, Guillotine Choke. Overeem is the defending K-1 World Grand Prix champion, having won the title 10 years after Hunt. He is a powerful and accurate puncher, he has beautiful knees in and out of the clinch and can throw all the kicks in the book. After being knocked out a handful of times early in his career he dramatically improved his defense, using his massive arms and shoulders to cover up when he is being attacked. He also possesses an underrated ground game, having won eight fights by guillotine and 19 overall by submission.Weaknesses: Chin, Cardio. While his striking defense is top notch, it really has to be, as he has been stopped by TKO or KO 9 times throughout his MMA and kickboxing career. He put on a large amount of weight when he made the transition from light heavyweight to heavyweight some five years ago and while he has only been to a decision once since, against Fabricio Werdum, he looked noticably tired in the third round of a fairly lacklustre fight.How would a fight against Hunt look: Overeem and Hunt have already met up once, with Alistair taking the fight to the ground and securing a keylock submission in just 71 seconds. A second match-up would probably be much of the same; I consider Overeem one of the smartest fighters in the world and even though he might beat Hunt in a striking battle, he wouldn't chance it.3. Cain VelasquezStrengths: Wrestling, Cardio, Offensive Kickboxing, Efficiency. A former champion, Velasquez used his excellent wrestling and all-world cardio to get to and win the title. He has excellent technique in all phases of the sport, wasting little in terms of movement and energy to accomplish what he wants to.Weaknesses: Defensive Kickboxing, Chin. It's kind of difficult to say that Velasquez has any weaknesses, as his only loss came in 64 seconds to Dos Santos in the last heavyweight championship fight. Velasquez started the fight out landing a handful of leg kicks before being dropped by an overhand right on the temple and quickly finished. Dos Santos is a face melter, so it's tough to say Cain has a weak chin based just on that brief encounter. However, he was also dropped multiple times in his win over Cheick Kongo, so it's fair to start asking if his chin is going to hold up. Hand in hand with that goes his proclivity to absorb blows in order to land his own. No one really talks much about it, but he was trading with Brock Lesnar pretty evenly before he was able to get Lesnar down and take the fight over.How would a fight against Hunt look: Especially after Dana White criticized him for not shooting on Dos Santos, Velasquez wouldn't likely bother trying to engage in any kind of kickboxing match with Hunt. He'd take him down. Velasquez has never submitted anyone, preferring to simply grind his opponents out, and he'd likely do so to Hunt. 4. Frank MirStrengths: Submission grappling. Frank would be quite annoyed to see that I consider him a one-dimensional fighter, but realistically he is just that. He is an outstanding submission fighter though and holds the distinction of being the only man to submit Big Nog, Lesnar and Kongo.Weaknesses: Striking defense. While not being particularly amazing in any one area but submissions can seem like a negative, Mir has good skills in just about every other facet of the game but one, which is his maddening tendency to absorb punches without attempting to maneuver out of bad situations. Lesnar finished him this way, as did Shane Carwin. Both guys have big power to be sure, but Mir seemed unfazed by the blows being landed on him until it was far too late. He was also losing the stand up portion of his last fight with Big Nog quite handily.How would a fight against Hunt look: Mir's wrestling was good enough to get Roy Nelson to the mat repeatedly and if he were to get Hunt down, he'd tap him out for sure. I just don't have enough faith in Hunt's ability to keep the fight standing.5. Fabricio WerdumStrengths: Submission grappling, volume striking. Werdum made a successful return to the UFC with a win over Roy Nelson at UFC 143, after spending three years fighting for Strikeforce. He is widely considered to have the most dangerous guard in the heavyweight division and he is the only man to have submitted Fedor Emelianenko. He has worked very hard on his striking game, having put in a good performance in the stand up portion of his fight against Overeem. He doesn't have one punch power but has a good work rate and is accurate with his strikes.Weaknesses: Wrestling. While he did look good on the feet against Overeem, he also failed miserably to get the fight to the mat, resorting to butt flopping a ridiculous number of times. It seems that he decided it would be more beneficial to improve on his striking rather than his take down ability, which I think is pretty questionable, as he is just not powerful enough to strike with the best in the world at this weight.How would a fight against Hunt look: Hunt has a great chance of beating Werdum. While Werdum is arguably the most dangerous of the submission fighters on the list, he also has the worst take downs, and if Hunt could keep the fight on it's feet for a few minutes, he'd likely land a telling blow.6. Shane CarwinStrengths: Power, Defensive Wrestling. I say defensive wrestling because Carwin was able to shuck Brock Lesnar off him early in their championship fight. We haven't really seen him use his wrestling in an offensive way, although he showed some good clinch work against Frank Mir. As for power, Carwin rivals Hunt in his ability to end fights with one punch.Weaknesses: Power, Cardio. Joe Rogan famously said that "Leonard Garcia had so much power that it was almost a curse". While the statement was ridiculous to make about Leonard, it actually applies perfectly to Carwin, who had 12 straight first round stoppages before facing Lesnar. He had the champ hurt and emptied his gas tank in the first round, believing (understandably) that he would get the stoppage. When he didn't, he was easily taken down and submitted in the second round. Against Dos Santos he simply could not match the younger man's speed and should have tried to take the fight to the mat relentlessly. Instead, he tried to land a knock out blow and ended up taking an epic beating for his questionable game plan.How would a fight against Hunt look: Another fight that looks favorable to Hunt, as he can match Carwin in the power department and far exceeds him in the technicality of his attack. As with all the fighters on this list, the threat of the take down looms large, but with a guy as powerful as Carwin, you have to wonder if he'd go that route, especially if he didn't find success with it early.7. Big NogStrengths: Submission Grappling, Boxing, Heart, Experience. One of the great heavyweights of all time, Nogueira really needs no introduction. He isn't the fighter that he once was, having been slowed by injuries, but he was enjoying a bit of a renaissance, knocking out Brendan Schaub and taking it to Mir right up until the moment wMir submitted him at UFC 141.Weaknesses: Speed, Chin. Nogueira wasn't particularly quick to begin with, and as I mentioned above, his movement has really suffered in the last few years. In his Pride days, he fought with a bad style for longevity, taking an awful lot of damage in order to latch on to a submission. He has been stopped by Velasquez and Mir in the UFC and if and when he does return to the ring, his chin will be a concern.How would a fight against Hunt look: I think Hunt would take this fight as well. Nogueira has never exactly been known for his wrestling skills and having slowed down as much as he has, Hunt would likely be able to manuever away from Nogueira until he was able to catch him. Hunt would have to be smart about finishing the bout, as Nogueira is always dangerous on the mat, no matter how badly hurt he is. Hunt is smart enough to do so, making this fight extremely winnable. 8. Antonio SilvaStrengths: Size, Well Rounded-ness, Ground Striking. There really isn't any one aspect of the sport that Big Foot excels at, although he is very solid in all areas. He's quite big, cutting down from around 280 pounds. He has decent striking, good offensive wrestling and is an excellent top control grappler due to his large frame. His best work is done from the mount position, as he showed most recently against Mike Kyle and Fedor.Weaknesses: Chin, Striking defense. Unfortunately for Silva, he has a very big chin. While you might think that is good for absorbing blows, in the heavyweight division where most guys have extreme power, it has served as more of a target for good strikers. He was rocked and nearly finished by Kyle before he came back and knocked him out. Daniel Cormier caught him with the same punch that Kyle did, and Big Foot never recovered from that one.How would a fight against Hunt look: If this is starting to sound like a broken record, well, that's because there is a clear path to victory for Hunt against almost every one of these guys: Keep it on the feet, knock them out. Silva is good and quick enough to get Hunt to the ground, making this the second worst match-up for him behind Velasquez. Truth be told, I think this fight would end pretty badly for Hunt.9. Cheick KongoThe guy that Hunt just beat, there is really no need to review him. I simply have left him here for perspective on where Hunt might sit in the division.10. Brendan SchaubStrengths: Athleticism, Power,Offensive boxing. Schaub had a cup of coffee in the NFL and has translated his athletic skills over to the boxing aspect of MMA striking quite well, using a very effective jab and straight punches on his way to four straight wins over the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga and Cro Cop.Weaknessess: Striking defense. Schaub hasn't shown too much in the way of well rounded-ness, and that was a problem for him against Roy Nelson and Big Nog, who were able to adjust to his jab and land knock out blows. It'll continue to be a problem for him in the future I honestly don't like his chances of being anything more than a gate-keeper to the upper levels of the division.How would a fight against Hunt look: Schaub did get Mirko Cro Cop to the mat a handful of times when he met up with the legendary K-1 striker, but he didn't look particularly effective and the Cro Cop he faced was but a mere shell of his former self. As I mentioned above, his striking defense has a ton of holes in it that Hunt could exploit. His athleticism might be the determining factor in this fight and I'd like to see how he does against Ben Rothwell to get an idea of his chances against Hunt. SUMMARY So there you have it. By my count four out of the nine fighters on the list could pretty clearly get Mark Hunt to the mat and either tap him out or dominate him with ground striking: Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir and Big Foot Silva. Four of the other five fighters in the heavyweight top ten would be in tough, having a clear disadvantage on the feet and not being particularly well versed in getting the fight to the ground. The lone fighter who would be on equal footing in the stand up game is the current champion, Junior Dos Santos. So is Mark Hunt a contender? Well, it seems that it isn't quite as far fetched as I thought it was just a few days ago. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, fighter, heavyweight

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If the title of this article signified the totality of what Mark Hunt knows, then I know everything Mark Hunt knows; Mark Hunt can knock out any humanoid on the planet. Props to the Super Samoan for coming into the UFC and resurrecting everything we love about K-1 in dark times like these when the sport of kickboxing is on life support. Additional props for doing it while the UFC never wanted to honor the lone fight remaining on your Pride contract stemming back from Zuffa purchasing the company. In theory, Mark Hunt wasn’t even supposed to be in the UFC, who tried to buy-out the contract, but instead, Hunt lost the weight to make the 265lb limit and showed up to make one last run for an MMA title. Now he’s arguably one rawesome performance away from a title shot, and he’s convinced he can knock out whomever they put in front of them, including Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem in this MMAFighting interview {iframe}http://mmafighting.vid.io/v/8c56a4f6-6057-11e1-bdee-1231392db093{/iframe}

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, title, alistair overeem

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Triumphant Mark Hunt looked back at his performance against Cheick Kongo on the main card of UFC 144 in Japan. Hunt spoke about his "re-birth" as a fighter in the UFC, and the possibility of challenging Junior dos Santos heavyweight title. Interestingly enough, Hunt declared he would like to fight the winner of UFC 146 bout between dos Santos and Alistair Oveeem, which will take place on May 26th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Further Reading: Submit your picks for Tate vs.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, cheick kongo, japan hunt, alistair oveeem

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Tim Boetsch's stunning third-round comeback victory over Yushin Okami last night was not the greatest comeback in UFC history. Frankie Edgar over Gray Maynard (II or III) or Frank Shamrock hammerfisting a kneeling Tito Ortiz en route to a TKO stoppage also stand out as a class above what happened at UFC 144. There was also much to like in Mark Hunt's win over Cheick Kongo. But it wasn't entirely surprisingly nor does it move him realistically close to title opportunities. What is true, though, is that both are accomplishing something very legitimate late in their careers. Both desperately wish to compete while they still can. Both are turning in performances that exemplify the athletic courage fight promoters crave. Recognizing they still have limitations, both deserve to be rewarded by the UFC with big, winnable fights. More Coverage: UFC 144 Results | UFC News I'm not suggesting we pretend they are something they are not. Hunt is closer to 40 years of age than he is 30. Boetsch showed clear defensive weaknesses against Okami in the first two rounds of their fight. The success of Boetsch and Hunt is more about making us reconsider what they have left, not proving they are something we never properly recognized. Yet, neither deserves to be cynically dismissed. It would be promotional malpractice to place either in a predicament where they were at the bad end of a stylistic disadvantage. It would equally be a disservice to have them face the division's cream of the crop (Boetsch should get close, however). Whatever the UFC chooses for Hunt and Boetsch, their next fight should satisfy three conditions. First, it should be a fight that's winnable even if they're the underdogs. Second, the fighters should be able to win without having to use skills they've never really possessed. Third, the fight should live at or near the top of whatever card it's on. Why pick these conditions? They make best use of the resources Hunt and Boetsch bring to a fight while being fair to their chances of success. They also won't necessarily wreck the division's order should the unpredictable happen. For Boetsch, he should be given a marquee fight against rising middleweight contender Chris Weidman. Weidman and Boestch are united by their toughness, talent and deserved reputations as risk takers. Weidman proved in his win over Demian Maia at UFC on Fox 2 he might be ready for the best middleweight has to offer, but he's also young enough that a little more seasoning could only help him. For Boetsch, it's a chance to face a top-10 opponent who is a worthy adversary but won't be able to lord physical strength over him (unlike Phil Davis at light heavyweight). Relative to Boetsch, Hunt's future should be closely guided by his ability to deliver exciting action without losing managed expectations about his upside. Pat Barry, Stefan Struve or Travis Browne are all excellent choices as potential opponents. Mark Russow, on the other hand, is not. Hunt is 37 and shoulders no great expectations. His best use on a card is where he can help himself while facing younger contenders willing to strike. Placing Hunt against a submission-savvy wrestler in his mid-thirtees is nothing short of criminal. Where could these fights live? The options are plentiful. A Boetsch-Weidman bout could easily serve as the co-main event of a pay-per-view (even a stacked UFC 146 could be upgraded). If you scoff at that claim, consider UFC 145's Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones is preceded by Che Mills vs. Rory MacDonald. Hunt vs. any of the aforementioned strikers could be great as a headliner for UFC on Fuel or a co-main event for UFC on FX. Any of those potential bouts is fun enough to get good fight card placement at any type of UFC event, but there isn't great need for them to be on a card of major significance. The most important consideration is that whatever space these fights occupy, they deserve to be of a higher order of magnitude to the treatment Boetsch and Hunt are usually given. When fighters are ignored, dismissed and nearly beaten and manage to persevere, that's a special moment in fight sport. That's especially true in a night where we saw a listless Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson improperly prepared and psychologically distracted. His seeming ambivalence stands in sharp contrast to the delightfully surprising career turnarounds of Boetsch and Hunt. As athletes in their thirties, time is not on their side, but our good will should be. We can honor their achievements, treat them fairly with careful but fair matchmaking and reward the fans without one ideal compromising the other. Boetsch and Hunt proved they were right to not give up on themselves. By hook or by crook, they brought their careers to back to life. Let's be fair to their revivals by giving them a chance to breathe.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, boetsch, comain event

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Mark Hunt has always been the man, but I think it's safe to say that no one could have predicted a 3-1 run in the UFC after his post-PRIDE/K1 slump. In his UFC fights, Hunt has demonstrated not only improved conditioning and his proficient striking skills but--astonishingly--an evolving ground game and take down defense. Yet it's still not clear where he fits into the heavyweight division. I believe that Hunt will always deliver from an entertainment standpoint and it's absolutely worth it for the UFC to keep him around. Some people have been comparing him to JDS and Alistair Overeem, but I just don't think that it's realistic for Hunt to be in title contention at this point. All of his losses (except for a KO by Melvin Manhoef) have come by submission, and I think either of those guys have the skills to submit him. I see a match against a strong submission wrestler going down like Barnett vs. Kharitonov. My take is that the UFC should keep him at the middle tier with match-ups against strikers and wrestlers. He accumulates some wins, and if he looks good, the UFC tests him against Mir, Carwin, or Velasquez. What do you think? submitted by wordsandwich [link] [9 comments]

Posted in: ufc, mark hunt, hunt, title contention, mir carwin

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When I look at Twitter and the comment sections and I see everyone admitting to hopping on UFC 3 last night for some late night digital Mark Hunt action, it brings me great joy. I admit it, I started a new career with Mark Hunt in Undisputed 3 last night. I put it on easy mode, popped on my Flight of the Conchords collection on one computer then Lord of the Rings on another, just so I could knockout everyone in Mark Hunt's path in proper New Zealand style. After the fights MMA Weekly caught up with the Super Samoan for yet another awesome and enlightening interview, watch it below. [Source]

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Two of the UFC's most powerful heavyweight sluggers duked it out last night (Feb. 25, 2012) as Mark Hunt took on Cheick Kongo on the UFC 144 main card in Saitama, Japan. Be honest, if you thought after his UFC 119 debut loss to Sean McCorkle, that Mark Hunt would be riding a three fight win streak in the UFC heavyweight division by 2012, please raise your hand. Don't even try to fool me. Mark Hunt was an afterthought. A Pride leftover that the UFC wanted nothing to do with to the point where they simply wanted to buy out his contract rather than give him a fight with the promotion. So how in the world is he "in the mix" now after a dominant stoppage of Cheick Kongo? And what happens next for both heavyweights? Follow me after the jump for our Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo UFC 144 post-fight review and analysis: Mark Hunt appeared to be in trouble after the opening seconds when he slipped throwing a kick. Kongo, a fighter who's wrestling has grown by leaps and bounds as of late, swarmed him, bullrushing "The Super Samoan" in an attempt to put the former K-1 champion kickboxer on his back. Fortunately for Hunt, he was able to not only get back on his feet, but also fend off Kongo's bid to drag him to the ground. He even reversed the Frenchman's clinch attempt and was able to separate and force a reset in the cage center. Once they bot back to striking, Hunt's natural instincts took over. He subtly dodged a big Kongo punch and countered with a swift left hand which rocked his opponent. Instead of following up, he just went right back to work and when he tagged the Wolfslair fighter once more, this time he swarmed him along the fence. Hunt repeatedly connected with right hands and Kongo finally dropped to the canvas. He was in mount raining down punches when the referee finally had seen enough and realized there would be no dramatic comeback for Kongo this time. For Cheick Kongo, he gave up on his offensive grappling game way too easily. He had Hunt pinned against the fence and he was simply unable to leverage the New Zealand-native onto the canvas with a big takedown. When he got back to standing, he also failed to protect his chin during striking exchanges and that's simply a mistake you can't afford to make against such a talented striker like Mark Hunt. I would expect him to square off against someone like Dave Herman next. Other options would include Roy Nelson or perhaps the upcoming loser between Travis Browne and Chad Griggs. For Mark Hunt, one of 2011's best stories continues to get better. At 37 years old, he's actually developed a semblance of takedown defense and ground skills, at least enough to hold his own, survive and get back to where he wants it which is the striking realm. Hunt hits so incredibly hard and his accuracy is uncanny. It's crazy to think he's in the mix now at heavyweight, but after three straight wins and after knocking off Kongo, who was unbeaten in his previous four fights, last night's performance was a huge accomplishment. I could see Hunt landing a big fight with a wide variety of fighters. A bout with Stefan Struve would be a very intriguing stylistic match-up. Also, a fight with Pat Barry would make the fanboys drool. Other potential candidates for a future bout include Fabricio Werdum or the winner of Travis Browne and Chad Griggs. It's still difficult to wrap my head around it, but major props to Mark Hunt for what he's been able to accomplish. So what did you think, Maniacs? Is Mark Hunt the feel good story of 2012 already? Who would you like to see "The Super Samoan" matched up with next? Sound off! For complete UFC 144 results, including blow-by-blow, fight-by-fight coverage of the entire event as well as immediate post-fight reaction click here, here and here.

Posted in: ufc, mark, mark hunt, hunt, kongo

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MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani caught up Ben Henderson, Rampage Jackson and Mark Hunt following UFC 144 to get their thoughts on the fights.

Posted in: ufc, mark hunt, hunt, rampage, ben

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The 37-year-old Mark Hunt racked up his third straight UFC win with a knock out of Cheick Kongo last night at UFC 144 in Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. That improves Hunt's UFC record to 3-1 and wins over Kongo, Ben Rothwell and Chris Tuchscherer put Hunt firmly in the upper-half of the promotion's heavyweight division. The win also improves Hunt's overall professional MMA record to 8-7, getting him back on the winning side for the first time since 2009. It's not every fighter who comes to the UFC following a 5 fight losing streak. Even rarer is the fighter that comes to the UFC on a 5 fight losing streak, loses his debut to Sean McCorkle (since cut by the organization) and gets another chance. While you can't argue that Hunt hasn't earned his place in the organization, it's no secret that he got his first and second chances with the promotion strictly due to his skilled legal representation. Hunt had been under contract with the ill-fated Pride Fighting Championships when the UFC bought out that fading promotion. Unlike many of the Pride fighters, apparently Hunt had an iron-clad guarantee of at least two more fights in his contract. It took the UFC a couple of years to finally concede that they had to honor that agreement and initially it looked like it forced some of the most embarrassing matchmaking in the promotion's history. Hunt's improbably come back run has erased all those doubts. His dramatic KO wins over Tuchscherer and Kongo as well as his dominating decision win over Rothwell have him suddenly looking like a serious threat to anyone in the division, if not quite a contender. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson UFC 144 Results: Rampage Jackson Goes Out Like A Lamb In Loss To Ryan Bader - Nate Wilcox UFC 144 Results: Ben Henderson And Anthony Pettis Ready For Rematch - Nate Wilcox UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson Results And Post-Fight Analysis - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144 Results: Dana White Says Anthony Pettis Will 'Likely' Get Next UFC Lightweight Title Shot - Bloody Elbow UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video UFC Japan Video: Georges St. Pierre Gets Attacked By A Mob Of Kids With Samurai Foam Swords - Bloody Elbow Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 139: UFC 144 Results Review UFC 144 Results: Ryan Bader Dominates Rampage Jackson To Decision - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Mark Hunt Knocks Out Cheick Kongo In The First Round - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Jake Shields Wins Hard Fought Decision Over Yoshihiro Akiyama - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Tim Boetsch Upsets Yushin Okami In The Third Round - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video UFC 144 Results: Hatsu Hioki Defeats Bart Palaszewski By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Anthony Pettis Knocks Out Joe Lauzon In The First Round - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Takanori Gomi Stops Eiji Mitsuoka In The Second - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Vaughan Lee Submits Kid Yamamoto With An Armbar - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Riki Fukuda Dominates Steve Cantwell To Decision - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Chris Cariaso Defeats Takeya Mizugaki By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth UFC 144 Results: Issei Tamura Knocks Out Tiequan Zhang - Matthew Roth

Posted in: ufc, hunt, result, matthew, roth

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Former K-1 Grand Prix kickboxing champion and Pride FC veteran, Mark Hunt, wasn't supposed to be fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). After losing five consecutive fights in PRIDE and DREAM to the likes of Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef and Gegard Mousasi, UFC President Dana White was positive he did not want, or need, Hunt competing inside the Octagon. So much so, in fact, that White says he offered the "Super Samoan" the money owed to him from his existing PRIDE contract once Zuffa purchased the ailing promotion, to just "go away." Refusing to just take a payoff, Hunt insisted that he wanted to fight in the UFC and eventually made his debut at UFC 119 against Sean McCorkle, losing in the very first round via armbar, upping his losing streak to six. Hunt, however, was not cut from the promotion, but instead was given another opportunity to compete inside the Octagon. Making the most of his opportunities, Hunt now finds himself on a three-fight win streak, which includes two knockout victories, with his latest coming last night (Feb. 25, 2012) against French striker Cheick Kongo at UFC 144 in the very first round. Known for his heavy hands and precise striking, Hunt proved the reason he is dangerous for any opponent and that he deserves to be mentioned as one of the best strikers in the heavyweight division alongside Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, the former K-1 champion talks about his impressive victory over Kongo and feels that not only is he right up there with Dos Santos and Overeem in the striking department, but he can put both of them to sleep. Check it out: "It feels good yeah. I'm happy I won, it wasn't much of a fight, but I am happy I won. It lasted as long as it lasted, I mean, that's how long he lasted, but it was a good fight on my side and I couldn't have scripted it any better like you said. I'm a pretty strong person, physically and mentally." When asked if he believed if current UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos and number one contender Alistair Overeem where better strikers than him, Hunt simply stated: "Of course, of course I beg to differ." On whether he felt could knock Overeem and Junior out due to his extensive kickboxing background, Hunt, being a man of few words, simply stated: "Of course." A visibly slimmer Hunt seems to be hitting his stride as he now all of sudden finds himself right in the mix in the UFC's monstrous heavyweight division. With the Strikeforce heavyweight's now joining the ranks, too, Hunt should have no problem finding another opponent to lay his heavy hands on. With "Cigano" and "Ubereem" set to do battle later this year and no clear cut contenders lining up to challenge the winner just yet, could it be conceivable that the Samoan could be two or three impressive wins away from a title shot himself? Or, is he just one savvy Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter away from being shown the door? Hunt clearly packs enough dynamite in his fists to put anyone in the division asleep, but whether or not he can ever reach those heights in the division at 37 years old, with a gaping hole in his all-around skills, is a huge question mark.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, overeem, alistair overeem, heavyweight division

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Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, word, faceb

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SAITAMA, Japan -- Mark Hunt talked to MMA Fighting about his knockout win against Cheick Kongo at UFC 144. Hunt discusses his fondness for Japan, his performance against Kongo, his tattoo and more in the video below.

Posted in: title shot, mark hunt, hunt, cheick kongo, japan

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Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, interview, postfight

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It's rare that a 37-year-old former kickboxer with an 8-7 record in MMA would be mentioned in title talk, but that's exactly where you'll find Mark Hunt after his third straight Octagon victory...

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, mma, that

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Mark Hunt was once the unwanted man, but has now rebounded to a three-fight victory streak, adding Cheick Kongo to his hit list at UFC 144.

Posted in: ufc, mark, hunt, cheick kongo, man

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Mark Hunt has done it again: The former K-1 champion returned to Japan at UFC 144 and knocked out Cheick Kongo in the first round. Hunt didn't do much in the first couple minutes of the fight, but the one thing Hunt can always do is hit really, really hard, and that's just what he did against Kongo: Hunt dropped Kongo with a left hand to the chin, then allowed Kongo to get back up but continued stalking him, landed more punches to knock Kongo down, and then jumped on him and finished him off on the ground. The official time of referee Herb Dean's stoppage was 2 minutes, 11 seconds. More Coverage: UFC 144 Results | Hunt vs. Kongo Live Blog Hunt is now, amazingly, on a three-fight winning streak in the UFC heavyweight division. When Hunt signed with the UFC in 2010, most people thought he was washed up and had no business inside the Octagon. But he has rededicated himself to MMA and is looking impressive. Hunt is still a long way from the top of the heavyweight division, but it's going to be exciting to see what he can do next.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, kongo, cheick kongo, blog hunt

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The heavy hitting heavyweights were heaving their way through some action tonight (Sat., Feb. 25, 2012) in Japan, as Cheick Kongo and Mark Hunt met in the center of the cage to exchange punches at the UFC 144: "Edgar vs. Henderson" event at the Saitama Super Arena. This fight reeked of matchmaking designed to give fans at the arena two big men to gawk at while they tried to take each other's heads off. And when it comes to Kongo and Hunt, two kickboxers with big power and solid chins, that's exactly what UFC was promising. And that's exactly what was delivered, as Hunt blasted his way past Kongo via knockout in the very first round. Hard as it may be to believe, Mark Hunt has won three fights in a row in the UFC. It's 2012 and "The Super Samoan" is still knocking fools out. Pride never die and all that. Sadly, the first action of the fight was a failed low kick from Hunt that had him off balance enough to send him ass over tin cups. Kongo tried to rush him but couldn't get close enough to do any damage. They exchanged shots until Hunt landed a strong right hand that sent the big Frenchman to the floor. Hunt let him back up to continue on and after seeing the way he exploded with a few more shots to knock him out, he may have just been wanting to have some more fun. It was certainly fun to watch. Remember, too, to check out our ongoing live coverage of the UFC 144 main card action by clicking here.

Posted in: ufc, mark hunt, hunt, kongo, cheick kongo

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Mark Hunt defeats Cheick Kongo by TKO. The stoppage came at 2:11 in the first round. Leg kick early from Mark Hunt but he slipped and Kongo pushed forward. Kongo clinched against the cage but Hunt quickly turned him into the fence. Huge reach difference between the two fighters was apparent as Hunt's punches were coming up short. Hunt landed a straight left hand as Kongo came forward which dropped the French fighter. Mark Hunt pressed forward and landed to Cheick's jaw. Kongo tried to run away but Hunt kept his pressure and threw heavy right hands that ultimately put the frenchman away. Several punches on the ground sealed the win and forced the referee to step in and call the fight. Mark Hunt is now 3-1 in the UFC. He's quickly making a case for a top 10 ranking. Cheick Kongo was beginning to string wins together but this loss will drop him down the heavyweight ladder. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

Posted in: mark, hunt, cheick, kongo, cheick kongo

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In a Heavyweight fight at UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson, former K-1 champion Mark Hunt (7-7; 2-1 UFC) meets Cheick Kongo (17-6-2; 10-4-1 UFC). This is the fifth of seven fights on the PPV main card. The USA TODAY / MMA Nation Consensus MMA Rankings currently have Kongo ranked at #12 and Hunt at #23. The UFC 144 PPV card begins this Saturday, February 25 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and will run for 4 hours on PPV. Both Hunt and Kongo came into MMA from a kickboxing background. Hunt made a name for himself in K-1 while Kongo fought primarily in the European scene. Yet despite these striking backgrounds, this fight is likely to be settled on the ground. Kongo has fought a number of former kickboxers before, and his usual strategy is to ground them and use his improved ground control to grind them out. Meanwhile, when Hunt loses it is almost always due to submission - six of his seven MMA loses come from some form of arm-related submission on the mat. How do these two stack up? Hunt: 37 years old | 5'10" | 74" reachKongo: 36 years old | 6'4" | 82" reach What have these two done recently? Hunt: W - Ben Rothwell (UD) | W - Chris Tuchscherer (KO) | L - Sean McCorkle (Sub)Kongo: W - Matt Mitrione (UD) | W - Pat Barry (KO) | D - Travis Browne (Unanimous Draw) How did these two get here? Samoan Mark Hunt is perhaps the most unlikely member of the top 25 rankings today. The former K-1 World Grand Prix champion and Pride veteran was once a formidable force in MMA. But when Pride closed in 2007, his career seemed to end with it. From 2006-2010 his record dropped from 5-1 to 5-7 with 6 straight loses, all but 1 of them coming within the first 2 minutes. He was picked up by the UFC to satisfy an old Pride contract, lost again, and seemed done. Then, miraculously, he won two straight last year. And suddenly, Mark Hunt is in the mix for the UFC Heavyweight title. I don't know how far he can ride this resurgence, but I love finding out. Cheick Kongo has been the UFC Heavyweight gatekeeper for some time. Fighters like Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez have defeated him and moved on to title shots, while possible contenders like Matt Mitrione and Mirko Cro Cop have found their dreams smashed by Kongo. He's currently on a 4 fight undefeated streak that includes his wild KO win over Pat Barry last year. It seems unlikely that Kongo will move from gatekeeper to contender, but if he keeps winning, he could make it. Why should you care? If you don't love Mark Hunt, you are no friend of mine. And I actually think this is a winnable fight for him. Mark Hunt: UFC Heavyweight title contender? Could be... For a more detailed look at Hunt vs. Kongo, check out the fight Dissection by Dallas Winston. More UFC 144 preview coverage from Bloody Elbow after the jump. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson UFC 144 Judo Chop: The Striking Defense of Mark Hunt - Fraser Coffeen UFC 144: Rampage Jackson Misses Weight By Five Pounds, Loses 20% Of Purse While Fight Goes On - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144 Weigh-In Video And Coverage - Tim Burke UFC 144: Anthony Pettis Vs. Joe Lauzon Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144: The Bloody Elbow Judo Chops Of Frankie Edgar Vs. Ben Henderson - Fraser Coffeen UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson Staff Predictions - Tim Burke UFC 144: Jake Shields Wants UFC To Make Sure Yoshihiro Akiyama Doesn't Cheat - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144: Yushin Okami Vs. Tim Boetsch Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144 Video: Dana White Video Blog Episode 2 - Kid Nate UFC 144: Rampage Jackson On The Streets Of Tokyo - Kid Nate UFC 144: Dana White Wants You To Know The UFC Didn't Kill PRIDE - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144: The Epic Drama Of Yoshihiro Akiyama - Fraser Coffeen UFC 144: Is Frankie Edgar Being Underrated Against Ben Henderson? - Fraser Coffeen UFC 144: Hatsu Hioki Vs. Bart Palaszewski Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144 Roundtable: Can The UFC Succeed In Japan? - Tim Burke UFC 144 Predictions: Pros Slightly Favor Frankie Edgar To Beat Ben Henderson - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144: Takanori Gomi Vs. Eiji Mitsuoka Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144 Judo Chop: Benson Henderson And The Miracle of Survival Part 2 of 2 - Ben Thapa UFC 144 Video: Under PRIDE Rules, Rampage Jackson Dominates Fight Against Ryan Bader - Anton Tabuena UFC 144 Video: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson Fight Simulation And Prediction - Anton Tabuena UFC 144 Pre-Fight Press Conference Video - Tim Burke UFC 144: Yoshihiro Akiyama Leads The UFC Back To Japan - Kid Nate UFC 144: Should The Winner Of Joe Lauzon Vs. Anthony Pettis Get The Next Title Shot? - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144: Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto Vs. Vaughan Lee Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144: Riki Fukuda Vs. Steve Cantwell Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144 Judo Chop: Benson Henderson And The Miracle Of Survival Part 1 of 2 - Ben Thapa UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson Countdown Show Full Video - Anton Tabuena UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson Betting Lines - Tim Burke UFC 144: Rampage Jackson Is A Death Sentence For Ryan Bader According To Michael Bisping - Brent Brookhouse UFC 144 Manga-Style Promo Video - Kid Nate UFC 144: Takeya Mizugaki Vs. Chris Cariaso Dissection - Dallas Winston UFC 144: Tiequan Zhang Vs. Issei Tamura Dissection - Dallas Winston

Posted in: ufc, hunt, kongo, vs, henderson

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Every mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view (PPV) card deserves a red-meat Heavyweight match up, and this it, with Mark Hunt and Cheick Kongo providing one hell of a cut of steak on the UFC 144 main card from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, later tonight (Feb. 25, 2012). There is a guy precisely in the middle of the pack in every division – too good to be anything but a favorite against green newcomers, but a likely underdog against the cream of the crop – and Kongo is precisely that measuring stick within the division. Gifted with a great physique and crisp striking, he’s worked hard to improve his takedown defense, and he’s got an underrated top game. He’ll punish people with big elbows and wear them down to submission. Hunt, meanwhile, is one of the best kickboxers from the K-1 circuit. He is essentially a throwback to the days of early MMA. Gifted with perhaps the best chin in the history of sport or kickboxing, the big-boned Samoan throws crushing strikes with an all-in mentality. His ground game is, at best, a work in progress. Follow me after the jump for a complete breakdown of the UFC 144 fight between Mark Hunt vs Cheick Kongo: The Breakdown Kongo’s career has taken a nice uptick of late, with his miracle knockout over Pat Barry, and a veteran-savvy dismantling of then-unbeaten Matt Mitrione, where his better sense of pacing and experience took "Meathead" to his first defeat. Kongo’s got a riddle in front of him in that it might be tempting to trade with Hunt and prove a point, but that’s dangerous thinking. Hunt is a lethal bomber with a far less developed ground game. The litmus test is whether Kongo pushes his ego aside and takes it there, or gets the itch to prove he can finish Hunt standing. Better men have tried, and very few have succeeded. The Pick Kongo seems to be coming into his own as a heavyweight. His adaptability is one of his best strengths, and he should be able to do well enough standing, especially in the clinches, to set up takedowns.From there he’ll work elbows and positional improvements, which is the diet of stuff that tends to tire a one-dimensional banger like Hunt out. Kongo by second-round rear-naked choke. Kongo via submission Be sure to join MMAmania.com this evening for LIVE, detailed UFC 144 results of all the "Edgar vs. Henderson" pay-per-view (PPV) action. It will include blow-by-blow coverage of the Facebook video stream, FX "Prelims" bouts, and of course, the PPV broadcast. We'll start RIGHT HERE at around 7:30 p.m. ET and carry straight on through early Sunday morning. See you later! Jason Probst can be reached at www.twitter.com/jasonprobst and at jason@jasonprobst.com.

Posted in: ufc, hunt, ppv, kongo, ground game

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As a long-time fan of K-1 and all the striking arts, nothing on the UFC 144 card has me quite as giddy with anticipation as Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo. It's a chance to see Hunt, a former K-1 Grand Prix champion who looked to be finished in MMA, continue his miraculous run back to relevance, and to do so in front of the Japanese crowd that has witnessed so many of his classic battles. To get ready for this fight, I dusted off the old Pride videos and watched Mark Hunt in his early MMA days, ready to come here and write about what makes him such a great MMA striker. And then, I read an interesting article on Head Kick Legend. Writer Jack Slack asks an interesting question - What is "World Class" Striking, and how does it relate to Hunt vs. Kongo? It's a good breakdown, but I have to take issue with one of Jack's points: In a way reminiscent of Chuck Liddell, who could not learn to keep his hands up even when working with Howard Davis Jr., Hunt may be too stuck in his ways to learn to keep his hands up. It was this fault which got him knocked out by Manhoef and stunned by Gegard Mousasi, who is not known as a hard puncher. In my eyes, Jack is only half right here. Yes, it was his low hands that got Hunt KO'd by Manhoef. But is that because he has not learned to keep them up and is too stuck in his ways? I respectfully submit that it is no such thing. And to get an idea why, let's break down the unique and deceptively technical striking defense of Mark Hunt. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson At first glance, Hunt doesn't seem like much of a technical striker. It's easy to find his faults - he keeps his hands low, he is over-reliant on punches, he can get trapped in the corner or against the ropes. Looking at these issues, you can write him off as a heavy handed puncher whose iron chin has allowed him to succeed in spite of these defensive holes. But as you watch closely you relize an interesting thing - that's exactly what Mark Hunt wants you to believe. The low hands, the movement to the corner - these are not errors in technique, they are specific stylistic choices. And they are made by Hunt with one goal in mind - to draw you into a slugfest. And then, yes, he will rely on his iron chin and put you out. But there's a lot more going on than you may at first think. To start, let's look at Hunt's stance. He stands in a non-traditional manner, with his body more perpendicular to his opponent and his weight slightly forward. This puts his head and chin closer to the opponent, not further away as you normally want. He also keeps that chin up, and keeps his lead left hand dangling at his hip. The result is a clear invitation - "Hit my chin." Hunt only adds to that feeling with his slow movement, giving opponents the sense that of course that can land on him. When opponents swing for the chin, Hunt typically will take one of two approaches. First, a defensive posture. Despite the stance, Hunt is prepared to defend, either with movement or by blocking the shot. Hunt has surprisingly good head movement, and will slip punches with a quick dodge to the side. He also keep his rear right hand close to his face, and will use that hand to catch incoming punches. Still, it would be untrue to characterize Hunt as a defensive fighter - after all, he's inviting these punches. And in doing so, he does get hit often. When he does, Hunt will often allow a fighter to connect with more than one shot, flowing together punches. When they begin working punches into combos, they let their hands move away from the face, which is when Hunt strikes, landing a hard counter shot. One trick he uses to add to the power of his counter is to take a shot that sends his head to one side, then use the momentum from that movement to follow through with a punch in that same direction. Essentially, he's using the momentum from his opponent's punch to move his body and add more power to his own punch. It's a tactic that won't work unless you have the chin to do it, but Hunt definitely does. The one time Hunt was KO'd, at the hands of Melvin Manhoef, it was not due to this defensive style. Hunt rushed in with his hands down, an uncharacteristic move for the Samoan, and Manhoef's heavy hands caught him flush and made him pay. That was a defensive error, but it was one he had not made before, and has not repeated since. In the end, Mark Hunt's striking defense may not be the prettiest. It may over-rely on his granite chin. And it certainly isn't a style for everyone. But there is a very deliberate and technical plan behind that apparent brawling style. Anyone who fails to see that plan suffers the consequences. The question is, will Chieck Kongo figure this out and avoid the fatal shoot-out with Mark Hunt? My hope is that he won't, and we'll see this wild ride of Mark Hunt take one more step forward at UFC 144.

Posted in: mark, hunt, punch, hand, chin

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Fighter vs. Writer is back, this time for a showdown with a legend. After speaking with former UFC light heavyweight champion and MMA great Chuck Liddell to get his recollections from the last UFC event in Japan, I was also fortunate enough to get his predictions on some of the fights on UFC 144’s main card. And while I may not be a famous man in Tokyo (thanks to Ariel Helwani, now we know that), I can still hold my own in a head-to-head fight-picking contest with the best of them. Mr Liddell, it’s an honor and a privilege. Frankie Edgar vs. Ben HendersonLiddell: Edgar via TKO. "That’s going to be an exciting fight. I like both those guys, but I’ve got to go with Frankie. That guy can fight. I can’t go against Frankie...I mean, I have before, both times with B.J. and the second time with Gray. But he’s tough, man."Fowlkes: Edgar via decision. I’ve also been burned when I picked against the undersized, underrated Edgar, and I’m not making the same mistake again. Henderson may very well prove to be his toughest test yet, but I think Edgar’s quickness and overall savvy with be enough to edge the challenger on the scorecards.Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan BaderLiddell: Jackson via TKO. "Bader, I think there’s a question mark on his chin after getting dropped by Tito. Tito’s not known for his power (laughs), and Rampage is. That’s dangerous for him."Fowlkes: Bader via decision. It’s somewhat unfair, since Chuck made his prediction before Rampage missed weight and blamed it on injuries, but I’ll take my advantages however I can get them. Jackson’s motivation was already a question for me (as was Bader’s chin), but knowing that he’s not coming into this fight at 100 percent makes me rethink my initial pick. I like Bader’s chances to take out a diminished Jackson -- as long as he can stay conscious.Mark Hunt vs. Cheick KongoLiddell: Hunt via TKO. "I like this one just to sit down and watch. Those two guys should hit each other a bunch. As long as they don’t turn it into a wrestling match, I’m good."Fowlkes: Hunt via TKO. It’s possible that Kongo will out-wrestle him, but I doubt it. He’s giving up too much size and strength, and Hunt’s grappling gets better every time we see him. If Kongo has to stand in front of him -- and eventually he will -- he’s getting knocked out.Jake Shields vs. Yoshihiro AkiyamaLiddell: Shields via decision. "You know, I’m a little biased here. I like Jake. I think he takes him down and controls him. I’d like to see him submit him, but I think it’ll probably go to decision."Fowlkes: Shields via decision. He’s the superior grappler, and unlike Akiyama he never seems to feel the need to take unnecessary risks just to make sure the crowd gets its money’s worth. It’s resulted in fewer bonuses for him lately, but more victories.Anthony Pettis vs. Joe LauzonLiddell: No pick. Chuck explained that he hadn’t watched enough footage on either man, and didn’t feel comfortable making a blind pick. Can’t blame him for that. Of course, the Fighter vs. Writer Unified Rules clearly state that he cannot receive credit for this one unless it ends in a draw, a no contest, or just flat out doesn’t happen for any reason.Fowlkes: Pettis via decision. It’s going to be an interesting challenge for him, but he’s better than Lauzon on the feet and a good enough wrestler to keep it there. I think he clearly outpoints Lauzon down the stretch, even if he might not be able to put him away.Liddell picks: Edgar, Jackson, Hunt, Shields, nobodyFowlkes picks: Edgar, Bader, Hunt, Shields, Pettis

Posted in: shield, hunt, vs, edgar, hersquo

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UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson will showcase a heavyweight collision between two of the division's top kickboxing specialists in the Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo match. The bout is slated for the pay-per-view portion of Saturday night's show from the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Though he's of Samoan descent and hails from New Zeeland, Mark Hunt (7-7) should feel right at home in Japan. A staple in both K-1 and Pride FC, Hunt has been a professional kickboxer since 1999 and boasts the vaunted honor of being the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, meaning he's one of the rare few with true "world class striking." After achieving his dream in the pure striking arts, Pride Fighting Championships approached Hunt with an offer and he made a clean transition to MMA in 2004. Hunt was burned by the sport's intolerance for incomplete fighters against his first opponent, Hidehiko Yoshida, who was world class everywhere Hunt was not. The Olympic gold-medalist Judoka exploited his inexperience by taking him down and tapping him with an armbar, though Hunt's feisty perseverance through a few submission attempts and grappling transitions signified his natural instincts and gameness. He evened up his embryonic record by cramming a kick into the sternum of Dan Bobish for his first MMA victory, then skyrocketed his reputation by snapping Wanderlei Silva's five-year, eighteen fight undefeated streak. It's worth noting that Hunt outweighed Silva by a vast margin and the bout was a closely contested split decision, yet it was still an amazing accomplishment in only his third outing. The good vibes continued when Hunt picked off another Pride superstar in Mirko Filipovic, who had just risen through the ranks for an unsuccessful stab at Fedor Emelianenko's title. The highlight of the bout was CroCop's panic-inducing "cemetery kick" bouncing off Hunt's head unnoticed. Notching five straight after losing his debut, Hunt would then suffer an atrocious seven consecutive defeats, though his caliber of opposition included elite heavyweights like the aforementioned Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett. The ugly sequence concluded with tapping to Sean McCorkle's kimura in his UFC debut, and Hunt realigned the boat with back-to-back wins over Chris Tuchscherer (TKO) and Ben Rothwell (decision). More UFC 144 Dissections Hioki-Palaszewski | Gomi-Mitsuoka | Yamamoto-Lee | Fukuda-Cantwell Okami-Boetsch | Mizugaki-Cariaso | Zhang-Tamura French kickboxer Cheick Kongo (17-6) emerged in the Octagon with style in the form of two devastating TKOs (the late Gilbert Aldana, Christian Wellisch). Like Hunt, Kongo was a one-dimensional striker who was quickly inspired to fill the holes in his game after a submission loss, his version being a Carmelo Marrero armbar in his third UFC performance. Kongo racked up two straight decisions (Ausserio Silva, CroCop) before unveiling improved wrestling and scrambling in a split-decision loss to Pride vet Heath Herring. Continuing to chip away, Kongo notched three consecutive TKOs (Dan Evensen, Mostapha Al-Turk, Antoni Hardonk) but lost momentum against upper-echelon talent in Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. Kongo has been flawless in his remaining four: he forced Paul Buentello to cry uncle with a series of elbows to the body, drew with Travis Browne (Kongo was docked a point for grabbing Browne's shorts), treated fans to an unforgettable come-from-behind knockout of Pat Barry and, most recently, handed the surging Matt Mitrione his first official loss. Gifs and analysis in the full entry. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson The overwhelming consensus is that Kongo will resort to his newly refined wrestling, which is hard to refute -- trading leather with a K-1 Grand Prix champion ranks alongside skinny jeans and country music as things to avoid at all costs. With that dynamic in mind, let's examine how Hunt approaches opponents who endeavor to drop levels for takedowns. His first and best line of defense is the vicious combination he sinks Tuchscherer with to the right, which is the right uppercut-left hook medley. Both punches are devastating and pack a massive wallop. Hunt's timing and accuracy is impeccable, and he rockets the uppercut to discourage his opponent from placing their head anywhere near its trajectory. He follows it up with his explosive left hook, which he uncorks with blinding speed and ungodly power. Despite his rotund girth, Hunt is deceivingly agile, quick and light on his toes, plus he's bullishly strong with a low center of gravity. His enhanced takedown defense is depicted to the left when Rothwell tries to slide under his overhand right to control his hips, but Hunt immediately lowers his base, retracts his hips and hurls him to the canvas. To the right is Kongo's method of closing distance in order to clinch and work takedowns. His gifts of natural strength, athleticism and his freakishly elongated frame are more prevalent than any high-level wrestling fundamentals. He was able to plant Mitrione, a beefy, former NFL player, on his back twice by squashing him into the fence and then peeling him up and away from it (below) by restraining his hips -- so the results are there. Kongo also deserves credit for going downstairs with the body shot that backs Mitrione up initially. The key difference on Saturday will be that Hunt has unparalleled footwork and counter-striking abilities compared to the fighters Kongo has implemented takedowns against in the past, and also won't be as leery about the incoming punches because of his kitchen sink of a chin. That means that shrinking the gap with his hands down and chin exposed as he does in the sequence above will not be devoid of risks. Additionally, most of the focus seems to rest on Kongo's improved takedowns rather than Hunt's equally enhanced sprawl and defensive scrambling. To be fair, I'd say Kongo has the made the greater strides in grappling. Beyond his takedown prowess, he is a mauler with elbows and ground-and-pound and has exhibited decent control from the top. Hunt's chin is one of the most bulletproof in the game but, with five-ounce gloves and a slugger like Kongo, a knockout is not unfathomable. Kongo's shown a pretty sturdy beard as well.y Kongo is an understandable favorite on the betting lines but numbers as high as +300 seem a little skewed. Admittedly giving way to a personal favorite, I think Hunt has a better shot at catching Kongo on the feet than being out-wrestled and contained for all three rounds. My Prediction: Mark Hunt by KO. All gifs via Zombie Prophet of IronForgesIron.com Poll Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo Hunt Kongo   13 votes | Results

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Frankie Edgar vs Ben Henderson Brent Brookhouse: I bounced back and forth a lot on this fight over the last week. Edgar's striking and wrestling are very, very good and he should have the slight edge in both departments over Henderson. But Henderson's tenacity, pacing and toughness may be enough to overcome that. Still, I have to try to be smart here and go with the way I see the fight most likely to play out. I just think Edgar is good enough to win a clear but competitive decision by controlling the fight in pretty much all areas. Frankie Edgar by decision. Anton Tabuena: I've been having a real hard time deciding on which guy to pick, and while the easy pick would obviously be Edgar, I do think Frankie has finally found an opponent that he cannot out-grind, outwork, or out-grapple. Because of that I think this will be much closer than what everyone thinks. Henderson has been stepping up his game lately improving in all areas, and I think he can pull off the upset. Ben Henderson by Decision. KJ Gould: Ben Henderson has pleasantly surprised me since his crossing over from the WEC. The loss to Anthony Pettis really focused him and helped him take his game to the next level. In particular the way he smashed Jim Miller was a real eye opener, though reports of Miller suffering kidney problems in the run up to the fight should be taken into consideration. Frankie Edgar is the ultimate over-achiever and it's criminal so few people have been watching his title fights with Gray Maynard - something that's unlikely to change by sticking him on an international PPV instead of showcasing him on the big Fox show. Henderson has a more diverse striking skill set than Maynard and that might prove problematic for Edgar, who despite his footwork still manages to get tagged in every fight, but his ability to recover and his will to endure and find a way to win is unmatched in the sport. Edgar's grappling is more wrestling predominant, where Henderson is developing his Jiujitsu skills focusing on a passing top game that nets him back control, plus has a strong guillotine choke that can end almost anyone's night. I think Edgar's speed and pressure might be the deciding factor, and he may be able to put on a pace Henderson can't quite keep up with, but Edgar may not be able to finish. Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision. Tim Burke: Holy wall of text, KJ. Personally, I think this is Frankie's fight all the way. Yes I'm a huge WEC homer, but I think Frankie's too fast to get caught on the feet by Henderson, who doesn't have excellent standup (people underestimate Gray Maynard's boxing), and Bendo's not going to be able to smother Frankie like he did to Guida and Miller. Henderson decided to add size too, which will work against him late. I think Edgar cruises to an entertaining but wide decision. Frankie Edgar by decision. Fraser Coffeen: It's all about the stand-up here, which is where Frankie really outclasses Henderson. Not that Hendo's striking is bad - it's not - but Edgar's is better, and his wrestling will allow him to keep the fight standing enough to do damage every round. Frankie Edgar via decision David Castillo: I think this is the one fight where Edgar won't look so vulnerable, and people may finally stop underestimating him. But I doubt it. However, it's a great match for Edgar on paper. Most of Henderson's opponents were grapplers who had trouble hanging on the feet. While Benson has steadily improved, he's still pretty sloppy and he's not at all imposing. In addition, his defense is pretty shoddy. He's an awesome fighter, but his best chance will be on the ground, which just ain't happening. Edgar's boxing is just plain beautiful, and Benson is gonna make him look like Sweet Pea out there. He'll find openings all day in my opinion. Frankie Edgar by TKO, round 3. T.P. Grant: Edgar's boxing and footwork are excellent, and everyone agrees, but he gets hit a lot for as good a striker as he is and that makes me nervous. I don't think Henderson is the guy to finally make Edgar go to sleep, but rest assured that if Henderson has Edgar hurt he won't fail himself into gassing. Henderson is a very dangerous grappler but Edgar has excellent scrambles and survived BJ Penn on his back. I think Edgar is going to enjoy a clear advantage on the feet and the last time we say Henderson go five rounds he slowed down badly. Edgar will swarm all over him if that happens again. I expect back and forth action with Edgar commanding the later rounds. Frankie Edgar by Decision. Ben Thapa: The speed advantage Edgar possesses will last throughout the fight and I frankly don't see Bendo putting Edgar down for any length of time if Maynard couldn't do it. We are in for another splendid display of evasiveness and smart, smart gameplanning. Edgar, decision. Dallas Winston: Along with Anderson Silva, Edgar has the best footwork in the sport and it gives him just as much control on the feet as an unstoppable wrestler on the ground. I see the clinch-battle deciding this fight, as Bendo is a beast when sliding into tie-ups and doesn't fire off doubles from outside like many of Edgar's past foes. Bendo will also be the first opponent Edgar's faced who can match his lightning quickness in hand-speed and cage motion. Broken record alert: Edgar's conspicuous size might come into play. Bendo will have 3" in height (but 2" less reach) and he's one of the most explosive and athletic fighters in the game. In a razor-thin match up, I think Edgar's stellar shuck and jive, in-and-out striking will be the difference. Frankie Edgar by decision. Staff Picking Edgar: KJ, Tim, Fraser, David, Grant, Brookhouse, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Henderson: Anton Quinton Jackson vs Ryan BaderBrent Brookhouse: I’m not sure what the argument for Bader is here beyond the whole "puncher’s chance" thing or the "maybe Rampage isn’t motivated and looks old" thing. And that’s not a good enough reason to pick him. Rampage Jackson by TKO, round 2.Anton Tabuena: This is a really bad stylistic match up for Bader. Rampage Jackson by TKO.Fraser Coffeen: What is there to say here? If Rampage loses, he might as well retire. Sorry Bader. Rampage Jackson by KO, round 1KJ Gould: Bader losing to Jones is forgivable, but losing to Ortiz the way he did is hard to ignore. Bouncing back against Jason Brilz is a good sign, but is a fight with Rampage too soon for Bader who’s in the process of rebuilding himself? If fighting back in Japan doesn’t re-energise Rampage for perhaps one last time, nothing will. Bader could possibly play spoiler and grind out a wrestling based decision if Rampage hasn’t prepared for all facets of MMA, but I only see one of these fighters being able to get a definitive finish. Rampage Jackson by KO.Tim Burke: Bader hits hard, but his boxing isn’t very good. Obviously his defense on the feet isn’t either if he’s getting dropped by Tito Ortiz. Bader’s going to have a hard time taking Rampage down, and he’s going to get beaten up. I want to see a Rampage KO and howl, but my guess is that this will be more like the Rampage/Hamill fight. Bader gets a taste of Rampage’s power, and awkwardly looks for takedowns while avoiding shots the rest of the fight. I hope it’s better than that, but it probably won’t be. Quinton Jackson by decision.David Castillo: This has all the makings of an incredibly ugly fight. Bader won’t initiate, and I can’t remember the last time Jackson really unleashed on anyone. Hopefully he’ll be fired up in what seems to be his "hometown", and he’ll be amped by more Asian reporters to harass. Still, it’s a terrible fight for Bader who just isn’t dynamic enough to threaten Quinton in any one aspect of the game. Quinton Jackson by decision. T.P. Grant: The way Rampage wins fights these days is when guys play his game, and Ryan Bader will play his game. I expect this to be a slightly more competitive Hamill/Rampage, I think Bader will hang in there but in the end he will not be able to take Rampage down or out box him and it will become pretty clear that Rampage is the better fighter. Rampage Jackson by Decision. Ben Thapa: I agree with Grant, that this is going to look like a much better version of Jackson/Hamill. Bader has probably been tearing himself up for months now over being caught out against Tito and putting in the hours of training to fix that. However, Jackson’s been at this stand-up game far longer than Bader and we’re going to see a plod-a-thon with sporadic moments of excitements. It would be magnificent if Rampage would return to his days of utilizing offensive wrestling, but those days are seemingly gone forever. Jackson, decision.Dallas Winston: I do envision Bader being able to replicate the Rashad Evans strategy of using his quick hands and feet to catch Rampage off-guard with set-up takedowns. I still think Rampage has some of the best takedown defense in the division and his on-balance boxing and simple but powerful punching keeps his hands in the ideal position to shuck off takedowns. The talk of retirement is a concern but I see Rampage winning via street-smarts, Dad-strength and a decapitating left hook. Rampage Jackson by TKO.Staff Picking Jackson: Fraser, KJ, Tim, David, Grant, Brookhouse, Anton, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Bader: Mark Hunt vs Cheick KongoBrent Brookhouse: I feel like I’m living in some alternate universe...people really like Hunt to beat Kongo? Really? Kongo isn’t exactly an elite level mixed martial artist, but he’s a step up the ladder from Hunt. Hunt and Rothwell looked like they were about to die in the final stages of their fight, Kongo is pretty capable of managing his energy and wearing on guys by working them against the cage. To top that off he has decent enough wrestling to make Hunt work constantly. Mark Hunt has...power. I don’t really expect this to be close. Cheick Kongo by decision.Anton Tabuena: Yup, Kongo is really a step up the ladder from Hunt. Styles make fights though, and Kongo won’t be able to stand with a guy like Hunt. He will most likely try and outwrestle Hunt, and while that could happen, I think Hunt can fend off a few takedowns, and stop Kongo on the feet to pull off the huge upset. Mark Hunt by KO.Fraser Coffeen: Kongo is more experienced and is really good at taking other kickboxers, putting them on their back or against the cage, and grinding out the decision. But here’s the thing - Hunt is good at takedown defense and and regaining his feet. His huge flaw is submission defense, but that’s not Kongo’s strength. I’m going out on a limb and saying Hunt is able to outstrike Kongo and keep his miracle run going. Mark Hunt by decision.KJ Gould: Mark Hunt’s chin is legendary, though it has been cracked by Melvin Manhoef back in 2008 much to the surprise of many. Kongo has good hands but lacks the ferocity of Manhoef, and it seems Hunt has rededicated himself after a 6 fight losing streak that included a submission loss to Sean McCorkle. Kongo has looked good recently and is on a roll, but I find it hard to imagine him being able to bully the ‘Super Samoan’ up against the fence or put him on his back to pound on him. I think Hunt manages to do what Pat Barry was unable to, and that’s put Kongo away without snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Mark Hunt by KO.Tim Burke: People are actually picking Hunt? Awesome. I’m obviously a huge Hunt fan and completely lost my mind during the Rothwell fight, but...this is still Mark Hunt. He’s a lumbering, flawed MMA fighter. Kongo has shown to be at least somewhat versatile at times and while I don’t think he’s gonna sub the Super Samoan, he has the game to stay on top of him against the cage or take him down and rough him up. My heart says Hunt all the way, and I really want this pic to be wrong. But...Cheick Kongo by decision.David Castillo: Tough pick. One the one hand, Kongo’s submission game is nothing to write home about. On the other hand, he can’t wrestle, while Hunt can’t. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one end up on the ground with Hunt actually positioning for submissions. It’s a bizarre prediction I guess, but Kongo has shown a penchant for taking fights to the ground. The fact that he got caught in a firefight against Barry was pure chance in my opinion. It’ll be cool if Hunt wins, but not meaningful: he’ll just get submitted against his next opponent. Cheick Kongo by decision. T.P. Grant: Kongo is a much better fighter than many fans give him credit for, he has stood in the cage with some of the best Heavyweights in the sport and accounted for himself well. The same cannot be said about Hunt, and his win over a gassed out Rothwell doesn’t really change much. I am nervous about picking Kongo by decision because he is always a threat to get himself penalized a point, but I don’t think Hunt will have much to offer Kongo after the first round. Chieck Kongo by TKO, Round 3. Ben Thapa: Hunt has a sneaky good uppercut and I think he’ll catch Kongo with it. If Pat Barry can almost knock out Kongo, I think Mark Hunt can put Cheick all the way out with a couple of good strikes. Hunt, KO, Round 2.Dallas Winston: Before Kongo improved his wrestling, this would have been a case of a good kickboxer squaring off with an elite kickboxer. Kongo’s size, athleticism and natural instincts with wrestling make him more of a diverse threat, but Hunt has also made promising strides in takedown defense and his defensive guard. Plus, he’s deceivingly agile despite his Super Samoan girth. Thapa nailed it by keying in on the uppercut, which Hunt has employed brilliantly against anyone trying to keep him hesitant with takedowns. I have nothing against Kongo but Pride nostalgia and being a Hunt fan influences my pick. Mark Hunt by uppercut TKO.Staff Picking Hunt: Fraser, KJ, Anton, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Kongo: Tim, David, Grant, BrookhouseYoshihiro Akiyama vs Jake ShieldsBrent Brookhouse: Akiyama got subbed by Chris Leben. Shields has outwrestled better wrestlers/grapplers than Akiyama. Akiyama also has huge defensive issues in the stand-up. Jake Shields has not fallen to the point where I even dream that Akiyama beats him. Jake Shields by submission, round 2.Anton Tabuena: Akiyama finally decided to drop down and fight guys his size. He will have the striking advantage, and he will also have the luxury of fighting in his home country where he won’t be feeling Jetlag, or any bad effects from travelling for more than 14 hours. That being said, he is being fed to the wolves once again as this is very a bad match up for him. Shields will take him down and he will be grinded out and submitted. Jake Shields by Submission.Fraser Coffeen: I wrote this whole thing about Shields crashing and burning in the UFC and Akiyama making it a brawl and blah blah blah, but then I realized that my Japan MMA love can only go so far. Shields knows he’s got a lot riding on this, and he is more than capable of going into grinding decision mode when needed. It’s needed, and it will happen. Though I still think he will ultimately amount to nothing in the UFC. Jake Shields by decision.KJ Gould: Akiyama is finally at the weight class he was always meant to be in, and his striking power is enough to cause a lot in the welterweight division problems. Shields striking has always been poor, and it’s hard to think he won’t be even more gun-shy after he got laid to waste by Jake Ellenberger - though the loss of his father in the run up to that fight has to be taken into consideration regarding his mindset going into it. I think Shields returns to what got him to the dance, and that’s putting on his superlative ‘American Jiu Jitsu’ to use in taking Akiyama down and submitting him. Jake Shields by Submission.Tim Burke: I’m not jumping off the Shields wagon just because he got blasted by Ellenberger. He’s an enormous 170 and his MMA wrestling is still top-notch. Akiyama has shown that he won’t fight to his strengths in previous UFC fights and I don’t expect that to change in Japan. He’ll look to land a home run shot, and forget his judo. Shields is gonna put him on his back, pass his guard a lot, and...win a decision. I am curious to see if Akiyama gets booed though. Jake Shields by decision.David Castillo: I think Shields is still great, and it sucks that people constantly try to take away from his win over Dan Henderson, but it’s hard to really harmonize his incredible resume and total lack of anything resembling standup: though to be fair, he nearly beat GSP with a jab of his own, at least according to some of the idiot judges at 129. For this reason I think Akiyama stands a really good chance, but his cardio has, and will be a problem, and Shields will capitalize. It’ll be a tough first round, but Jake has this, and given what has gone on in his personal life, I’ll be rooting for him. Jake Shields by submission, round 3. T.P. Grant: Shields is a better wrestler, a better grappler, has better cardio and his stand up took some serious strides forward in the GSP fight. I’ve never been very impressed by Akiyama either by his skills or his attitude, as greasing scandals following his constantly. I think Shields wins this one rather easily. Jake Shields by Submission, Round 2. Ben Thapa: This is a closer fight than people here are making it out to be. Akiyama has terrific takedown defense skills and is finally fighting at his "real" size. Presumably, while studying fight tapes, Akiyama saw the same thing that Georges did - Shields shoots in for a takedown from two angles/situations. I think Akiyama can shut those angles down and force Shields into a standing battle for a decision win. Akiyama, decision.Dallas Winston: On board with Thapa again -- I think this is a horrible match up for Shields, who struggles against strong grapplers with sharp striking who can stay upright. Still, Akiyama’s newaza makes him tough in the clinch but I expect Shields to drop and hover in for low singles that he’ll relentlessly pursue like a rabid dog gnawing on a nicely tanned and hopefully not over-moisturized leg. Shields is a lunatic sub-grappler from the top and will take over from there. Jake Shields by submission.Staff Picking Akiyama: ThapaStaff Picking Shields: KJ, Tim, Fraser, David, Grant, Brookhouse, Anton, DallasYushin Okami vs Tim Boetsch Brent Brookhouse: I feel like there’s a repeating story in these picks where one guy is totally likeable (Akiyama, Hunt, Boetsch) but reality is that they are facing guys who are proven better fighters. And in each case it’s been proven over lengthy careers on both fighters’ part, so it’s not like we don’t have the data to base our decisions on. Yushin Okami by decision.Fraser Coffeen: Boetsch has looked good at MW, but he’s also been rather one-dimensional, and it’s a dimension Okami knows how to deal with. My only worry is that Okami won’t be as dedicated anymore - his career is getting long, and he’s made it to the top and lost, so will he have the drive to make it back up again? Something tells me he won’t. Tim Boetsch by decision.KJ Gould: I like Boetsch, he’s put on exciting fights and demonstrated some interesting ‘Redneck Judo’, but Okami is just a better all around fighter who won’t be intimidated by his opponent this time out. Okami’s use of stiff jabs to weaken an opponent, combined with his wrestling and ground and pound to wear opponents down makes this a fairly easy pick for me - especially with Okami fighting on home soil. Yushin Okami by Decision.Tim Burke: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more fitting nickname than "The Barbarian". Boetsch is a caveman in the cage, and I love it. But Okami is much more polished and he’s not going to get bodied around like Kendall Grove did. Okami has never been known as a top striker, but he’s definitely got the edge in that department as well. He can do whatever he wants in this fight, methinks. For those counting, I’ve picked five straight decisions now. Yushin Okami by decision.T.P. Grant: Boetsch has a very entertaining and interesting skill set and I love watching him fight. He combines over-powering strength with some nice Judo and pure aggression. The problem is Okami is on a different level in terms of skills, and Boetsch likely can’t throw anything at Okami that he hasn’t already seen. Expect a grinding Okaimi win. Yushin Okami by Decision. David Castillo: I can’t really get on the Boetsch bandwagon. His "redneck judo" was fun while it lasted, but the dude is a career .500 fighter in the UFC. Okami is a perennial contender. As always, it’ll be a plodding fight, but I expect Okami to dominate on the ground, and on the feet in typical Okami fashion. Yushin Okami by decision. Ben Thapa: I’m still angry that Okami was so tentative in the cage against Anderson Silva. He is much better than the performance he put on that night and I look forwards to seeing the statement he makes with this fight. The thing about Boetsch is that he’s VERY good at taking advantage of balance shifts to get those trips and throws, but Okami is perhaps the very definition of "a fighter with a solid base". Yushin should be able to batter Tim standing and force him into the clinch now and then. Okami, decision.Dallas Winston: I’m treading on thin ice after crediting Akiyama’s bronzed quadriceps and will push the envelope by proclaiming that Boetsch is the only considerable candidate for the Conan-style trappings of a leather loin cloth. I’m just saying -- you know you would cringe at first, then shrug it off because it just coalesces perfectly with his acceptably uncivilized savagery. All of Boetsch’s losses were to wrestlers he couldn’t take down. His frustration showed in barreling into range with flying meathooks, which only resulted in getting tagged with counters or put on his back. Okami’s boxing has advanced significantly and his unwavering balance and composure along with his snapping jab and straight combinations should be an antithetical mixture. Yushin Okami by commanding decision. Staff Picking Okami: KJ, Tim, Grant, David, Brookhouse, Anton, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Boetsch: FraserHatsu Hioki vs Bart PalaszewskiBrent Brookhouse: I really like Hioki but something about this fight for him is just bothering me. I’m going to take Bart here because I think he’s too big and will spend time on top landing elbows that Hioki isn’t going to be comfortable taking, but I’m doing so with great reservation. Palaszewski by decision.KJ Gould: Hioki all day, hopefully by an awesome sub this time. Plus, you know, Polish surnames are a huge gripe of mine. OK, Palaszewski beat Tyson Griffin but that doesn’t mean anything remotely like it used to a few years ago. Hioki had a ropey debut against Georges Roop, but I expect to see he’ll have adjusted this time out and in a more favourable timezone. Hioki by Submission.Tim Burke: I’ve never been a Bartimus fan, but I have to give him props for his devastation of Tyson Griffin. I still see him as a very flawed fighter, and when Hioki is dialed in, he’s awesome and finding those flaws in opponents and exploiting them. Bart’s got a big size advantage and could plant Hioki on his back for three rounds, but I think Hioki will work his magic, mount Bartimus, and put him away with an armbar. Hatsu Hioki by submission.T.P. Grant: Hatsu Hioki is an excellent fighter and under a lot of radars because of the Roop fight. While many decried Roop as a light weight, he has proven a solid featherweight. Palazewski is a solid fighter and a good enough grappler to not get tapped out but I think Hioki is the better all-around fighter. Hatsu Hioki by Decision. David Castillo: Man, I’ll do it and call the upset on this one. It’s not that Bart is the better fighter, because he’s not. It’s that Hioki is a maddeningly inconsistent one. Which is not really reflected in his record, but that still shows up in his performances, like the Roop fight. I expect Bart to keep it on the feet just long enough, and for Hatsu to indulge him just enough on the feet to allow Bart to find an opening, and crack Hioki’s chin through his shoddy defense. I hate making this pick, but I gotta go with my gut on this one. Though Hioki has never been finished by TKO, Bart has just enough power to make this interesting. Bart Palaszewski by decision. Ben Thapa: I doubt anyone outside of Aldo "cracks" Hioki’s chin. The man is durable in a way that’s been proven time and again. He’s also a relentless grappler that grind his opponents to dust. Bartimus is a great person and a fun fighter to watch, but I don’t think he has the chops to fend Hioki off for all three rounds and score points on top of that. Hioki, decision.Dallas Winston: Bart’s keen edge is his overall versatility and the obvious knowledge of Hioki’s intentions. The gateway for 100% of Hioki’s success is getting to the clinch and working his nefarious trips and throws and Bart’s cage motion and footwork will dictate that success. Bart’s a crafty and scrappy gamer with a knack for thwacking power punches without leaving himself exposed for takedowns. Hioki’s not nearly the poor striker everyone paints him as and won’t be burdened with the mile-long reach that Roop had. Bart will make him work hard to implement his strengths but I see Hioki eventually doing so and wreaking top-side havoc on the mat. Hatsu Hioki by late submission.Staff Picking Hioki: Fraser, KJ, Tim, Anton, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Palaszewski: David, BrookhouseAnthony Pettis vs Joe LauzonBrent Brookhouse: When facing top level talents, Lauzon has historically come up short. The Guillard fight was the exception rather than the rule, at least for now. If Lauzon wins this fight I’ll need to reevaluate my stance on him, but I think Pettis is just too versitile, too athletic and not prone to the kind of mistakes of a Guillard. Anthony Pettis by TKO, round 2.Anton Tabuena: Tough fight to pick. Lauzon can end it early, but Pettis is the more logical pick as he has better striking, better cardio, and has serviceable grappling. He just has to survive the early onslaught and from there it is his figh to lose. Anthony Pettis by Decision.KJ Gould: Joe Lauzon has been training diligently to improve his grappling with Ricky Lundell, a Pedro Sauer BJJ Blackbelt and a Cael Sanderson Iowa Cyclones Division 1 Wrestler who helped coach Frank Mir to his amazing arm breaking win over Antonio Nogueira. Joe Lauzon was already pretty good, and I think working with Lundell will make him that much better. Pettis is still less developed than Lauzon as a MMA-ist, and it’s hard to tell if he’s improved of regressed in the last couple of fights despite working with the likes of Ben Askren and Duke Roufus. Pettis’ benefits from reflexes and athleticism, but I think Lauzon is enough of a veteran who’s cunning enough to take advantage of any mistake Pettis might make. In some ways a similar fight to Lauzon vs Guillard. Joe Lauzon by Submission.Tim Burke: I like Joe Lauzon and have always considered him to be a bit underrated, but I don’t think this is a good fight for him. His takedowns aren’t good enough to put Pettis on the mat for long periods of time, and despite catching Guillard flush, his standup doesn’t measure up to Showtime’s. I think this will go like Lauzon vs. Sam Stout at UFC 108 - Lauzon threatens early, but is controlled standing the rest of the way. As long as Showtime sticks to the basics and doesn’t get too flashy, he can pick up a respectable win. Anthony Pettis by decision.Fraser Coffeen: I really have not been impressed at all by Pettis in the UFC, and I think if he gets hot-shotted into a title fight it won’t be pretty, but this is a good fight for him. Lauzon is a tenacious submission fighter, but Pettis have enough defense to avoid being tapped, and over the course of 15 minutes, I see him controlling enough of the stand-up to get the win. Anthony Pettis by decisionT.P. Grant: Lauzon likes to swarm in the first round and go for submissions while both fighters are still dry. I don’t think that strategy will work out for him here as Pettis is quite able off his back and tends to get stronger as fights go on. I think Lauzon wins the first round and then Pettis takes over in rounds two and three, getting a late TKO win. Anthony Pettis by TKO, Round 3. David Castillo: The trouble with picking this fight is that I think Lauzon is not as good as his last fight showed, and that Pettis is much better than his last performance revealed. Still, Pettis looked flat, while Lauzon looked like he was shot out of a cannon. But Pettis won’t make stupid mistakes, and he doesn’t consider jiu jitsu a joke. Lauzon’s finishing skills, which only ever occur before the seven minute mark, won’t be a factor here. Pettis is a better striker, and his grappling is more than capable. Joe’s a massive front runner, but only against lesser fighters will he look like a world beater. Pettis is not a lesser fighter, and should take a comfortable victory. The real question is whether he’s improved enough to make us forget his fight against Stephens. Anthony Pettis by decision. Ben Thapa: I believe that Sergio Pettis is already the best fighter at Roufus’s camp. We’ll see both brothers in the UFC in a couple years and how well my prediction holds up. Lauzon has the grappling to climb onto the back and finish Pettis and the boxing to counter Pettis’s leg kicks and one-twos. This is an extremely fun match-up and I’d not be dismayed to be wrong though. Lauzon, submission, Round 2.Dallas Winston: Lauzon is laudably aggressive and highly technical on the ground, but his mediocre wrestling means he has to rely on an insane flurry of leather to set up his shots. If he can get his hands on Pettis consistently, I think his sub-grappling will be too creative. Pettis has to play the tactical kickboxer here and evade the wild bull-rush with tight countering and precise circling. I lean slightly towards Pettis but Lauzon’s trend of sputtering out after the first seals it for me. Anthony Pettis by decision.Staff Picking Pettis: Tim, Fraser, Grant, David, Brookhouse, DallasStaff Picking Lauzon: KJ, ThapaTakanori Gomi vs Eiji MitsuokaBrent Brookhouse: As much as I’d love to see Gomi get a win in front of his home crowd on a big stage and then hang up the gloves, I think it’s much more likely that Mitsuoka outworks him to a decision. Mitsuoka by decision.Anton Tabuena: I’ll be really sad if Gomi can’t beat a guy like Mitsuoka. Takanori Gomi by KO.KJ Gould: Man, what the hell happened to Gomi? We saw a flash of the Fireball Kid against Tyson Griffin, but as I mention in the Hioki vs Palaszewski prediction, that kind of win means very little these days. Mitsuoka is the right sort of opponent Gomi can shine against, someone with a decent enough record in Japanese MMA but doesn’t look like a can either. If Gomi can’t win this, it’s got to be the end of his UFC career if not his MMA career. Gomi by KO.Tim Burke: I like this fight better than Gomi/Sotiropoulos, but come on man, can’t we give Gomi a striker for once? Why is it always wrestlers and sub guys? Gomi can knock out anyone, but Mitsuoka has a really good chin and a crafty ground game. Problem is, he doesn’t really have great takedowns, and despite Gomi being put on his back a lot in the UFC, Mitsuoka isn’t a UFC-caliber fighter. I picked against Hunt and it hurt my soul, but I am NOT picking against Gomi. Not now. Not ever. Takanori Gomi by epic KO.T.P. Grant: I sadly get the feeling that Gomi’s motivation has almost completely worn away. I just have a bad feeling that KO win over Griffin was Gomi’s last moment of glory. Eiji Mitsuoka via Submission, Round 1. Fraser Coffeen: Tim is correct, Mitsuoka is not quite a UFC caliber fighter. But neither is Takanori Gomi in 2012. Mitusoka had a very good run in Sengoku, a win over Joachim Hansen, and his last fight was a solid win over Bruno Carvalho. He’s not a known Japanese fighter exactly, but he’s solid, and that’s enough to get by Gomi here. Eiji Mitsuoka via submission, round 2.David Castillo: Takanori Gomi is looking to pay for his tab, and his car payments these days, and nothing much else. The guy’s head was really never in the game when you think about it, but at least his body fought against his mind to produce brilliant violence. Now his body is right there with his brain: in a caged river without a paddle. Even worse, Mitsuoka is a solid veteran, and has been pretty consistent, only losing to underrated fighters themselves, like Yokota, Boku, and Kitaoka...only 3 losses since 2006. Easy pick here. Eiji Mitsuoka by submission, round 2. Ben Thapa: I am refusing to make a pick here because I do not want to jinx Gomi in any way, shape or form. To tide you over, I remind you of the Tyson Griffin knockouts at the hands of Gomi and Bartimus. Ka-BLAAAOOW versus "Bap, bap, bap bap bap bap, boom."Dallas Winston: I agree with Burke on everything but the statement that Mitsuoaka isn’t a UFC-level fighter. I’d say he is for sure. No offense to these guys but let’s not forget that we have lightweights like John Cholish and Mitch Clarke on the roster. Mitsuoka has already finished UFC-caliber opponents in Tibau and Strebendt by TKO and Schiavo and Cobb by sub. That being said, my lifelong career accomplishments include creating the legendary "Gomi Head". Google it to recognize my gushing adoration for "The Fireball Kid." Takanori Gomi by soul-rending KO.Staff Picking Gomi: KJ, Tim, Anton, DallasStaff Picking Mitsuoka: Fraser, Grant, David, BrookhouseStaff Refusing to Pick: ThapaNorifumi Yamamoto vs Vaughn LeeBrent Brookhouse: Yamamoto is faded, but still good enough to beat a Vaughn Lee. Yamamoto by decision.Anton Tabuena: See Gomi vs. Mitsuoka prediction. Kid Yamamoto by TKO.KJ Gould: Another Japanese juggernaut reduced to a shell of his former self, ‘Kid’ Yamamoto needs this win just as badly as Gomi, and Vaughn Lee is the perfect opponent for him to do so against and keep his job. Lee’s still young enough to develop as a fighter, while Kid’s injuries over recent years means there aren’t many good fights left in him. Kid should still get this, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the final sad chapter play out in Yamamoto’s fight career. Kid Yamamoto Tim Burke: Lee’s...not very good. He did okay in the first round against Chris Cariaso, but he got mounted five times in the last two rounds. And Cariaso isn’t even that great of a grappler. Somehow one judge gave him one of those rounds, which boggles the mind. Sure, Kid has looked pretty bad in the UFC so far. But if there was ever an opponent that would make him look good, this is him. Leg kicks aplenty, and eventually a finish. Kid Yamamoto by TKO.T.P. Grant: Not sure what to make of Yamamoto these days. Injuries have worn him down, but Lee’s lack of wrestling makes me think this is Yamamoto’s fight. Kid Yamamoto by Decision. David Castillo: Unlike Gomi, I think Kid is still halfway in the game. Injuries have been the biggest threat to his career, and hasn’t even looked so bad, but rather, just tentative. He still clocked Darren pretty good. Still, he doesn’t need to be terrible aggressive to beat Lee. Kid Yamamoto by TKO, round 2.Ben Thapa: Yamamoto has been hindered by a set of injuries for a while, but his biggest flaw is his defensive grappling. Uyenoyama made a fool of him for three rounds last time out and was able to do because Kid was making rookie mistakes. Lee is not as good as Uyenoyama at forcing the takedown and climbing to the back, so Kid should be able to smash him into oblivion while standing. Kid, KO, Round 1.Dallas Winston: Well Kid, here’s your slow-moving softball right across the center of the plate. Kid Yamamoto by flying knee KO (please).Staff Picking Yamamoto: KJ, Tim, Fraser, Grant, David, Brookhouse, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Lee: Riki Fukuda vs Steve CantwellBrent Brookhouse: Cantwell is one of the biggest disappointments in MMA in recent memory for me. He was developing well and I thought the sky was the limit for him. Then his growth not only stopped, but he seemed to regress. He’ll be fighting for his career, basically. So I’m going to think he pulls it out. Cantwell by TKO, round 1.Anton Tabuena: Riki is coming off an unfortunate car accident, and there are also rumors that he hasn’t been able to train properly on this camp. Steve Cantwell by TKO.KJ Gould: Riki Fukuda should have beat Nick Ring and was robbed on the scorecards. However he’s not fought in just over a year, and while Steve Cantwell is on a 4 fight skid, fighting more recently in October of last year might be a factor. Despite the lay off, Fukuda appeared to have more career momentum going for him so it’s still hard to pick against him. Riki Fukuda by Decision.Tim Burke: This one’s tough. Fukuda is coming off a bad car accident, and there’s no telling how good he’ll look. Yes, Steve Cantwell loses all the damn time, but he is actually a pretty skilled fighter. He just doesn’t fight up to his potential. Fukuda is extremely durable normally, so I’ll lean that way. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Cantwell ground out a W. Riki Fukuda by decision.T.P. Grant: Cantwell used to be an interesting prospect at Light Heavyweight, but things just have not panned out for him. He has been trying his wares at middleweight and it isn’t going much better. That said, Cantwell is still very young and is still quite talented. I think he gets off the slide and notches a much needed win. Steve Cantwell by Decision. David Castillo: I can’t dismiss what Fukuda has had to go through during his layoff. Even without the layoff and the accident, it’s a tough fight for Riki, but only because he’s always been such a grinder. Will he be able to wade through what should be a very gritty and tough affair? Given the layoff, I‘m inclined to say no. Injuries have plagued Cantwell’s career too, but at least he’s been fairly active. Steve Cantwell by decision. Ben Thapa: Tough pick here, due to the recent injury suffered by Fukuda and the dojo wandering he’s had to do in order to train for this fight. Cantwell has the benefit of stability and the youth, but Fukuda is going to push him into the cage for three rounds. I’m ultimately going with Riki here because I believe Cantwell is going to have a devil of a time getting off the cage and into his own offense. Fukuda, decision.Dallas Winston: I had high hopes for Cantwell too and love watching his creative kickboxing. Unfortunately, it’s heavy on intricate technique and light on raw effectiveness and I kind of lost faith after four-straight letdowns. Fukuda is oddly similar to Massenzio as a southpaw wrestle-boxer who pressures with alternating attacks of crisp combos and double-legs. I’m giving Cantwell a little lenience for his last fight because it was his first-run at 185 and he’ll also be the most dangerous submissionist that Fukuda has encountered. Riki Fukuda by decision.Staff Picking Fukuda: KJ, Tim, Fraser, Thapa, DallasStaff Picking Cantwell: Grant, David, Anton, BrookhouseTakeya Mizugaki vs Chris Cariaso Brent Brookhouse: Yeah, this isn’t too hard. Mizugaki by decision.KJ Gould: Mizugaki’s career in the last 3 years has been the very definition of hit and miss, but he has been in there with some of the best in his weight class. He’s a bit more experienced and has faced better fighters than Cariaso and based on that alone I have to give it to Mizugaki - even if the pattern of his record shows a loss is due. I expect the cycle to be broken, though. Mizugaki by Decision.Tim Burke: Mizu all the way. He’s much bigger than Cariaso and has the better grappling. It’s pretty clear-cut to me. Takeya Mizugaki by decision.T.P. Grant: This seems like a match meant to give the home crowd a reason to cheer, Mizugaki should be all over Cariaso. Takeya Mizugaki by Decision. David Castillo: Mizugaki is not immune to an off performance, but he’s never been a dumb fighter, and the only way he loses to Cariaso is if he gets reckless, or makes multiple mistakes. Instead he should do what he’s able to do on paper: bully, and beat Chris Cariaso who will be feeling like John Lithgow in the Twilight Zone on his trip to Japan. Takeya Mizugaki by TKO, round 3. Ben Thapa: Who still watches Twilight Zone in this day and age? Adventure Time is where it’s at and it’s a better show than the new or old Serling versions ever were. Mizugaki, decision.Dallas Winston: Mizugaki by more height and reach and technical brawling. Takeya Mizugaki by decision.Staff Picking Mizugaki: KJ, Tim, Fraser, Grant, David, Anton, Brookhouse, DallasStaff Picking Cariaso: Zhang Tiequan vs Issei TamuraBrent Brookhouse: They’re just going to keep trying to give Zhang all the softballs they can. He’s not good. Tamura is also not good. Before anyone gets all weepy about saying a fighter isn’t good, it’s in the context of "UFC level." But whatever, this is set up to give Zhang a win, even though he can botch that. Tiequan by decision.Anton Tabuena: I don’t even know why they even placed Zhang on this card in the first place. Why would the Japanese crowd be interested in seeing a Chinese fighter against an American (his original opponent)? Either way, Tamura isn’t as good, and he’s coming in on short notice, so he will probably get stopped by the former URCC champion. Zhang Tie Quan by Submission.KJ Gould: I have not been even remotely impressed with Tiequan at all, anf he’s had a couple of favourable match ups thrown his way. Tamura may be another one of those bones, but I could easily see Tamura take a decision. There’s a reason this is the first fight of the preliminary card, so if it ends up being good consider yourself fortunate. Tamura by Decision.Tim Burke: Tamura has no finish, and he’s going to get outwrestled. Even if Zhang drops for 600 guillotines, he’s gonna get up 604 times and get back on top. And so what if I suck at math? What’s it to you? Tiequan Zhang by decision.T.P. Grant: Tamura is a late replacement, with moderate success in Shooto in a young career. This is a huge jump for him and he isn’t ready for it. Tiequan Zhang by Guillotine, Round 1. David Castillo: While I think KJ is being a little tough on Zhang, he’s still correct. But for all of his faults, I don’t think he’s a sub-par fighter. If he was a bit smarter, he might have saved himself from the loss to someone like Danny Downes (ok so maybe ‘sub par’ is apt, but whatever), and Elkins is pretty underrated, despite not being a spectacular fighter. Tamura is not the fighter to replicate some of their success. Plus, no matter how silly he is about guillotine attempts, it’s still a pretty good guillotine. Tiequan Zhang by submission, round 1. Ben Thapa: Zhang is a brown belt now. That kind of boggles my mind because he was just a blue belt when he first came onto my radar. That kind of dedication and work ethic is a great thing to have and I think it shows more improvement than Tamura has been able to accomplish in his short career. I do hope Tamura gets another shot after this, because he can be entertaining and a threat in the right spots. Zhang, decision.Dallas Winston: Tamura is actually a decent wrestler with great submission defense and I’m with K.J. in that Zhang’s yet to impress. That’s all I got. Tiequan Zhang by submission.Staff Picking Zhang: Tim, Fraser, Grant, David, Anton, Brookhouse, DallasStaff Picking Tamura: KJ

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If you read Mark Hunt’s Wikipedia page -- and it’s Friday, so why wouldn’t you? -- you’ll quickly learn that he is "known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power." In case you’re confused about what it means to have an iron chin, Wikipedia will even provide you with a link to a helpful page that explains the concept with the help of a Rocky reference. Ah, so that’s Mark Hunt’s deal, you’ll think to yourself as you navigate away to a YouTube video of unlikely animal friends (again, it’s Friday). He’s a big strong dude who doesn’t mind getting hit in the head a bunch. Got it.What you won’t learn this way is that, honestly, Hunt kind of hates that characterization. He also kind of hates the idea that MMA fans might regard him as just another hard-headed kickboxer who entertains with his ability to absorb and return punishment. As he told me when I talked to him before his UFC 144 bout with Cheick Kongo: "I was K-1 world champion. I’m one of the best fighters in the world. I don’t want to be remembered as just some tough guy who could take punches."Which, of course, makes sense. Even if it seems completely counter-intuitive to anyone who’s followed his career in MMA, where he’s often cast as precisely the kind of character he doesn’t want to be. If you ask the 37-year-old New Zealander about the rough times and the six-fight losing streak he endured between July of 2006 through September of 2010, don’t expect much of a conversation. Hunt doesn’t like to talk about it -- not that he seems to enjoy talking about very much of anything, at least with reporters -- so he brushes it off by admitting that it’s "been hard, but I’m still here.""It’s always discouraging to lose," Hunt said, after some prodding. "You look at it and think, man, what’s going on? It’s always discouraging. But I’m a fighter. I don’t like to quit. I just thought, I’m going to get back on and keep riding until it’s time to quit."Described by his friend and training partner Steve Oliver as "a very private person," but also, at least among his friends, as a "very funny guy," Hunt will admit that he’s not a fan of public speaking. He keeps to himself. He doesn’t do a ton of interviews. The current state of his fighting career might be a great story of redemption and determination, but he’d rather not talk about it if it means being reminded of all the times he’s failed.For instance, when UFC president Dana White launched into a monologue at a recent post-fight press conference about Hunt’s refusal to take a payoff after the UFC bought PRIDE (and with it Hunt’s contract), it was "sort of embarrassing" for him, Hunt said."I didn’t really want to talk about it. I don’t feel like talking about it now, to be honest."In a way, it’s hard to blame him. If your employer started telling everyone how, at first, he thought he’d be better off just paying you to leave him alone rather than paying you to actually work, you might not like it much either. That Hunt had refused the easy money and insisted on fighting for his cash impressed White, he explained, especially in light of Hunt’s recent turnaround and current two-fight winning streak in the UFC."When we bought Pride, he came as part of the Pride deal," White said at the UFC 135 post-fight press conference. "It was back and forth and basically I was just like...we'll just pay you off. We know you're in the Pride deal. And Mark Hunt said 'No, I want to come. I want to fight.' ...The guy's got a ton of heart and I have a lot of respect for him."Even then, Hunt sat nearby looking like he just wanted someone to change the subject, to recall that he was a K-1 champion once, that he’s more than just a big guy who can take a punch."That’s not really the idea of fighting," he said of his legendary chin. "The idea is to hit people and not get hit."It’s the same with his misunderstood ground game, he explained, which too many people assume he simply doesn’t have."I’ve been training jiu-jitsu for a while. It just didn’t really click in my brain. Maybe sometimes I get a bit lazy. By the time I realize I’m in trouble I’m already caught. You can’t really think about it. You’ve got to just react as it happens. But I don’t think my ground game is too bad, you know?"And when he lost all that weight prior to his UFC debut? It wasn't a sign that he had only recently decided to take his training seriously, he said, even if that's how some people chose to interpret it. "It was never a big problem for me to lose the weight...I just didn’t have to before."According to Oliver, "a lot of people think he’s sitting around not training, but he has been doing it properly." What many fans see as a sudden reversal of fortunes is really, to Hunt and those who know him best, the natural consequence of hard work combined with great talent. But that’s the thing about legacy. You don’t necessarily get to decide how people remember you. Hunt might wish that more fans would acknowledge his skill rather than his chin and his successes rather than just his recent rise from failure, but it’s not really up to him. Or rather, it is, but not in the way he might like it to be. He can keep winning fights and put more distance between himself and the dark days of his career, but it won’t make those days disappear. Fans will still remember more for walking through a Cro Cop head kick more than they remember him for shutting down a Ben Rothwell takedown attempt. Instead of thinking of him as the technician and the professional he sees when he looks in the mirror, they might instead remember him as the guy who hit Chris Tuchscherer with a walk-off knockout punch after refusing the UFC's offer of easy walk-away money.That’s fine for fans and promoters, who love a good redemption story. Then again, they both also love a guy who can take a beating. Hunt doesn’t really want to be either. Maybe there’s still time left on the clock to change some of that. Hunt hopes so. Not that he particularly wants to talk about it.

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TOKYO - Five months ago, heavyweights Cheick Kongo and Mark Hunt were sucking air together in the elevation of Denver. Present for a training camp that concluded with Hunt's meeting with Ben Rothwell and Quinton Jackson's fight with champ Jon Jones, Kongo wasn't particularly close to the New Zealand native in the weeks before UFC 135. He was surprised, nonetheless, when the Kiwi came up as his next opponent at this weekend's UFC 144 event. It didn't occur that he might have to fight Hunt.

Posted in: ufc, fight, mark hunt, hunt, cheick kongo

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MMAFrenzy continues our main card coverage of UFC 144 with a pair of breakdowns of Saturday’s card. Each day we will breakdown a pair of fights leading up to our breakdown of the UFC lightweight title fight between Ben Henderson and champion Frankie Edgar. Today we take a look at a pair of fights with Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo and Ryan Bader taking on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. MMAFrenzy’s coverage of UFC 144 will begin with the Facebook and FX broadcast preliminary fights at 7:30 PM EST on Saturday evening. Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy for complete coverage of UFC 144. Keys for Mark Hunt (Chris Leslie): Mark Hunt is quite frankly at a massive disadvantage in his fight with Kongo. The kickboxer is now facing another kickboxer but Kongo is not afraid to get the fight to the ground if need be. Out-gunned, under-sized, and with nothing left to lose, means that Hunt can actually be more dangerous that normal. Don’t be surprised, if Hunt feels he’s losing this fight, if Hunt just decides to go out on his shield with an all-out assault in the country that made him famous. Keys for Cheick Kongo (Bryan Robison): With the matchup with Hunt, a fight that plays out similarly to Kongo’s most recent fight, against Matt Mitrione, could be expected. Yes, Kongo has excellent kickboxing. But so does Hunt. What Hunt does not have, which has been a weakness in the past, is serviceable takedown defense. In his first UFC fight, against Sean McCorkle, Hunt was taken down at will and finished with a straight armbar in just over a minute. For Kongo, who is undefeated since losing to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir in consecutive fights, he showed a much more versatile gameplan in his fight against Mitrione. And while he has the power to knock anyone out in the heavyweight division, Mark Hunt is not human. He took a head kick from Mirko Cro Cop and just stared at him afterwards, wondering why Cro Cop would do such a thing. So it seems that taking the fight to the ground and wearing Hunt down is Kongo’s best chance to earn the victory. Keys for Ryan Bader (CL): It is very, very simple for Bader when he faces Rampage on Saturday. Chin down, hands up, set up your shots with combos and take Rampage down before he can counter. If he does that, then Bader can be victorious. If he doesn’t, well then he will likely end up counting the lights on the ceiling or he will be ole’d around the octagon like a bull in a bullfight. Keys for “Rampage” Jackson (BR): Finally “Rampage” Jackson returns to his second home- Japan. It will be nearly six years to the day since his last fight in Saitama Super Arena. While he won’t have 50,000+ on his side, he will still have a significant crowd on his side. It is unlikely we will see the “Rampage” of old, one who comes forward aggressively and slams his opponents. He has been much more methodical over the last three years, with it being over three years since his last knockout, against his rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December 2008. He has become more of a counter boxer than the aggressor, which will come in handy against Bader. Bader likes to move forward and put pressure on his opponent and eventually take him to the ground. Jackson can use that to his advantage, much like Tito Ortiz did against Bader, and when Bader comes in for a high takedown or even a double leg, counter against that with his premier knockout power.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, kongo, bader

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TOKYO - Were it not for such things as medical suspensions and pre-booked fight cards, Mark Hunt would fight at UFC 144 and one week later at UFC on FX 2. "I'm a fighter, that's what we do," he told MMAjunkie.com. "If I could do both, I could hopefully try and ask for the Aussie card." For now, Hunt will have to be satisfied with facing Cheick Kongo at UFC 144, which takes place Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The bout is part of a seven-fight main card that airs live on pay-per-view. Preliminary-card fights air on FX and stream on Facebook.

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Two of the UFC's most dangerous heavyweight strikers will collide this Saturday night (February 25, 2012) as Mark Hunt takes on Cheick Kongo on the UFC 144 main card in Saitama, Japan. Mark Hunt was never widely expected to still be employed by the UFC at this point in his career but he's surprisingly on a two fight winning streak in the division and is now just one victory away from becoming completely relevant. He's hoping to secure that relevance with a strong performance against Kongo. Cheick Kongo has always been in the second tier in the heavyweight division, but has on several occasions knocked on the door to the top level. He's been unbeaten in his last four fights and if he can defeat the likes of Hunt, he'll be once again in a position for a very big heavyweight showdown down the road. Will Mark Hunt's incredibly comeback story continue in Japan? Does Cheick Kongo have the skill-set to defeat "The Super Samoan? What's the key to victory for both heavyweight brawlers? Let's find out: Mark Hunt Record: 7-7 overall, 2-1 in the UFC Key Wins: Ben Rothwell (UFC 135), Mirko Filipovic (Pride Shockwave 2005), Wanderlei Silva (Pride Shockwave 2004) Key Losses: Sean McCorkle (UFC 119), Gegard Mousasi (Dream 9), Melvin Manhoef (Dynamite!! 2008) How he got here: Mark Hunt got into fighting after impressing promoters at a night club. "The Super Samoan" didn't get an easy start in kickboxing, forced to fight tough top opponents early in his career when promoters were trying to use him as a stepping stone for their other stars. Instead, Hunt gained valuable experience against top opposition and came through with a respectable 15-4 record. Hunt got his big break in kickboxing in 2001. He had won the qualifier tournament in both 2000 and 2001 to advance to the K-1 World Grand Prix and he shocked the world by winning three fights in one night to win the K-1 World Grand Prix Championship. After a few more kickboxing matches, Hunt would transition to mixed martial arts. He would lose his debut in Pride via armbar but would go on an impressive five fight win streak that included wins against Dan Bobish, Mirko "Cro Cop" and Wanderlei Silva which would earn him fights against some of the toughest heavyweights in the world. He would lose every bout from 2006-2010, stepping into the squared circle against the likes of Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko (for the Pride Heavyweight championship), Alistair Overeem and Gegard Mousasi, losing each fight via submission of the arm. Due to some leftover contract obligations from Pride after the buyout, Hunt was granted a pair of fights in the UFC. He would lose to Sean McCorkle via Kimura in barely a minute but would rebound against Chris Tuchscherer earlier this year with one of 2011's most memorable knockouts. His victory earned him another fight against a top heavyweight in Ben Rothwell and he capitalized on Rothwell's conditioning, earning a unanimous decision and continuing one of 2011's best surprise stories. Hunt has a tremendous opportunity to break through if he can defeat Cheick Kongo on Saturday night. How he gets it done: This one is pretty simple. Mark Hunt has a tremendous chin, the ability to check kicks and big time knockout power in his hands. He wants to keep this fight standing and he wants to be able to trade blows with Kongo. Hunt showed improved takedown defense and ground game in his last fight and he needs to do whatever it takes to remain upright and try to land that knockout blow before he's put on his back. It worked against Tuchscherer and it can happen again. Hunt also has some pretty heavy kicks so if he can land some of those and take some zip out of Kongo's takedowns and wrestling, that would be a big help as well. The main thing here is Hunt has a tremendous chin so if he can sucker Kongo into trading big power strikes, he's likely not going to be the one who goes down. Cheick Kongo Record: 17-6-2 overall, 10-4-1 in the UFC Key Wins: Matt Mitrione (UFC 137), Mirko Filipovic (UFC 75), Pat Barry (UFC on Versus 4) Key Losses: Frank Mir (UFC 107), Cain Velasquez (UFC 99), Heath Herring (UFC 92) How he got here: Cheick Kongo entered the UFC very highly trained in the striking arts which included Kendo, Karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai. Kongo had a big 5-1 stretch in his UFC career from 2007-2009 but eventual UFC champion Cain Velasquez stood in his path. Velasquez was nearly knocked out at the beginning of all three rounds by the Wolfslair fighter but would recover and put the Frenchman on his back to pull out a unanimous decision victory. Since the loss to Cain, Kongo has gone 3-1-1 in the UFC. For some reason, he was infatuated with Travis Browne's shorts at UFC 120 which resulted in the fight being a draw. His last fight against Pat Barry was one of the most memorable of 2011. After getting rocked and nearly knocked out on 2-3 occasions in a matter of 20 seconds, Kongo pulled off the ultimate Hail Mary by knocking Barry out cold with an uppercut-cross combo of his own once he got to his feet. He rose up a couple notches and earned a bout against the undefeated Mitrione, where he outwrestled the former NFL lineman and was able to hand "Meathead" his first career loss. With the victory, he scored a very intriguing bout with Mark Hunt for this Saturday night. How he gets it done: Cheick Kongo has a solid striking background but the key path to victory for the Wolfslair fighter is to be unpredictable in his attack, mix in some takedowns with his striking. Kongo isn't a great wrestler, but he's shown that it's a part of his overall game that he's put a lot of work into and it has steadily improved. He utilized his wrestling very well in defeating Matt Mitrione in his last fight and with his physique and tremendous overall strength, he might be able to muscle Hunt to the canvas. If the fight is standing, Kongo will need to avoid the low blows and the pants-grabbing. He's built a bad reputation for all the points that he's been deducted throughout his UFC career so the referee may be giving him a short leash. He'll also have to do a better job of playing defense. He's been hurt badly in some of his recent fights and he can't afford to do that against Hunt. Fight X-Factor: The biggest factor for this fight, while both men are more known for their striking, is going to be the battle between Kongo's improving wrestling and Hunt's improving takedown defense and ground game. Neither of these skills are elite or even close to elite for either man, but if Kongo doesn't like what he sees in the striking, it's been proven time and time again that he'll try to take the fight to the ground, especially in recent fights. If Kongo can't take Hunt down at will, he might be putting himself in a bad position to eat some big punches, but if he can put the former kickboxer on his back and keep him there, he's going to have a very strong chance to at least win a decision if not more. Bottom Line: This is the type of fight that makes hardcore MMA fans drool. Who'd have thought that a battle between Mark Hunt and Cheick Kongo would be relevant in 2012? Both men have a ton of power in their strikes, are terrific kickboxers and can finish fights. If this breaks out into a big slugfest, it could be one of the most entertaining heavyweight battles of the year. There also is a possibility of some slowdowns in the action, however, as Kongo has been known to shoot for takedowns and clinch for extended periods of time. He might do the same against Hunt if things aren't going his way, but you never know. This could be the best fight or the night or a complete letdown. It's a toss-up. Who will come out on top at UFC 144? Tell us your predictions in the comments below! Poll Which top heavyweight kickboxer will be victorious come Saturday night on the UFC 144 main card? Mark Hunt Cheick Kongo   4 votes | Results

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At UFC Japan two big men with a KO power meet in the heavyweight tilt between New Zealand's own, Mark Hunt, and the French Muay Thai practitioner, Cheik Kongo. While Mark Hunt has won the K-1 Grand Prix, the highest title in the world of competitive striking, his technical skill is often overshadowed by the fact that it was largely his physical attributes which won him this title. Hunt only succeeded in getting to the tournament final by injuring Ray Sefo's eye in a losing effort against Sefo in the semi finals, drawing his fellow Kiwi into a brawl because he could not deal with Sefo's superior technical kickboxing. Cheik Kongo, on the other hand, receives enormous credit for his string of kickboxing titles despite a complete absence of any verification of an official kickboxing record. Kongo was once, though it is hard to believe now, in serious title contention in the UFC, after picking up 3 solid TKO wins through 2008 - 2009 before meeting Cain Velasquez and being taken down seemingly at will en route to a unanimous decision loss. It is hoped that this fight will remain standing, in which case it is important to consider the strengths of each man in that domain. Hunt's abilities are well know - he has one of the most solid chins in the history of combat sports. In his career he has taken Cro Cop's high kick flush on the jaw, and the strongest blows from Ray Sefo, Mike Bernardo and Jerome Le Banner. Hunt has mixed it up with the best kickboxers in the world and come out with mixed results, but has been knocked out cold only once, in an MMA match against Melvin Manhoef, perhaps the biggest puncher, pound for pound in the world. Hunt also holds a thunderous punch - being able to knock out the iron jawed Jerome Le Banner, and break the orbital bone of Ray Sefo. Once Hunt entered MMA, his career was perhaps the worst nurtured of any prospect, meeting Hidehiko Yoshida, Dan Bobish, Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop in his first four fights. Somehow managing, with a complete absence of MMA experience, to get the better of the latter three. Clearly Hunt fights best against strikers, Cro Cop and Silva being the two highest profile strikers in MMA at the time. But his matches against Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Sean McCorkle exposed his woefully inadequate takedown and submission defense. Since his loss to McCorkle in his UFC debut, however, Hunt has experienced a career renaissance - developing the takedown defense to repeatedly stuff Brock Lesnar's training partner, Chris Tuchscherer en route to a walk-away uppercut knockout during a sprawl. Hunt continued his improvement, out grappling veteran Ben Rothwell, and brutalizing him on both the feet and the floor. While Rothwell is no master of the ground game or of takedowns, he is certainly a better wrestler than Kongo, and will make Kongo's night long if he is forced to revert to his wrestling strategy. Hunt has, however, been prone to eating too many shots due to his great chin allowing him to. In a way reminiscent of Chuck Liddell, who could not learn to keep his hands up even when working with Howard Davis Jr., Hunt may be too stuck in his ways to learn to keep his hands up. It was this fault which got him knocked out by Manhoef and stunned by Gegard Mousasi, who is not known as a hard puncher. Kongo, for his part, is an extremely interesting striker from a technical perspective. His kicks and Thai plumm (double handed neck clinch) are brutal, and were almost entirely responsible for his kickboxing success. While he has shown his Thai clinch during his UFC tenure, and that he can do significant damage from the guard against. What is particularly fascinating is the enormous credit given to Kongo as a boxer; based purely on his kickboxing titles, UFC fans credit him with having skill in his hands which he simply does not possess. Kongo often carries his chins high and pushes his punches out without being in good position to defend counter shots. The punches Barry dropped him with were simple looping counters that should not land on a "world class" kickboxer with the reach and height advantages which Kongo carried into that fight. Watch this fight from Kongo's mysterious kickboxing career and notice how he relies almost entirely on his savage kicks and clinch work - factors that have been largely absent from his UFC career as he is so weak off of his back that he cannot risk attempting them except against weaker opposition. Cheick Kongo vs Marcin Rozalski .mp4 (via chim55) Important to notice from this fight is firstly how Cheik Kongo's kickboxing record is apparently 12 - 12 with 0 KOs, certainly different from the 21 - 2 listed on Wikipedia, seemingly the only available evidence of his career. What is most obvious is how easily Kongo out maneuvers and manhandles his opponent however - how often do we see him use those low kicks in his MMA career? Almost never, and that is the sad downside of his have next to no guard game. Were his legs and hips as dexterous on the ground as they are on the feet, he could throw such biting strikes without concern. Most noticeable, however, is Kongo's only real attempt to box with his opponent, at 4:11 where he is wobbled while wading in with sloppy, stepping punches. His lack of head movement and unconvincing feints allowed his opponent to throw the lead hand shot onto Kongo's chin as he walked backwards - not a powerful punch and eerily reminiscent of the backward walking punches which Kongo used to great effect on the similarly head-movement averse, Cain Velasquez. Notice how Kongo's own lack of head movement leads him to eat a shot from Velasquez despite landing cleanly on his opponent. It is these kinds of 50/50 punching exchanges which Kongo occasionally wins big in, perpetuating the belief that because he has knockout power, he has good boxing. Pat Barry was caught similarly but due to diving in with reckless abandon was put out cold. Mark Hunt, however, has made a career of baiting opponents to trade with him. Hunt succeeded in giving as good as he got against bigger punching, technically elite, Ray Sefo and Jerome Le Banner - if he stuns Kongo as Barry or Mir did, Kongo has little hope of pulling out a flash knockout as he did against Barry, and lacks the power of Melvin Manhoef. The most important factor of this match is the wrestling. When two good strikers meet, they often wrestle in a tedious display of "octagon control" (simultaneously the dumbest and vaguest criteria in sports) for 15 minutes, and when two great grapplers meet they often choose to put on a light contact kickboxing exhibition. When Kongo failed to get the better of Mitrione on the feet, eating the few significant strikes of the match, he chose to lean against Mitrione on the fence to eek out the third round and pick up a decision, whether Hunt's counter-wrestling is of the level where he can muscle his way off of the fence will likely decide this fight if Kongo drops the first round. Jack Slack breaks down striking strategy and technique at his websitewww.fightsgoneby.com He can also be found on Twitter @JackSlackMMA

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Mark Hunt has a big opportunity.  At UFC 144 on Saturday night, he fights Cheick Kongo. France's Kongo has won his last two fights and has long been in the verge of the title picture in the heavyweight division.  In the UFC's Octagon, the Frenchman has a better resume. But Hunt doesn't see it as a step up."(Is the fight) Good for my career? I don't look at it like that. I've fought a lot of the best fighters in the world so it's not a step up for me. So, just another fight."The veteran is blunt about his opponent's skills."I know (of) Cheick Kongo -- he's alright, he's not a bad fighter."It's just another fight for a man who, at 37, has been a professional fighter for over 15 years.  First in kickboxing, where he won the K-1 Grand Prix in 2001.  In 2004, he switched to MMA where he's defeated names like Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop. The New Zealand-born Sydneysider Hunt has earned the right to be casual about it all.Hunt is matter-of-fact about fighting, but don't mistake that for a lack of determination. From mid 2006 to 2010, he did not win a fight, going 0 for 6. Four years of losses and lengthy periods without a fight.  But he didn't let the statistics swallow him, and he now rides a two fight win streak.  Mentally, it's a long way from losing his Octagon debut at the end of 2010 to Sean McCorkle."It's good because after losing for so many times I just didn't know what was going wrong; but after changing up so many things and finally getting on a better level mentally and physically it's really helped me a lot. Especially losing to a beginner like McCorkle.  But I put that down to not fighting for a couple of years," said Hunt.  "It always happens when you don't fight for a while you're just rubbish, you don't know what's going on.  And in mixed martial arts by the time you realize it, it's too late."His last fight was a grueling three round decision win over Ben Rothwell at UFC 135 last September. By the end, both men were exhausted, but he attributes this to Denver's mountain air, not a lack of hard training. "I was pretty tired, but the altitude really got me a lot," stated Hunt.  "It's hard to realize until you actually go train there or actually fight there. Then you realize how difficult the air is up there if you’re not used to the training or staying there for a while. I wasn't used to it - I had like two weeks there. It was hard work."It was a chance for the "Super Samoan" Hunt, who's struggled with the submission game in the past, to show off new skills: executing a takedown, taking dominant positions and attempting an armbar on Rothwell."It was good. I've been practicing a while for it."But punches and kicks will always be his bread and butter.  And Hunt doesn't miss a beat when asked who the better striker will be at UFC 144."Well, as a striker I'm better than him, of course.  That's the way I look at it."Which he believes leaves Kongo with one option. "That's (attempting takedowns) what he's gonna be doing.  Once he realizes he can't dance around or play around with me he's going to be trying to take me down like the rest of them."While Hunt has trained in Florida with American Top Team in the past, he prepared for this fight in his birthplace: Auckland, New Zealand.  It's not as glamorous a fight camp, but he believes it's for the best.  And he looks as fit as ever."The training over here is pretty crazy. I've got some good training back at home (in Australia) but it's hard to find partners around because everyone has to work and not many people fight full time.  I know Jamie (Te Huna) has a lot of guys his weight he's training with and that's pretty good for him," said Hunt.  "For me, everywhere else is too far to go. Miami is pretty far to go to acclimatize and then reacclimatize to Australian time because there's just not enough time.  So I think it was a good move, but we'll see what happens in the fight."Hunt’s fight will see him return to Japan, where he's fought for much of his career."I'm looking forward to fighting in Japan again; it will be great."It's the place where he won the K-1 Grand Prix in front of some 65,000 fans. And it's where he debuted in the legendary PRIDE ring. "It's where my career started really.  Apart from being home in Australia.  I got offered my second fight contract in Japan."Yet on the 25th of February it will be the site of just another fight for Hunt.  

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After suffering the first two losses of his career in consecutive fights, Evan Dunham has now won two straight and is back in the title hunt at 155 pounds.

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At the Riverwind Casino in Norman Oklahoma the traveling MMA road show known as King of the Cage made a pit stop for an event titled Steel Curtain. A pair of prospects under the age of 22 stole the show on a night with nine pro fights booked. California's Sean Strickland (9-0) took on four year pro Brandon Hunt (8-3) in the card's main event.In a three round middleweight scrap Strickland brought the fight to the ground and made quick work of Hunt. With his opponent pressed up against the cage Strickland calmly worked to improve his position on Hunt. A flurry of punches forced Hunt to roll away to escape but in the process Strickland ceased his back. With Hunt flattened out Strickland opened with more power punches until the referee stopped the action less than four minutes after the bell sounded for round one. The official time of Strickland's TKO win came at the 3:48 point of round one. As a pro Strickland has stopped seven of his nine opponents. A 20 year old from Corona, CA Strickland is a breath a fresh air for the constantly thin MMA middleweight division. With a perfect record and the ability to put on exciting fights inside the cage it would be a big shock if Strickland does not earn a call up to the UFC or Strikeforce sometime in the first half of 2012. Competing at 185 pounds Strickland has not earned a signature win on the local scene and still may need some seasoning, but in a weight class in flux he may get time to develop more while competing on a Zuffa owned promotion's undercard. Featherweight prospect John Cottrell (10-2) pulled off a minor upset with his win over Thomas Schulte (20-9). An Oklahoma fighter, Cottrell bloodied and battered Schulte over the course of their three round fight. With two scores of 30-27 and one 29-28 from the judge's cage side Cottrell earned a decisive victory over a fighter with both WEC and Bellator experience. The 22 year old Cottrell is in the midst of an eight fight winning streak. The last four fights have been particularly impressive for Cottrell as he knocked off Oklahoma stalwarts Josh Pulsifer (16-7), Johnny Carson (9-5) and now Schulte on his way to double digit wins. With his hot streak Cottrell has assured himself looks from both the Bellator and UFC organizations in 2012.King of the Cage Steel Curtain resultsNorman, OKIsaiah Reyes def. Anthony Kellen by Submission Punches 2:21 R3Noah Zamora def. Rowdy Wilbourn by Submission Guillotine Choke 0:51 R1Rico Cato def. Marciano Wilson by Submission Rear Naked Choke 1:28 R1Scott Bear def. Michael Casteel by Submission Rear Naked Choke 1:52 R1Garrick Landis def. Rickey Bowen by Unanimous Decision Carl Perry def. Tim Papp by TKO (Punches) 1:26 R1Codale Ford def. Brian Grinnell by TKO (Doctor Stoppage Eye Injury) 5:00 R1Johnny Cottrell def. Thomas Schulte by Unanimous Decision Sean Strickland def. Brandon Hunt by TKO (Punches) 3:48 R1

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Two international mixed martial arts (MMA) veterans with kickboxing backgrounds are set to go toe-to-toe at UFC 144 on Feb. 25, 2012, from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Super Samoan Mark Hunt, a Pride FC mainstay from back in the day, will be tasked with trading leather with formidable French force, Cheick Kongo, in a heavyweight scrap set for the promotion's return to the "Land of the Rising Sun" early next year. After surviving a six-fight losing skid, Hunt has momentarily turned things around and recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since 2004. He laid out Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 and then battered Ben Rothwell at UFC 135 to earn a unanimous decision. The New Zealander -- who made a name for himself with wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Filipovic while they were in the prime of their illustrious careers -- has one loss inside the Octagon since coming aboard in Sept. 2010, tapping to a Sean McCorkle armbar at UFC 119. Submissions have clearly been Hunt's Achilles heel throughout his MMA career, but the good news is Kongo is no Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. On the contrary, similar to Hunt, Kongo is a striker first. In fact, he, too, cut his teeth in kickboxing prior to making the transition to MMA. And while he is no K-1 World Grand Prix champion like Hunt (2001), he certainly has the skills and power to do some heavy damage. Paul Buentello and Pat Barry know all about that, getting finished by Kongo in recent bouts because of strikes. So much so that Kongo's most recent opponent, Matt Mitrione, appeared to want no part of the Parisian's power, implementing a rather "safe" gameplan at UFC 137 that ultimately played right into the hands of Kongo in the form of a unanimous decision. There should be no real secrets or surprise strategies heading into this heavyweight duel. Sure, Kongo might shoot for a takedown or two, but both these men prefer to stand and bang. And that's what they'll likely do for 15 minutes or until someone falls over first. UFC 144 will be headlined by a 155-pound title fight featuring Ben Henderson, fresh off his unanimous decision win over Clay Guida, taking on reigning lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. In addition, Jake Shields returns to action against Yoshihiro Akiyama, while Anthony Pettis and Joe Lauzon collide in what promises to be an exciting lightweight attraction. For the latest UFC 144 news and notes be sure to check out our complete archive right here.

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Rising heavyweight Cheick Kongo and PRIDE veteran Mark Hunt have agreed to square off at UFC 144 in Japan on February 26, but the matchup has not yet been officially signed, MMA Weekly reports. Kongo (17-6-2) topped previously unbeaten Matt Mitrione at UFC 137 in October to improve to 3-0-1 in his last four fights, while Hunt (7-7) snapped a six-fight losing streak with back-to-back UFC wins over Chris Tuchscherer and Ben Rothwell. UFC 144, which airs as a regular UFC pay-per-view on Feb. 25 due to the time difference, is headlined by UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson and also includes Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis,  Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch, and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields. For complete coverage of UFC 144, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

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More fight news coming in for the UFC's return to Japan at UFC 144 next February, and once again, it involves a name very familiar to Japanese MMA fans. MMAWeekly is reporting that it will be Pride and K-1 veteran Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo in Japan. A heavyweight bout between Chieck Kongo and Mark Hunt has been verbally agreed to for UFC 144 in Japan, although independent sources told MMAWeekly.com that no contracts have been signed as of yet. Great fight here that will be a homecoming of sorts for the Samoan. Mark Hunt's greatest career successes have all come in Japan, first as a kickboxer in K-1 where he won the 2001 World Grand Prix, then in Pride where he went 5-3 including wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop. He's been very popular with Japanese fans in the past, and will hopefully get a big reception when he returns. Hunt is on a shocking career renaissance at the moment. After losing 6 straight fights, all in the first round, Hunt scored a big KO win over Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127. He followed that up with a win over Ben Rothwell, and now finds himself in the unlikely position of a two fight UFC win streak and a fight against one of the UFC's longtime veterans. Kongo is also on the best run of his UFC career, undefeated in his last 4 and coming in off big wins over Pat Barry and Matt Mitrione. This will be Kongo's first fight in Japan. Really interesting match-up here and I will be intrigued to see how it plays out. Kongo has a tendency to try and outgrapple fellow kickboxers when they square off, and that will probably be his strategy against Hunt. If he presses Hunt against the cage, and can control him on the ground, Hunt's cardio could come into play and allow Kongo to simply outwork him over 15 grueling minutes. But if Hunt can avoid the ground and the clinch, and if he can force Kongo into a kickboxing fight, then Hunt is the superior striker, with the stronger chin, and the heavier hands. A Mark Hunt KO is absolutely a possibility here. In which case the 37 year old Mark Hunt will suddenly find himself inside the top 10 of the UFC Heavyweight division.  Mark Hunt (7-7)W - Ben Rothwell, UD, UFC 135W - Chris Tuchscherer, KO Rd. 2, UFC 127L - Sean McCorkle, Sub Rd. 1, UFC 119 Cheick Kongo (17-6-2)W - Matt Mitrione, UD, UFC 137W - Pat Barry, KO Rd. 1, UFC Live on Versus 4D - Travis Browne, Unanimous Draw, UFC 120 The latest rumored card for UFC 144 is: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (UFC lightweight championship)Anthony Pettis vs. Joe LauzonYushin Okami vs. Tim BoetschYoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake ShieldsMark Hunt vs. Cheick KongoHatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski More SBN coverage of UFC 144

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Watch Brock Lesnar grace the old Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in this hilarious "Duck Hunt" parody from notlookoutawhale, featuring the former UFC heavyweight champion taking aim at the horseshoe in Frank Mir's ass, Canadian health care, vegetables and even The Undertaker (You wanna do this?).

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Lookoutawhale shows us what happens when Brock Lesnar meets Nintendo’s classic duck hunt. Funny stuff.

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(not)lookoutawhale is back with another hilarious video. This time it's called Brock Hunt. This fanshot was promoted to the front page by Tim Burke

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In the wake of UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, there have been a number of dissenting viewpoints on the Heavyweight fight between Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell. Some have called it an embarrassment, and a completely ridiculous fight with no business on the main card. For me, it was a highlight of the night. Why? Two words: Mark Hunt. The Super Samoan came into the fight on the heels of his first win in over five years. Before that, he'd been blown out of the water in four consecutive fights (five if you include his brief K-1 return in 2008). He'd shown poor ground defense, and a lack of improvement in this fundamental hole in his game.  But when he stepped in to face Ben Rothwell, I forgot all of that and rooted for him anyway. And I was not alone in that support, as the comments here at Bloody Elbow will show you. Fans who have seen Hunt in action pre-2006 still remember what he was once capable of. For newer fans, he's just that tubby guy who doesn't seem to belong in the UFC. But let's take a look at what made Hunt great. Hunt started his career as a kickboxer in K-1, fighting primarily in regional shows in the Australia/New Zealand area. He had good successes early, winning regional K-1 tournaments and ultimately qualifying for the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix - the premiere event in kickboxing. Hunt came into that tournament the massive underdog, but put together three impressive wins in one night to take home the 2001 GP crown and stake his claim as the top heavyweight kickboxer in the world. He fought K-1 for two more years, finding success, but never achieving that same high point again. In 2004, Hunt made the transition to MMA. Because of his K-1 status and popularity in Japan, he was immediately thrown into the deep end, debuting in Pride and facing no less than Wanderlei Silva just six months after his debut. Despite the significant experience gap, Hunt defeated Wanderlei, ending The Axe Murderer's 18 fight undefeated streak. Hunt went on to defeat Mirko CroCop - at the time the clear #2 Heavyweight in the world - before challenging Fedor Emelianenko in 2006. Hunt put in a good showing in the loss to Fedor, and at the close of Pride, had put together a solid 5-3 record against the highest level of Heavyweight opponents. All of these accolades are important, but they don't paint the full picture of what makes Mark Hunt so great. That can be summarized easily: the fights. Mark Hunt has been in some all time classics, particularly in K-1 where more than one of his fights are held up as some of the best in the company's history. If there's one fight to watch, it's Hunt's 2001 wild slugfest against Ray Sefo - who MMA fans may recognize from his recent Strikeforce fights, or his work as Vitor Belfort's trainer. The fight was under K-1 rules, but should absolutely appeal to MMA fans. At the time, Hunt was still a relative K-1 newcomer, while Sefo was already established as one of K-1's legends. The two men were both known for their knockout power, and their iron chins, and those two factors came together to create a true spectacle.  Watch the fight in the full entry. For more background on the fight, check my article from 2009 here, originally published at Head Kick Legend. MARK HUNT vs. RAY SEFOOctober 8, 2001K-1 Fukuoka Grand Prix And that folks, is why I will always cheer Mark Hunt. Here are my post-fight thoughts, again from Head Kick Legend: To me, the sequence near the end of round 2 is everything great about combat sports. Both men have been throwing it all at each other, and seem to realize that their opponent is tough enough to absorb all their best shots. So what do they do? Smile, and just start throwing again. This is the kind of fight Dana White thinks he sees every week on TUF, but the reality is, while not an exceptionally technical fight, both men continue to use good technique and keep up the pace throughout, showing what sets them apart from your barroom brawlers of the world. Of particular note here is the aftermath. Yes Sefo won, but he sustained injuries that caused him to drop out of the final match of the evening. Hunt stepped in, defeating Adam Watt to win a spot in the GP Finals where he pulled off the greatest upset in GP history, becoming the 2001 Grand Prix champion. For Sefo, this was perhaps his best shot at the title, as he has not made it back to the final match since. He will, in all likelihood, go down as one of the best K-1 fighters to never win a GP. Want more? Hunt's K-1 series against Jerome Le Banner is just as great as the Sefo fight. Read all about it and watch the fights here.

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In the second heavyweight fight on the PPV card of UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, former K-1 Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt faced former IFL champion Ben Rothwell. Expectations for a quick Rothwell submission win, or a Hunt KO win did not come to pass, as instead Hunt managed to outlast Rothwell for a unanimous decision victory. With this win, Hunt moves up to a 2-1 UFC record. Rothwell drops his 2nd in a row, and is now 1-2 in the UFC. The fight was one that is sure to divide fans. If you are a fan of pure technique, this one may not have been your fit. But if you like fights with drama and heart shown, then these two men delivered. After a tough first round, Hunt came back strong in the 2nd, using his superior striking to slow down Rothwell considerably and open up a big cut over his eye. By the 3rd round, both men were exhausted. At times, Rothwell seemed out on his feet, but a tired Hunt could not close the show, and ended up using a combination of striking and ground and pound to get the unanimous decision win. What was the high spot of this fight? The sight of Mark Hunt going for an armbar to close out the 2nd round got the bar cheering wildly. Great moment there, even if he didn't get it done. Where do these guys go from here? Mark Hunt was on such a losing streak that it's a shock to see him score back to back wins, but here we are. With this win, he should earn another PPV slot against a respectable opponent in the division. I'd love to see him against Travis Browne myself, but other options would be any of the other Heavyweight kickboxers, including Pat Barry, Cheick Kongo, or Mirko CroCop. Rothwell showed heart, but a definite lack of conditioning. That will to keep going may keep his job alive, as Dana White loves these kinds of fights. But at 1-2, I could also see him getting cut. Realistically, he probably could use a win or two on the regional circuit to get himself back on track before coming back to the UFC. Watch it now, later, or never? Later. Some loved it, some hated it. Personally, I admit I am a biased Mark Hunt fan, and the emotion of this fight live may give way to the sloppiness and conditioning issues on rewatching, but I thought this was a very enjoyable and gutsy fight. More BE coverage of UFC 135 in the full entry. UFC 135 Results: Time to Embrace Underutilized Lighter Weight Classes - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Will Rashad Evans Spoil the Jon Jones Era? - Fraser Coffeen UFC 135 Results: Dana White Expects Matt Hughes to Retire - Mike Fagan UFC 135 Results: Two Heavyweight Fights On PPV A Big Mistake - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones Says Rashad Evans Doesn't Have His Number - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva Isn't Happening - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones vs. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson Post-Fight Recap and Analysis - Mike Fagan UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage Results - Event Doesn't Provide Enough Bang for the Buck - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson Fight Video Highlights - Anton Tabuena UFC 135 Results: Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck Fight Video Highlights - Anton Tabuena UFC 135 Post-Fight Press Conference Coverage - Tim Burke UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones Limping Backstage After Dominating Rampage Jackson - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Jon Jones Forces Rampage Jackson to Tap Out - Matthew Roth UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage - Live Results and Play-By-Play for Main Card - Bloody Elbow UFC 135 Results: Josh Koscheck Knocks Out Matt Hughes, Doesn't Retire Him - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: Mark Hunt Picks Up A Decision In A Grueling Fight - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: Travis Browne Defeats Rob Broughton by Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: Nate Diaz Forces Takanori Gomi to Tap By Armbar - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: Tony Ferguson Breaks Aaron Riley's Jaw In The First - Matthew Roth UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage - Live Results and Play-By-Play for Spike TV Prelims - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Tim Boetsch Gives Nick Ring His First Career Loss - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: Junior Assuncao Fails to Impress with Win Over Eddie Yagin - Matthew Roth UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage - Live Results and Play-By-Play for Facebook Prelims - Brent Brookhouse UFC 135 Results: Takeya Mizugaki Ends Cole Escovedo With A Knockout - Matthew Roth UFC 135 Results: James Te Huna Ends Ricardo Romero's Night By KO - Matthew Roth

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, jone, result

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JONES LIVES UP TO THE HYPEJon Jones said that he wanted to be the first man to finish Quinton “Rampage” Jackson inside the Octagon. Mission accomplished.Jones undressed Rampage in Denver, Colorado. He picked apart the former undisputed champion on the feet with an ever-changing stance, using a plethora of kicks, both high and low, and punches from well outside of Rampage’s striking range. He also controlled the action on the ground, ultimately winning by rear naked choke. Honestly, I’m not sure what Jones could have done better. Other than a one-punch knockout, I’m not sure what he else he can do to show people that he is definitely the best in the world at his weight. It was a virtuoso performance. What else can I say?Rashad Evans is next up for the champ. I will break down that fight in detail in the days leading up to the bout, but Evans presents some unique challenges for Jones. First, his wrestling may very well force Jones to answer the question of his ability to fight effectively from his back. Second, there is probably no fighter in the world who knows Jones’ strengths and weaknesses better than Evans due to their history as training partners. Evans is an expert at game planning. That adds a special wrinkle to this matchup. Plus, there is real bad blood between these two, and that always makes for good TV. I cannot wait for that fight.RAMPAGE NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THE MIRRORRampage was once the greatest 205-pounder in the world. He remains the only man in the world to simultaneously hold championships in two elite promotions at the same time. But I haven’t seen any improvement in Rampage’s game since entering the UFC. Actually, one could argue that he has regressed.Rampage used to be known for his crazy powerful slams. If he got his hands on an opponent, they were going for a ride. His PRIDE knockouts often came from ground and pound, not boxing. In the UFC, he looks like a pure boxer. Why?Rampage claims he was at his absolute best heading into this fight. I believe that he trained hard. I talked with people who saw him prepare for this fight. He was in great shape. He was sharp. Yet, he only looked to box.I think that Rampage needs to get back to his wrestling if he wants to climb back up to the top of the 205-pound mountain. There aren’t many opponents who will stand there and let him get away with just boxing. He has a puncher’s chance against anyone, even if he does nothing but throw hands. Rampage is better than that. He is a mixed martial artist. He needs to look into the mirror and find those well rounded skills from his past. They are there. He just needs to find them.KOS TAKES CARE OF BUSINESSNo disrespect to Matt Hughes. He is the greatest champion that the 170-pound division has ever seen. If Georges St-Pierre wants to take his place, he has much more work to do. But I thought Hughes stood little chance at defeating Josh Koscheck. Stylistically, the fight was a nightmare for Hughes. Kos is better in every area, other than jiu-jitsu. And that is a maybe. Practically everyone, other than perhaps Hughes’ inner circle, knew what the former champion was in for once the cage door closed. Hughes looked great on his feet early in the fight. He surprised me. He certainly surprised Kos. And he probably surprised just about everyone in the building. But once Kos realized that Hughes wasn’t going to lie down, he took care of business in a definitive manner. Kos looked great in his return bout. I don’t care that it was the perfect matchup for him. Nobody knows how a fighter will react after a beating like he took from GSP. Kos has apparently taken it in stride and is back to business as usual. His Knockout of the Night effort against Hughes will forever grace his personal highlight reel. HATS OFF TO THE CHAMPHistory has shown us that few fighters pull a Chris Lytle and retire on a win against formidable competition. They are beaten from the sport much more frequently than not. If, in fact, this was Hughes’ final fight, it was fitting that that defeat came at the hands of Kos, who in many ways is Hughes 2.0. The AKA star is a fellow former Division I wrestler who likely viewed Hughes as one of his idols when entering the sport. Unlike Hughes, he entered the sport at a time when being extremely well rounded was not a championship luxury; it was a requisite for mere survival.Again, assuming this was Hughes’ last fight in the UFC, everyone, including Kos, owes him a tip of the hat. Not just for his great career, but also because he did not hesitate to take a fight against a guy who was a stylistic nightmare for him. And he took it on short notice no less. That is what champions are made of. Hughes is, and always will be, a champion deep down in his DNA, regardless of his win-loss record over the past couple of years. I’ll have more on Hughes’ glorious career soon. For now, it’s time to celebrate his opponent’s win. Kos is ready for whatever the division has to offer after a performance like that.DÉJÀ VU FOR GOMI; DIAZ FINDS A HOMENate Diaz followed in his big brother’s footsteps by submitting Takanori Gomi in a career-defining performance. This fight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Diaz needs to remain at lightweight. He is a big, strong, long lightweight. He looked incredible in every aspect of the fight in his Submission of the Night win over Gomi.Diaz is a carbon copy of his brother, minus 15 pounds. His standup has grown leaps and bounds since coming into the UFC. And his jits continues to scream for head trainer Cesar Gracie to promote him to a black belt. I honestly believe that Diaz is on the cusp of coming into his own as a fighter. I think he will springboard this win into something special if he remains at lightweight—something he acknowledged was the right career move at the post-fight presser.The only open question mark for Diaz is his ability to deal with truly dominant wrestlers, who also happen to have solid submission defense. Think Gray Maynard. Think Frankie Edgar. It just so happens that his brother shares the same weakness, if one can claim that Nick has any weaknesses at this point in his amazing career.The UFC is filled with elite wrestlers. For the most part, Strikeforce is not. Nick did not have to prove that he had addressed this issue as he rose to superstardom. Nate won’t have that luxury. Nevertheless, I like his chances. Look for this young man to put himself into title contention no later than mid-2012. I’m a believer. Just like I’m a believer in his older brother.HUNT FINALLY ROUNDS OUT HIS SKILLSMark Hunt won the K-1 Grand Prix in 2001. That means he is a striker on a completely different level from any other UFC heavyweight, in terms of accomplishments. Yet, he has always been a novice grappler. Hunt had five straight losses prior to his UFC debut. Four of them were by submission. Even otherworldly striker Alistair Overeem took this guy to the ground and looked for a submission, rather than stand and trade leather with this guy. Hunt lost his UFC debut by submission. That was the sixth straight loss. To be honest, I thought he was finished as an elite-level fighter at that point. Anyone with novice grappling is not going to make a living in the UFC—period. Then something inexplicable happened. Hunt figured out the grappling part of the game. Ben Rothwell is an extremely well rounded fighter, and Hunt dominated him on the feet and on the ground. His takedown defense, takedowns, scrambling and submission attempts carried the day. Thank you Ricardo Liborio.Oh yes, Hunt easily outclassed his foe on the feet. Rothwell showed an absurd chin. It was tested again and again by one of the best strikers in the sport.  But he had nothing for Hunt on the feet. I’ll tell you what. Hunt easily put on the best performance of his career on Saturday night. Yeah, I know I said the same thing about Diaz. It’s not hyperbole. It’s fact. For the record, referee Adam Martinez’ decision to stand up the fight twice in the final round leaves me scratching my head. Hunt was in a dominant position each time. He was working his ground and pound. Why stand them up? The referee did not look to stand the fighters up earlier in the fight under very similar circumstances. I often wonder why referees apply a different standard to the final round, in terms of looking for an excuse to bring the fight back to the feet. The round is irrelevant. Good referees know that.QUESTIONS ABOUND FOR BROWNETravis Browne is a heavy-handed, farm-boy strong, Island-tough fighter. He claimed heading into his bout with Rob Broughton that he was a top 10 heavyweight in the UFC. His performance did not live up to that claim.If we are being honest with ourselves, Browne dominated the fight, but showed that he does not always show up in peak shape. Sure, the fight was held at altitude. Granted, athletes performing for the first time at altitude often gas very quickly, regardless of the sport. But Browne trained at altitude, so it should not have been an issue. That raises the question of whether he got himself into great shape. I wonder.Browne has proven that he has the raw ability to be a real player in the UFC heavyweight division. No doubt about it. His complete domination of Broughton reminded us of that fact.  But he won’t rise to the level of the UFC elite if he can’t maintain his gas for 15 or 25 minutes. My guess is that he will learn from this fight and come out in his next bout ready to go the distance, if needed.

Posted in: ufc, fight, hunt, ko, hughe

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This fight was the dictionary definition of arduous. I think with hindsight 20/20, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva regrets putting two huge heavyweights on the main card of an event located over a mile above sea level. When they failed to score a finish in the first round, both men began to feel the burden of the thin air, resulting in perhaps the most gassed out main card fight in UFC history. It wasn't pretty, but the former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt was able to endure over the course of three rounds to take a unanimous decision victory against his exhausted foe. So how in the world did Hunt pull it off? We'll break it down inside: Ben Rothwell got off to a strong start. He kept his distance, used his reach advantage and shot in for a huge takedown about two minutes into the fight, passing directly into mount. Unlike past performance where he would panic and get submitted, Hunt got an underhook and escaped the poor position, exploding back to his feet. It was the second round where everything began to unravel for Ben Rothwell. Hunt blasted him with some sharp leg kicks that buckled "Big Ben's" knees and began to stuff all his takedown attempts. When they clinched against the fence two minutes into the round, Hunt actually used a trip takedown to put Rothwell on his back and pound on him from his guard. Rothwell, completely gassed, just sat there and ate punishment for a couple minutes before finally attempting to escape. Instead though, Mark Hunt took full mount on him and set up for an armbar. Yeah, that wasn't a typo. Mark Hunt attempted an armbar.  That doesn't mean it was pretty. Hunt had the perfect opportunity for the armbar. His opponent was gassed and practically giving it to him but he threaded his right leg under Rothwell's armpit instead of across his face to create the proper leverage to finish the submission. This allowed Rothwell to keep his hands locked together until the end of the round. Notice how exhausted Rothwell is afterwards. His head coach Duke Roufus practically had to carry him to his corner stool. The third round was more of the same. Hunt was tired, but Rothwell was more tired. There isn't much to analyze, just that Hunt outstruck and outgrappled "The North Star" in the final frame to take a surprising decision victory. For Ben Rothwell, this has to be humiliating. Despite his dedication to a new diet and to improving his physical fitness, he gassed harder than perhaps anyone in UFC history. Sure the high altitude had something to do with it, but the exponentially less physically gifted men from UFC 1 had to deal with the same thing fighting multiple times in the same night and they put on a better performance than he did.  He'll likely get another fight, perhaps against fellow UFC 135 main card loser Rob Broughton. Other possibilities include Christian Morecraft or the recently resigned Golden Glory fighter Jon Olav Einemo. For Mark Hunt, wow. He really put the time in to improve his ground game. His takedown defense was significantly improved in this fight and he actually had an offensive ground game which included passing Rothwell's guard to side control multiple times. I wish he'd kept it standing more in the third round though, when Rothwell could barely stand. That was a perfect opportunity for another "walk away knockout" like he did against Chris Tuchscherer. I guess Hunt is "in the mix" now after two straight victories in the heavyweight division. Interesting opponents would be Travis Browne or perhaps the winner of the upcoming Roy Nelson vs. Mirko Filipovic fight. Mark Hunt relevant in 2011. Just keep saying that in your head and see if it sounds less strange after some repetition.  So what do you think Maniacs? Was this fight entertaining, or did the fact that both men gassed pretty badly sap the fun out of it for you? Did you ever think you'd see Mark Hunt go for an armbar? Sound off! For complete UFC 135 results, including blow-by-blow, fight-by-fight coverage of the entire pay-per-view (PPV) event, click here and here All gifs by Zombie Prophet via IronForgesIron.com.

Posted in: fight, mark, mark hunt, hunt, rothwell

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Mark Hunt was the unwanted man from Zuffa's Pride acquistion, but now, having proved himself in the Octagon, he's shown his worth.

Posted in: mark, mark hunt, hunt, pride acquistion, door

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At the post-fight presser, Dana White keeps making it sound like it's Hunt's last fight in the UFC and that he was just finishing out his contract. Anybody got any insight? It would be a damn shame if he doesn't let Hunt fight. submitted by Studdy [link] [5 comments]

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Filed under: UFCDENVER -- Mark Hunt is one of the few fighters in the UFC who didn't actually have to fight in order to get paid. Because of the peculiarities involved in Zuffa's purchase of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships organization back in 2007, he could have stayed home and still collected a check, according to UFC president Dana White. "When we bought Pride, he came as part of the Pride deal," White said at Saturday night's UFC 135 post-fight press conference. "It was back and forth and basically I was just like...we'll just pay you off. We know you're in the Pride deal. And Mark Hunt said 'No, I want to come. I want to fight.'" At UFC 135 Hunt won his second straight UFC bout, defeating Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision after a grueling three-round battle that saw Hunt batter Rothwell with strikes while also acquitting himself well in the ground game. It's a long way from where most people thought he'd be after his rocky start in the UFC, not that Hunt is eager to discuss how he ended up here. "It's been a long journey just to get here," said the New Zealander. "I'm still...plugging away at it. It's been hard." It was especially hard after he injured his arm in a submission loss to Sean McCorkle in his UFC debut. That dropped the kickboxer's MMA record to 5-7, and his future prospects looked grim. But Hunt bounced back in February with a stunning walk-off knockout of Chris Tuscherer at UFC 127 in Australia, then followed it up with this clear-cut win over a very game Rothwell, who took every power shot Hunt could think of over the course of their 15-minute scrap. "It was a really hard fight," said Hunt. "Ben Rothwell, he's really tough. I threw a lot of heavy shots at him, real hard shots, but he was still there." But according to White, what's really impressive is how Hunt has managed to carve out a place for himself in the UFC rather than simply taking the easy money when it was offered to him. Even after White had offered to "pay [Hunt] to stay home," he said, the heavyweight insisted on having his day in the cage. "Let me tell you what, man, he did it," White said. "The guy's got a ton of heart and I have a lot of respect for him." Hunt, who's never been known as one of the sport's most verbose fighters, said he didn't "feel like talking about" his decision to turn down the UFC's offer to pay him off, even appearing slightly embarrassed when White brought it up. But White said he specifically requested that Hunt come to the post-fight press conference because he wanted to highlight the situation and let everyone know how impressed he is with the former K-1 kickboxer. "I'm glad that he opted to come here and fight and I'm proud that he fought in the UFC," said White. "I asked him to come here tonight. If he won't say it, I will."  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, fight, mark hunt, hunt, pride

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After the UFC 135 main card got off to a fast start with Nate Diaz’s first-round win over Takanori Gomi, heavyweights turned in a pair of lackluster decisions, as Mark Hunt outpointed a gassed Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne topped Rob Broughton. Here’s MMAFrenzy.com’s play-by-play of Hunt vs. Rothwell: Round 1- Fighers try to touch gloves but cannot get in sync and just give up. Rothwell quickly shoots but Hunt slides away easily. Both fighters look more trimmed than they have been in the past. Hunt’s moving well and looking to get inside the reach of Rothwell. Rothwell fakes a punch and hits a blast double into mount. Hunt manages to recover side control and uses the cage to escape. Rothwell tries another shot and is blocked by Hunt. Rothwell shoots again and Hunt shows much better hips than he has in the past and escapes. Hunt with the takedown and gains side control briefly. Rothwell escapes and we’re back to our feet. Rothwell’s eye is a mess now from an elbow. Rothwell lands a takedown with 25 left and lands some elbows to end the round. Great opening round action wise but Rothwell takes it 10-9. Round 2- Both fighters exchange early before Rothwell takes another shot and is blocked. Hunt with a takedown and he begins working ground and pound from Rothwell’s half butterfly guard. Big elbows from Hunt and Rothwell gains full guard. Rothwell is trying to set up an armbar but Hunt passes into side control. Hunt goes knee to belly and lands some shots. Ben gives up his back and Hunt works from back side mount. Hunt moves to mount and shockingly goes for a very poor armbar, needed to get his legs in better position. Kudo’s to Hunt for advancing his game though. Round ends and Hunt wins it easy. Hunt 10-9 and 19-19. *Rothwell is limping badly, likely blew his knee again. Round 3- Rothwell looks awful and Hunt is on the warpath. Hunt lands a strong upper cut and spinning elbow before gaining a takedown. Hunt postures up and lands a few hammerfists before the action stops. The referee stands them up. Both fighters are tired but Rothwell is clearly fighting hurt and attempts several desperate takedowns to no avail. Hunt lands a massive shot and somehow Rothwell is standing. Hunt lands a double on a zombie-like Rothwell. Hunt is in side control and lands a few hammerfists. Referee stands them up from side control with a minute left… um wow… Rothwell is still zombie like as Hunt fires a headkick and tries a takedown but Rothwell counters and ends up in mount. Round 3 goes to Hunt 10-9. Hunt 29-28. Mark Hunt defeats Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision (29-28,29-27,30-27) And here’s our play-by-play of Browne vs. Broughton: Round 1- Browne opens up the action with a huge overhand right that misses. Broughton connects on a low kick that stumbles Browne and Browne clinches. Browne pins Broughton against the cage but the fight doesn’t stay there long. Browne is swinging for power on every shot but is not doing a good job of keeping his hands up or stringing more than one or two punches together. Broughton having a tough time closing the distance as Browne is backing up whenever he advances. Browne attempts a poor attempt at a flying knee but misses. Browne lands a takedown into mount to end the round. Close round but 10-9 Browne. Round 2- Broughton looks for a leg kick but Browne evades it. Broughton keeps moving forward but Browne mostly just evades and picks his spots. Browne attempts a big front kick but Broughton moves out of the way easily and catches it but cannot take Browne down. Browne lands a nice flurry and pins Broughton against the cage but isn’t utilizing it well. The fighters separate and Browne looks tired. Browne gets a takedown and he’s got Broughton mounted again. The round ends, and Browne wins another close one. Browne 20-18. Round 3- Round starts with more of the same before Browne lands another takedown midway through the round and begins working from half-guard. Very little action in this round as Browne lands just enough to keep the fight on the ground. Browne wins the round 10-9. Should win 30-27. Travis Browne defeats Rob Broughton via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27) For complete UFC 135 results, click here. Pictured: Travis Browne (via UFC.com)

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It wasn't pretty, but Mark Hunt outworked and punished Ben Rothwell en route to a unanimous decision win at UFC 135

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"The Super Samoan" dominated the final two rounds to earn the unanimous decision win in a battle that left both completely drained.

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The two fighters came out throwing leather but neither fighter was able to really find range early on. Hunt was the first to really land with a hook-uppercut. Rothwell pressed forward but was leaving himself open. He ducked under and got a quick takedown and immediately stepped over to mount. Hunt tried to work an under hook to regain his feet and after some time on the ground was able to shrimp out and stand up. Rothwell tried another shot but was stuffed and then pushed aside. He tried a double and then a single but couldn't complete the takedowns. Hunt landed several unanswered strikes. Rothwell responded with a shot but was pushed to the ground and and Hunt landed several punches from the top. During this he opened up a cut over Ben Rothwell's eye. Rothwell stood up and then got the fight to the ground to close the round. It was an extremely active round for two big heavyweights. Hunt was breathing heavily as the round opened taking huge gasps for air. He connected on several punches on a far less mobile Ben Rothwell. Leg kicks landed for Mark Hunt and both hurt Big Ben. Ben attempted a takedown but couldn't complete it. Hunt landed a combo and then finished it with an inside leg trip from a body lock to get the fight to the ground. Big elbows from the top landed for Mark Hunt. Rothwell's face was a bleeding mess after the elbows. Hunt stood and then walked over to side control, landing elbows in the process. Mark Hunt began to put on a grappling clinic transitioning from knee on belly to full mount. Hunt stepped over and looked to finish the fight with an armbar. Rothwell survived but he was exhausted and almost broken. Ben opened up the round aggressive but was uppercutted for his troubles. Hunt landed several punches from the single collar clinch. He got another inside trip and ended in guard. The referee stood them up and both fighters were exhausted. Rothwell looked like a zombie when attempting several takedowns. Hunt landed a massive right hand and walked away thinking that was the end of the fight. Rothwell remained standing and Hunt had a look of shock. Mark Hunt with another grappling clinic from side control. Big hammer fists land for hunt. The referee stood them up and Hunt landed a massive uppercut. Hunt threw a head kick and then attempted a takedown. Rothwell sprawled out and just couldn't find the energy to finish the Samoan. Mark Hunt picks up a hard fought decision over the former IFL heavyweight. He demonstrated that he has been putting in the time at American Top Team, picking up some grappling skills in the process. He is now officially riding a winning streak and is 2-1 in the UFC. Ben Rothwell returned from a long layoff and the ring rust was apparent. He's now 1-2 in the UFC and and his MMA record is now 31-8. Kid Nate is running analysis at MMANation, go check how he saw the fight.  SBN coverage of UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage

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There was more than one heavyweight war on the UFC 135: "Jones vs. Rampage" main card tonight (Sept. 24) in Denver, Colorado, as Ben Rothwell made his long awaited return from injury to battle Mark Hunt. It was a mismatch on paper. "Big" Ben was by far the more experienced of the two, at least as far as MMA goes, and there's no need to drudge up Hunt's laughable 6-7 record. Numbers mean nothing once punches are flying around, though, and "The Super Samoan" was landing his fair share of heavy-handed shots, straight to the dome. That's not to mention the cut that Hunt opened up on Rothwell that clearly seemed to affect his game for the remainder of the bout. That and the high altitude in Denver. Rothwell gassed, badly, and Hunt used (somewhat) superior conditioning to dominate the remainder of the contest en route to an improbable unanimous decision victory. Rothwell knew coming into this fight that his opponent is a former K-1 champion with big power and dangerously deceptive speed. Heading into the night, he referred to him as "one-dimensional." That's probably why Rothwell spent little time standing with him and quickly took him to the floor on his third takedown attempt. To the surprise of many, though, Hunt's takedown defense was shockingly sufficient, to the point that Rothwell was quite clearly frustrated, even in the opening round. Persistence pays, too, as exhaustion quickly caught up to "Big" Ben in the "Mile High" city, enough so that Hunt owned the second frame with all the basics. Effective striking, grappling, aggression and Octagon control, folks, it's easy as that. Watching Rothwell pleading with the MMA God's to give him breath in between rounds was physically painful. Color commentator Joe Rogan referred to him as a "warrior" and a "zombie" and I suppose those were the right words to describe him at that point. It was downright ugly. So ugly, in fact, that the final horn may as well have been the signal to alert the medics that both men so clearly needed. Hunt's victory is a side note to one of the most painful fights in UFC history. For more UFC 135 results and instant analysis live from Denver click here. To check out MMAmania.com's LIVE UFC 135 results post, which includes up-to-the-minute, blow-by-blow coverage of EVERY fight click here.

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Wow, now we know that if you survive being punched in the face multiple times by Mark Hunt it isn't actually life at all, it's undeath. Ben Rothwell 'survived' Hunt's barrage of fists for fifteen minutes but by the end of the third round he was turned into a member of the walking dead, stumbling around the cage with blood on his face. The first round had Mark Hunt keeping it standing for the most part, showing awesome take down defense (trained by the British no less) but Rothwell takes him down midway through. Hunt scrambles to his feet and then gets his own takedown and moves into side control. Hunt starts elbowing Rothwell and busts open his eye real nasty like. The two heavyweights move back onto their feet. Hunt is timing Rothwell's shots and is looking for uppercuts. Hunt is stuffing Rothwell through the opening of the second and then Hunt starts with the buckling leg kicks. Rothwell presses forward and keeps on trying to close in but Hunt keeps escaping and circling out. They are both breathing really heavy. You can hear it. It makes me breath heavy too. The Samoan gets taken down then he gets up and gets a takedown of his own halfway through the second and works the GnP with Rothwell threatening armbars from the bottom. Hunt eventually passes into side control and drops knees to the belly and elbows to the head of Big Ben. A slow scramble happens and Hunt ends up in full mount and then transitions into an armbar as the seconds expire in the round. Duke Roufus runs into the cage and lifts Rothwell to his corner. The third round starts with an exhausted Rothwell stumbling to the center of the cage, Hunt takes advantage and just tarts laying into him, opening another cut on Ben's battered face. Both men fall into guard but they are quickly stood up. Rothwell literally does a Frankenstein walk towards Hunt with his arms extended and blood pouring out of his face. Hunt is tired too but keeps hitting him. Hunt gets a takedown and moves into side control then the referee inexplicably breaks them up after only about 20 seconds in position. Another takedown and somehow Rothwell gets a full mount as time expires. Incredible fight. Both men are really, really tired and head to the center of the cage where Hunt is awarded the hard fought victory. We must now begin the campaign for Barry vs Hunt. The Walking Dead season two begins October 16th on AMC.

Posted in: mark hunt, hunt, rothwell, ben rothwell, side control

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Mark Hunt vs. Ben RothwellNot long ago, Hunt was becoming little more than a memory in the MMA world and the fight game as a whole. At the time he made...

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Filed under: UFCIn a sloppy, messy heavyweight brawl, Mark Hunt won his second consecutive UFC fight by taking a unanimous decision over Ben Rothwell at UFC 135. When Hunt signed with the UFC last year, most people thought it was ridiculous: Hunt was old, out of shape, past his prime and sporting a losing record in his MMA career. But after losing his first UFC fight in 2010, Hunt has now won twice in 2011. His victory over Rothwell, which was dominant if not pretty, was scored 30-27, 29-27 and 29-28 by the three judges. Hunt, who was a successful kickboxer for many years, has a well-earned reputation in MMA circles as a threat to knock anyone out standing up but a total fish out of water on the ground. So it was no surprise that Rothwell repeatedly went for takedowns, and after a couple minutes of the first round he succeeded and got on top of Hunt, in full mount. The surprise was that Hunt actually managed to get free and get back to his feet, and for the rest of the round was quite competitive with Rothwell, hurting him with strikes and opening a cut over his right eye. In the second round Hunt surprised Rothwell with a trip-takedown and got on top and battered away at him, absolutely controlling him on the ground. And in an absolute shock at the end of the second round, Hunt actually attempted an arm bar. It was a shocking display for fans who have seen Hunt through the years and never seen him do much of anything on the ground. By the third round Rothwell had been so badly battered and was so tired that he looked like a zombie in the cage. "I don't think I've ever seen a guy this tired in the Octagon before," UFC announcer Joe Rogan said of Rothwell in the third. Hunt didn't have much energy, either, but he had more than Rothwell, and as the fight ended it was Hunt who was in control. Hunt now has a career MMA record of 7-7. Rothwell drops to 31-8. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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Filed under: UFCDENVER -- This is the UFC 135 live blog for Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt, a heavyweight bout on tonight's UFC pay-per-view from the Pepsi Center. Rothwell (31-7) last fought at UFC 115 in June 2010, beating Gilbert Yvel via unanimous decision. Hunt (6-7) won his first fight in nearly five years in February by knocking out Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127. The live blog is below. More Coverage: UFC 135 Results | Latest UFC 135 News Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: %VIRTUAL-Gallery-134788% Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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Opening the PPV card at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage will be Mark Hunt (6-7; 1-1 UFC) vs. Ben Rothwell (31-7; 1-1 UFC). This is a Heavyweight fight. According to the USA TODAY / MMA Nation Consensus MMA Rankings, Rothwell is currently the #22 ranked Heavyweight in the world, while Hunt is unranked.  This is a contest that could prove to be do or die for both men. Both Hunt and Rothwell were at one time considered strong Heavyweight prospects, but it seems like neither man came into the UFC at the right time in their careers. Rothwell came to the UFC after a very successful IFL run, while Hunt was a former K-1 champion and Pride stand-out. With 1-1 UFC records each, and with a lot of career behind them, if either man wants to make an impact now is the time. They've been given a great chance by being on the main card - let's see who makes the most of it. How do these two stack up? Hunt: 37 years old | 5'10" | 74" reachRothwell: 29 years old | 6'5" | 80" reach What have these two done recently? Hunt: W - Chris Tuchscherer (KO) | L - Sean McCorkle (Sub) | L - Gegard Mousasi (Sub)Rothwell: W - Gilbert Yvel (UD) | L - Cain Velasquez (TKO) | W - Chris Guillen (TKO) How did these two get here? Mark Hunt is one of the most unlikely names currently in the UFC, as he came in thanks to an old Pride contract Zuffa acquired during that purchase a few years ago. He came into the UFC on a 5 fight losing streak, with most of those fights ending in roughly 1 minute. But fans who only know the recent Mark Hunt are missing out. He's a former K-1 World Grand Prix champion who has faced many of the kickboxing world's best. His 2001 K-1 fight with Ray Sefo is among the best K-1 fights of all time. After that, he was a big name in Pride, with wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mriko CroCop. Last time out, he reminded fans that he's still dangerous, but it will be a tough challenge to keep that win streak alive. Rothwell is a long-time career fighter, who has competed for over 10 years, primarily on the regional scene. He achieved his greatest success in the IFL where he was the Heavyweight champion, defeating Roy Nelson among others before leaving the organization undefeated. He had a good fight with Andrei Arlovski in Affliction, then transitioned to the UFC and had the unenviable task of debuting against future champion Cain Velasquez. He's been sidelined a lot lately, and this will be just his second fight in almost two years. That IFL momentum is long gone, but a strong win here could help bring it back. Why should you care? This is going one of two ways - either a fast and nasty sub from Rothwell, or a Hunt KO. Both are fun options, and both will result in the winner gaining a degree of relevance in the UFC Heavyweight division. Also, I know I'm biased, but come on, MARK HUNT. The guy rules. 

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Heavyweight veterans Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell went to war for three rounds, in what was without a doubt one of the most exciting bouts in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Rothwell opened strong with takedown attempts, managing to put Mark Hunt on his back. Big Ben rained ground and pound that cut Hunt wide open, with sights on getting the finish. Hunt responded with his trademark striking, showing Ben Rothwell who is who in this bout. Rothwell went for takedowns over and over again, but

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Filed under: UFCFighter vs. Writer has been on a bit of a hiatus, which is what happens when you go from a country where you don't speak the language and your cell phone doesn't work to a Strikeforce event where the only fighters around are the ones on the card, but you don't want to hear my excuses, do you? All that matters is that we're back this week with UFC middleweight and TUF 14 coach Michael Bisping, who graciously took time away from bickering with opposing coach 'Mayhem' Miller to go head to head with yours truly over the UFC 135 main card. And so, without further delay... Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Bisping: Jackson via TKO. "Jon Jones is unbelievable and an incredible athlete and an incredible champ. He's forging a fantastic career and he's got what it takes to be a legend one day. That said, he's fighting Rampage and this is going to be the best Rampage you've seen in a long time." Fowlkes: Jones via TKO. With Jackson's punching power, you can't ever count him out. And yes, I think this is the most motivated and in-shape Rampage we've seen in a long while. But I still don't think it'll be enough. Jones is too quick, too long, and too dynamic. Jackson won't get close enough to hurt him, and Jones will chop him down. Matt Hughes vs. Josh Koscheck Bisping: Koscheck via decision. Matt Hughes has been a great champion in the past and a great ambassador for the sport, but he's coming to the end of his career. He hasn't looked too great lately. He hasn't looked like the Matt Hughes of old, and it pains me to say that because he's a Hall of Famer. But I've got to go with Koscheck being younger, faster, stronger -- probably a better wrestler as well." Fowlkes: Koscheck via TKO. Honestly, I don't see a single area where Hughes holds the advantage. Experience, maybe? But even there, Koscheck has enough that he's not going to be beaten on sheer veteran savvy alone. I think he out-strikes, out-wrestles, and overpowers Hughes. Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Bisping: Diaz via submission. "That's a tough one. It could go a lot like the Nick Diaz-Gomi fight. I've got to go with Nate." Fowlkes: Diaz via submission. I'd feel better about it if I didn't think Diaz was inclined to stand and trade, thus giving Gomi more of a chance than he needs to. Even so, I think it eventually winds up on the floor, where Diaz is superior. Travis Browne vs. Rob Broughton Bisping: Broughton via TKO. "He's one of the toughest human beings walking this planet. He's big, strong, and you wouldn't know it from the look of him because he carries a little extra weight, but he's a cardio machine. I see him wearing [Browne] down and finishing him in the later rounds." Fowlkes: Browne via TKO. Every Englishman I've talked to this week (and between Bisping and Telegraph writer Gareth Davies, I've talked to two) tells me what a tough guy Broughton is. I don't doubt them, but Browne is just so big and so powerful. I think he'll keep Broughton at a distance and smash him. Mark Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell Bisping: Hunt via KO. "I'm going with Mark Hunt because I know him. I don't know too much about Ben Rothwell, but I know he's had mixed results. I like Mark Hunt. I'm a big fan of his Pride days and K-1, so I'm rooting for him." Fowlkes: Rothwell via submission. If Bisping can pick based purely on personal feelings, then so can I. I got to know Rothwell when we were both working for the IFL, and he's one of the truly good people in this business. If he's smart, he gets Hunt to the ground and takes advantage of his weak submissions defense. Bisping picks: Jackson, Koscheck, Diaz, Broughton, Hunt Fowlkes picks: Jones, Koscheck, Diaz, Browne, Rothwell Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage play-by-play of Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Denver.

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UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage will kick off with a bang. Heavyweight brawlers "Big" Ben Rothwell and Mark Hunt collide in the main card's opener. Stand and bang, don't blink, guaranteed fireworks ... every recycled cliche about two hulking ogres lumbering around and clubbing each others' heads with Porterhouse Steak-sized fists applies to this fan-friendly slobber-knocker. Still, it's hard to write this off as an unkempt slug-fest when one of the participants won the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001, was the Australian World Kickboxing Federation (WKBF) Super-Heavyweight Champion and took the full brunt of Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic's legendary "Cemetery Kick" like he was taking a bite of a cheeseburger. Additionally, it wasn't too long ago that Ben Rothwell cleaved a gleaming nine-fight swathe through the IFL -- including two stoppages of Krzysztof Soszynski and wins over Roy Nelson and Ricco Rodriguez -- and was widely considered the best non-UFC heavyweight. In fact, Rothwell's only losses in his last seventeen fights are to former UFC heavyweight king Andrei Arlovski and current champ Cain Velasquez. Of his thirty-one career victories, Rothwell has finished a surreal twenty-eight of them (17 TKO, 11 subs). He's yet to show the true venom of his kickboxing and will surely have the opportunity against Hunt, though he'd be wise to jettison bravado and unveil the grappling acumen that once distinguished "Big Ben" as a multifarious up and comer. Gifs and analysis in the full entry. Size and specialties are the two dictating factors here. At 5'10" and barely sneaking in under the 265-pound limit, Hunt's substantial girth is no secret, nor are his glaring strengths and weaknesses. He's no Lyoto Machida, but Hunt displays deceiving agility and quickness in short bursts, as we see to the right. Hunt starts at a crawl as if he's not quite warmed up yet: clenching his fists, shuffling side to side, pawing the jab and then re-setting his stance, finding a rhythm while scanning his opponent stoically. After acclimating Chris Tuchscherer to this dawdling and uneventful pace, Hunt steps on the gas and vaults into range with a scorching combination. Despite his steep kickboxing pedigree, generally takes care of business with his hands. Here he shows his two best punches: his left hook and right uppercut. The left hook he tags Tuchscherer with is pure poetry. The snap, quickness and accuracy of the punch are phenomenal, and the force he generates from the torque of his waist is profound. He thrives at close range. If he could lean back against the ropes and go tit for tat, he'd do it all night long. Hunt's wide body and excellent balance do instill him with a decent ability to shuck off takedowns. He's also shown an inherent toughness and athleticism to repel takedowns even though his technique is not textbook. To the right, Hunt again pieces together his left hook and right uppercut, the latter delivered like a short jackhammer from his waist. Even though Tuchscherer's double leg attempt is an ugly one, Hunt is aware that he's exposed and escapes back to the center of the cage. Hunt goes back to his money punches to wrap things up in this sequence. He keys off his left hook like a jab and the uppercut is his best tool against prospective takedown artists because of its brutal trajectory up the middle of the pocket. The beauty of the knockout blow is how short and fast it is. This is almost like a six-inch punch that turns Tuchscherer's lights out. Every striker wants to react based on his opponent's movements, but tracking and hitting the target with maximum efficiency is an area Mark Hunt excels. Contemporary Rothwell gifs were scarce, so let's take a walk down memory lane to his days of dominance in the IFL. Rothwell has a distinctive snap in his left hook, as depicted to the right catching Krzysztof Soszynski's chin. Though he's now down at light-heavyweight in the UFC, Soszynski is highly experienced and can take a punch and Rothwell stopped him with strikes on two different occasions. Rothwell shows good hand speed here, especially for a huge heavyweight, and is quick to pounce after the stunning combo. Rothwell gets excellent leverage in the clinch with the Thai plum grip due to his height and strength. To end Soszynski's evening, he knifes a hard knee up the middle, then backs up and pieces together a sweet combo: his bread and butter left hook, a short uppercut, and two massive Grizzly Bear swipes with his right. I love the poise Ben shows when he circles off the ropes and resets. Even though he's going for the kill here -- it's a distance and style tailored for Mark Hunt's counters. His impulse to pounce is evident again after he floors Soszynski, cascading six consecutive right hands to elicit the stoppage. It must be at least mildly upsetting to notice the leviathan bouncing kicks and punches off your head while you're trapped in the corner is also giggling absentmindedly when you get a counter shot in. Rothwell seems maniacally overjoyed as he blasts Roy Nelson with a crisp series, cracking afterward with a high kick for good measure. Even though he laughs them off, the few punches "Big Country" does get in further convince me that Rothwell should make grounding the fight a must against Hunt. Below, Rothwell shows his diversity standing, blazing with punches, easily catching the sprawl and countering with a knee before chambering a nasty high kick. Rothwell's ability to drag Hunt down without taking damage will govern the momentum swings in this match up. He'll have to bait Hunt into committing while steering him back toward the cage or use his quickness with doubles in open space. When Hunt isn't caught off guard and has his balance, he's pretty strong in the clinch. Rothwell's height is a bonus for his striking in tie-ups but might work against him takedown-wise. Hunt's low center of gravity, footwork and toughness make him a load to wrest off his feet in the clinch. This is especially true when he can lean back into the fence and bury his hips low and out of reach. Rothwell is extremely agile for such a large athlete, so it seems that using his quickness to distract with strikes and spring for low singles and doubles in the center of the cage. Of course, that's where Hunt's unfriendly uppercut, accuracy and timing come into play. Big Ben is a substantial favorite on the betting lines. He moves well and, though outclassed on the feet and returning from an ACL surgery, definitely has the further rounded game. He's also settled in with Duke Roufus at Roufusport and polishes his wrestling with Ben Askren. I was torn on this fight initially because of the uncertainty of Rothwell's knee and his dire need for mobility to win, but Rothwell's overall diversity and elite training camp sway me in his direction. My Prediction: Ben Rothwell by submission     Hunt vs. Tuchscherer gifs via Zombie Prophet of IronForgesIron.com All Rothwell gifs via Caposa       Poll Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt Ben Rothwell Mark Hunt   13 votes | Results

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UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell torn his ACL in his last fight against Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115, and has been out for over a year. He's now ready to return, and his opponent will be The Super Samoan, Mark Hunt. Rothwell did an interview with Brian Hemminger of MMA Mania, and discussed how he has re-invented himself while recovering from the injury. He also talks about his camp, Roufusport, and his bout with Hunt. First off, the obvious question - how is his knee doing? I'm 100 percent right now. It's not even something that I'm even thinking about. I know it's the first topic of conversation because it's why I've been out for a year but I'm great. I'm really happy to come back. I know that some guys come back from injury out of shape or things like that but I really took the time to improve everything just like I promised I would. That's the goal next Saturday, to live up to what I told everybody and I feel very confident in doing so. On the changes to his diet: My wife is my chef and she's really big on not just organics but staying away from dairy and it's something that I just used to consume mass amounts of. Now I've completely cut a lot of that stuff out of my diet. I didn't used to eat many vegetables but now they make up a considerable portion of my meals throughout the day. It's completely different. It's a drastic change and I can see that people say I look a lot leaner now because of the changes and I want to keep doing this and look even better with each fight. That's what I'm most excited for. I want to put some wins in and every time I step in the cage I want people to think, "Wow, he just keeps getting better!" I really believe that's gonna happen. And on opponent Mark Hunt: As far as Mark Hunt goes, he's someone I've watched a long time. As a fan, I respect and enjoyed watching him in the past. As my opponent, I have no respect for his one-sided game. There's three aspects of this game and him only having one of them is not doing anything for him. Even in the striking realm, he's shown to have more difficulty with taller fighters that have reach and I've really worked on my distance and utilizing my reach. I don't care where the fight's at really. I'm confident in all aspects of the fight and I'm just ready to go and put an exciting fight on. Rothwell covers a ton of other stuff in the interview, and the whole thing is definitely worth a read. You can catch the whole thing here.

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Former PRIDE and K-1 star Mark Hunt (6-7) will get a chance to string together consecutive wins for the first time in over five years when he takes on former IFL and Affliction stud Ben Rothwell (31-7) at the upcoming UFC 135 event scheduled for this Saturday night (Sept. 24) in Denver, Colorado. Hunt snapped a six-fight losing streak at the expense of Chris Tuscherer's chin when he bent the "Crowbar" at UFC 127: "Penn vs. Fitch" back on Feb. 27 in Sydney, Australia. The win pulled him to an even 1-1 inside the Octagon following a debut loss to Sean McCorkle (armbar) at UFC 119: "Mir vs. Cro Cop" in Sept. 2010. The oddsmakers weren't impressed and have pegged the "Super Samoan" as the +260 underdog in "Mile High City." Rothwell was lit up by Cain Velasquez in the second round of their heavyweight tilt at UFC 104: "Machida vs. Shogun" back in October 2009. "Big Ben" was able to rebound from his lopsided debut loss to secure a three round unanimous decision over Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115: "Liddell vs. Franklin" the following June. Since then, the well-traveled veteran has been riding the bench after tearing up his knee but now looks ready to return to the cage this weekend. And he'll do so as the -340 favorite. Any Maniacs out there like what they see? Or do these betting lines look unbalanced? Who's plunking down some coin on the titanic tilt? Sound off! For more UFC 135: "Jones vs. Rampage" odds click here.

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Filed under: UFCThe main eventers have worked out their issues with Dr. Phil and the guys lower down the card have had a chance to discuss what their fights ultimately mean, so I suppose it's time to turn to the betting experts to find out how they see the action going down at UFC 135. Jon Jones (-600) vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (+400) Based on all the pre-fight hype, you wouldn't know this main event is, at least according to oddsmakers, a bit of a squash match. And yet, these are the people who get paid to handicap fights, and this is actually one of the more reasonable lines out there. Some have Jones as high as 7-1. Can so many professional gamblers be wrong? Well, sure they could. Especially with a fighter who's as young and untested as Jones. He's dominated every opponent so thoroughly that it's hard to imagine a plodding, predictable striker like Jackson surprising him with anything new. If I had to guess, I'd say Jones is thinking the same thing right now. If he goes into this fight thinking that Jackson has nothing for him, he could end up learning a painful lesson about respecting his elders. Punching power is the last desperate hope of many an aging fighter, and it's been Jackson's saving grace a time or two in the past. His best chance is to catch Jones slipping and rock him with one hard shot. Then again, no one's been able to do it yet. My pick: Jones. The betting line is clearly insane, but money ventured on Jackson is money you need to be prepared to never see again. He needs to get in close and hook in order to have a chance. I fear the closest he'll get to Jones is during the pre-fight staredown. Matt Hughes (+300) vs. Josh Koscheck (-450) I love an underdog pick as much as anyone (see also: my regrettable decision to pick Jason MacDonald last week), but I don't see how Hughes has much of a chance here. What, does he outwrestle the bigger, stronger Koscheck? Nope. Does he floor him with his polished striking? Probably not. Does he submit him off his back? C'mon son. Hughes holds no obvious advantages over a guy like Koscheck, with the possible exception that he's been in pre-fight training mode a little longer. But even though Koscheck took this fight on short notice, both men have had comparable layoffs, and both had to deal with a new opponent three weeks out. Maybe Hughes can come right out and put some leather on Koscheck's surgically-repaired eye, but Country Breakfast wasn't known for his stellar hand speed even in his prime, and he's a long way from that now. My pick: Koscheck. Again, atrocious odds, but fitting ones. We'd probably have more fun betting on whether this will be Hughes' retirement fight. I got a sawbuck that says it is. Travis Browne (-350) vs. Rob Broughton (+265) Browne is now in his fourth UFC fight, and so far the most vulnerable we've seen him look was when Cheick Kongo pressed him up against the fence and clung to his shorts en route to a yawn-worthy draw. Maybe that was the smart way to play it, since as Stefan Struve found out back in May, this big man can swat. That could be why oddsmakers aren't so hot on Broughton's chances. He'll be giving up about four inches in height to the 6'7" Browne, and the Brit has yet to beat any really impressive heavyweights (no offense to James Thompson and Butterbean, both of whom have losses against Broughton). His best chance might be to get Browne to the mat, where his size and reach won't be such a problem. That's easier said than done against this behemoth. My pick: Browne. With all these huge favorites in my parlay, I'm going to have to find a crazier-than-usual underdog pick soon... Nate Diaz (-250) vs. Takanori Gomi (+190) After being overpowered at welterweight, Diaz is back in the division where he's had the most success and is taking on one of his brother's former foes. It seems like a match-up that's made for Diaz. Here he has a submittable opponent who probably won't try to out-wrestle him. All he has to do is not get knocked out. That shouldn't be so hard, since both Diaz boys seem to have been born with iron chins. It's a good thing, too, what with their willingness to stand there and let people test their fists on them. My pick: Diaz. I know, another favorite. Sorry, but I just don't see Gomi winning too many fights these days that he can't end with a single punch. Ben Rothwell (-300) vs. Mark Hunt (+240) If you're looking for a big underdog who's worth a risk, it's now or never. Hunt has almost zero ground game. We know this -- and when I say 'we,' I'm including Rothwell. The smart thing to do would be for Rothwell to get it to the mat as early as possible and hope that Hunt still hasn't learned even the basics when it comes to submission defense. And honestly, I think that's probably what will happen. But there's always that chance, however remote, that Hunt lands one good punch and changes everything. Every round does start on the feet, after all. And -- who knows -- maybe after 15 months away from the scene Rothwell thinks he has to prove something by coming in there and knocking Hunt out. It would be a bad idea, but that doesn't mean it's out of the question. My pick: Hunt. Man, I do not feel good about that. If Rothwell plays it smart, I think he submits him in the first round. But all that time off, plus Hunt's heavy hands, multiplied by my need to find a crazy underdog, equals small action on Hunt. Quick Picks: - Nick Ring (+120) over Tim Boetsch (-150). Call me crazy, but I don't think Boetsch will be able to run his usual wrestling schtick here. And when that doesn't work, he's all out of ideas. - James Te Huna (-155) over Ricardo Romero (+125). Te Huna's just a little bigger and more aggressive, plus he needs this more. The 'For Entertainment Purposes Only' Parlay: Jones + Koscheck + Browne + Diaz. It's not sexy, but at least it's secure. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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Even for the winner, most nightclub brawls aren’t the beginning of a path to glory.  A rare exception took place in (and outside) a club in Auckland, New Zealand, some 17 years ago when trouble found a young Mark Hunt, who fights Ben Rothwell at UFC 135 this Saturday.“I was in a nightclub looking for my friend, and there were four guys kicking into him in a corner.  I went over to help him and I slipped up and they started kicking both of us (laughs), and then that’s how it started outside the night club,” said Hunt. A bouncer who witnessed the fray was so impressed with how Hunt, now 37, handled himself that he suggested he take up Muay Thai training.“The next week I was fighting in the ring.”That bouncer had an eye for talent - Hunt went on to become a world kickboxing champion, winning the K-1 Grand Prix in 2001. In 2004, he made the switch to MMA and his early transition was promising, as it included decision wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop in Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships.But in 2006, Hunt hit a rough patch - a six fight, five year losing streak, with five defeats coming by submission.  While he was only losing to the best in the sport (names like Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko), that statistic hung over Hunt’s future in the UFC. Finally, in February at UFC 127 he scored a dramatic second round knockout win over Chris Tuchscherer, staving off a submission attempt and reminding onlookers of the speed, accuracy and power in his hands.Back in February, Hunt expressed frustration at his losing streak or taking a “long time between drinks,” as he put it.  Frustrated, yes, but Hunt says he never lost the faith.“I’ve always thought I could win, otherwise I wouldn't do it.”The performance of the “Super Samoan” has earned him the 24th of September match against Rothwell at Denver’s Pepsi Center.  Rothwell, an ex-IFL champion, hasn’t fought since June of 2010 due to an ACL injury. Initially, his name didn’t ring a bell for New Zealand-born Sydney-based Hunt, who is more MMA fighter than MMA aficionado.“I don't really know much about him at all. To be honest, I didn't even know his name until I was offered the fight.”Hunt has since done a little bit of study, but won’t be focusing too much on what Rothwell, who owns a 2007 win over UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson, has done to date.“I have a little bit of (footage of) his fights and stuff but I think he's gonna be a different fighter altogether,” said Hunt.That said, Mark Hunt is working on what has given him the most trouble historically: the ground game.  That’s wise against Rothwell, 29, who demonstrated that he’s willing and able to play the role of grappler in his last fight, a decision win over kickboxer Gilbert Yvel.“I've been working on escapes and everything like that,” said Hunt, “Learning the little bits of technique you do need to escape from different positions, working a lot on little techniques and ways to escape.”Diligently, Hunt left his home in Sydney, Australia early to properly acclimatize to the U.S. and train with some of the best camps in the world.  “I’ve been with the America Top Team guys (for the last four weeks)” said Hunt “Now I’m gonna train with Jamie (Te Huna).”But diligent preparation requires sacrifice, physical and otherwise. Hunt concedes that it isn’t easy spending so much time away from the comforts of home and family. “I always miss my family. In Japan I only had to go for a week out of the fight, just train and then go home” said Hunt. “But I have to come here and get acclimatized and everything like that; it took me thirty hours to get here and see Fort Lauderdale, maybe a week or two to acclimatize -- about 3 days with no sleep, it was crazy.  I do miss my family a lot”.But for Hunt, it’s worth it to win.  And what about that other effect of a hard training camp; the elusive six-pack?“They're here, they're right here, underneath all that you know. (laughs)”

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Former K-1 World Grand Prix winner Mark Hunt hasn't had much success in MMA over the past few years, but his win over Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 helped him turn a corner. Hunt spoke an Australian publication called The Roar about his six-fight losing streak over a four year period, and he was brutally frank about it: "I think the lowest moment was every fight I was just losing and I just didn’t know what the hell was going on." Hunt said in an interview with The Roar. "I just couldn’t get it right. I didn’t know what it was. It was just a mental block. It didn’t matter who I fought, I would have just lost anyway. "They could have put me in with a wooden chair and I still would have lost. It was just inside my mind and I had to break the cycle." He was definitely able to break the cycle, and also managed to deliver one of the more entertaining moments in recent MMA history when he dropped Tuchscherer and casually strolled away, knowing the fight was over. Hunt's a realist though, and even though his UFC 135 fight with Ben Rothwell is taking place on the main card, Hunt's under no illusions that he's a contender right now: "I don’t think I’m sitting anywhere at the moment. I think a few more fights, three or four more fights for me to get into the picture at all. "I don’t see myself anywhere in the heavyweight division, yet I still feel I’m the best on the planet of course or else I wouldn’t be doing it." I've always been a big fan of Hunt not only for his exploits in MMA and K-1, but for how honest he is when he talks about himself. Most people, especially fighters, don't have that level of self-awareness, and it's nice to hear. Hunt may be past his prime at 37 years old, but he's definitely still entertaining and his bout with Rothwell should be good.

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Two incredibly different heavyweights will step into the cage this Saturday night (September 24, 2011) in the opening bout of the UFC 135 main card as former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt takes on talented IFL veteran Ben Rothwell. Hunt finally ended a brutal six fight losing streak that spanned nearly five years with an early second round knockout of Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 earlier this year. It was a fantastic return to form for a fighter many had written off. Hunt is hoping to really make an impact this Saturday night with another upset. Ben Rothwell has spent the last 15 months recuperating from a savage knee injury but he hasn't just been lying around. In fact, he's been rebuilding himself into an absolute beast while training at Duke Roufus' gym in Milwaukee with a focus on living healthy and become more well-rounded.  Can Mark Hunt add another incredible knockout to his storied resume? Will all of Rothwell's hard work while sidelined pay off? Will the significantly shorter "Super Samoan" be able to reach the "North Star?" Mark Hunt Record: 6-7 overall, 1-1 in the UFC Key Wins: Mirko Filipovic (Pride Shockwave 2005), Wanderlei Silva (Pride Shockwave 2004), Chris Tuchscherer (UFC 127) Key Losses: Sean McCorkle (UFC 119), Gegard Mousasi (Dream 9), Melvin Manhoef (Dynamite!! 2008) How he got here: Mark Hunt became involved with fighting after impressing some bouncers with his knockout power in a brawl outside a night club.  "The Super Samoan" didn't get an easy start in kickboxing, forced to fight tough top opponents early in his career when promoters were trying to use him as a stepping stone for their other stars. Instead, Hunt gained valuable experience against top opposition and came through with a respectable 15-4 record. Hunt got his big break in kickboxing in 2001. He had won the qualifier tournament in both 2000 and 2001 to advance to the K-1 World Grand Prix and he shocked the world by winning three fights in one night to win the K-1 World Grand Prix Championship. After a few more kickboxing matches, Hunt would transition to mixed martial arts. He would lose his debut in Pride via armbar but would go on an impressive five fight win streak that included wins against Dan Bobish, Mirko "Cro Cop" and Wanderlei Silva which would earn him fights against some of the toughest heavyweights in the world. He would lose every fight from 2006-2010, stepping into the squared circle against the likes of Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko (for the Pride Heavyweight championship), Alistair Overeem and Gegard Mousasi, losing each fight via submission of the arm.  Due to some leftover contract obligations from Pride after the buyout, Hunt was granted a pair of fights in the UFC. He would lose to Sean McCorkle via Kimura in barely a minute but would rebound against Chris Tuchscherer earlier this year with one of 2011's most memorable knockouts. His victory earned him another fight against a top heavyweight in Ben Rothwell this Saturday night. How he gets it done: This one is pretty simple. Mark Hunt has a tremendous chin, the ability to check kicks and big time knockout power in his hands. What he doesn't have is just about any ground game. There's a reason that six of his seven career losses have come by way of armbar, Kimura or keylock: Hunt has horrible wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. If he winds up on his back against an opponent that knows what they're doing, he's going to be in serious trouble. What he needs to do is whatever it takes to remain upright and try to land that knockout blow before he's put on his back. It worked against Tuchscherer and it can happen again. Hunt also has some pretty heavy kicks so if he can land some of those and take some zip out of Rothwell's takedowns and wrestling, that would be a big help as well. Ben Rothwell Record: 31-7 overall, 1-1 in the UFC Key Wins: Roy Nelson (IFL: Moline), Gilbert Yvel (UFC 115), Ricco Rodriguez (IFL Finals 2007) Key Losses: Cain Velasquez (UFC 104), Andrei Arlovski (Affliction: Banned) How he got here: Ben Rothwell got a very early start in professional fighting, making his debut at just 17 years old. He didn't waste any time either, fighting a ridiculous 11 times in a one year stretch from November 2001 until November 2002. Rothwell made a tremendous impact in the IFL, going on an impressive nine fight winning streak in the fledgling promotion and defeating the likes of Roy Nelson, Travis Fulton, Ricco Rodriguez and Krzysztof Soszynski (twice) in the process. His run earned him a fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at Affliction:Banned in 2008, but after going two strong rounds, he would fade in the third and be knocked out. "Big Ben" would make his UFC debut against Cain Velasquez in 2009, getting physically dominated with wrestling and would have the fight stopped after eating multiple blows to the face while rising to his feet in a bit of mild controversy. The Midwestern fighter got back on track at UFC 115, outgrappling Gilbert Yvel in a competitive back and forth affair in which Rothwell blew out his knee early in the first round. After 15 months away from the Octagon, he's back and ready for Mark Hunt. How he gets it done: Rothwell has a strong kickboxing background and holds 18 career victories via knockout as well as four submissions via strikes or injury. He'll be seven inches taller than Mark Hunt with a six inch reach advantage but it would probably not be the smartest thing to stand and trade with the former K-1 World Grand Prix champion. What "North Star" needs to do is get inside and take Hunt down. Any method would be fine whether it's a clinch trip, a single or double leg, even a big slam if he can actually get in deep and find the leverage. The primary goal of this fight will be to put Hunt on his back and work for a submission. Once on the ground, Rothwell needs to pass Hunt's guard at least to side control and attack those exposed arms. Hunt has proven in the past that they are a big weakness of his on the ground and I doubt that the training he's been putting in has been enough to defend himself against an experienced MMA veteran like Rothwell.  It's time to showcase all that hard work he's been putting in at Roufusport Gym with guys like Ben Askren. Fight "X-Factor:" The X-Factor for this fight is 100 percent Mark Hunt's ability to keep this bout standing. He's a lethal striker, capable of knocking just about any man out when he's in good shape but time and time again he's been proven that he's very exposed once put on the ground.  Hunt has been working out at a ton of gyms including American Top Team so perhaps they've instilled some decent takedown defense but even then that may not be enough against Rothwell, one of the biggest heavyweights on the UFC roster at 6'5" and 265. Bottom Line: What makes this fight interesting is the finishing ability of both men. Ben Rothwell is a proven finisher with only three of his 31 career victories having been awarded via the judges while Hunt is a knockout machine with massive power and one of the best chins in the history of the sport. Whether this fight is a quick blowout by Rothwell or a surprise knockout by Hunt, it should be exciting and it should be fast.  Who will come out on top at UFC 135? Tell us your predictions in the comments below! Poll Which heavyweight will earn a victory in the opening bout of the UFC 135 main card this Saturday night? Ben Rothwell Mark Hunt   113 votes | Results

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Samoans are a proud people, and if they aren't, they should be. Never mind having amazing hair, I've never met one that wasn't bigger/stronger than me; possessing superhuman power well-suited for pummeling a home intruder or chopping down a tree with a low 'leg-kick'. If that's not a sign of Darwinism at work, then please acknowledge that whatever deity you believe in, he/she favors Samoans over you. If you're Samoan, pat yourself on the back just because you're physically gifted to those around you. If you aren't...I'm sure there's something else you're good at. You'll find it one day and we'll write about it on this colorful website right alongside a picture why Mark Hunt is cooler anyway. After a win over Chris Tuscherer at UFC 137, Mark "The Super Samoan" Hunt is back in his rhythm, despite feeling like he couldn't defeat a wooden chair just a few months ago. Now Hunt feels he's the best in the world, and he needs a few more fights to prove it. "I think the lowest moment was every fight I was just losing and I just didn’t know what the hell was going on. I just couldn’t get it right. I didn’t know what it was. It was just a mental block. It didn’t matter who I fought, I would have just lost anyway. They could have put me in with a wooden chair and I still would have lost. It was just inside my mind and I had to break the cycle. I don’t think I’m sitting anywhere at the moment. I think a few more fights, three or four more fights for me to get into the picture at all. I don’t see myself anywhere in the heavyweight division, yet I still feel I’m the best on the planet of course or else I wouldn’t be doing it." Mark "The Super Samoan" Hunt returns to the UFC this weekend to fight Ben Rothwell in what he hopes to be the start of a glorious winning streak en route to the heavyweight championship belt. Otherwise, it's back to South-East Asia where women will throw themselves at him and cater to his every desire, cause that's how they roll. [Source]

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Mark Hunt’s ascent to the top of the combat sports world was spectacular, coming from nowhere as he did and winning the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001...

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