Mark Hunt (5-6 MMA) reflects on the missteps he's made in his career, and his upcoming UFC debut in September, in an interview with Jordan Breen:
"If I'd trained as hard as some of the guys out here, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now," Hunt laments. "I'd be at a different level of fighting.
"I just used up my time. I squandered it," he shrugs.
"I never had to make weight before. I never gave a damn what I ate. I've already stopped eating KFC, chocolate, that stuff," Hunt says. "I've got a personal trainer, never had one of them before. I'm not a big person, I'm only 5-foot-10 or something."
"It's been two or three years of bad training for me. Not my training partners, but how hard I trained," Hunt confesses. "I'm looking to go overseas to train for the first time, to really get some good training partners. If I do things like I should do them, it shouldn't matter who I'm facing, ever."
"It is what it is now. I wish I could change the way I did things now, but I'm here for a reason," says Hunt. "For me now, I know this is my last chance. I won a K-1 world title, then I fought MMA. I wanted to win, but I didn't have that drive to be a champion. I feel like now, I really want to be an MMA champion."
UFC 119 coverage (vs. Sean McCorkle)
almost 2 years ago
Scott Haber
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Can we do a community interview with him?
First question: How many people have paid $97 to join your blog?
█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z
this is somewhat ridiculous
the guy doesnt belong in the ufc at all
damn the death of pride for killing japanese mma and bringing mark hunt to the UFC
We have a saying back home that if your coming on, COME ON!!!!
Be careful...
People got mad at my for suggesting as much.
Who knows, maybe we will see an improved, in shape Hunt. That said his window may still have passed.
I really don't like the signing at all...
I’d have honestly loved to have seen him in the Bellator heavyweight tourney (pipe dream, I know) and if he came out of that at least reaching the finals then a trip to the UFC would be wonderful.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jul 13, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t really understand this “we owed him fights” business. I get that they probably got a contract with him as part of the deal when they bought PRIDE, and that contract had fights left on it. But couldn’t they just cut him? Or have they really given UFC fights to everybody who had fights left on their PRIDE contracts? (Or do they owe fights to more people we don’t know about?)
I don't know exactly what it means / how it works
but it is possible to have a contract the promises fights and not every contract is the same. Maybe he had something worded a little different in his.
Every contract is different...
But here is an interview from 2007 where Dana says he has a contract with Hunt. I’m amazed it’s gone this long, but it appears to be accurate.
“Caller asks about Mark Hunt. He says Hunt is under contract from the PRIDE deal and they are working some things out still. "
by Bob Loblaw TX on Jul 13, 2010 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions
He said that about Hansen too at that point in time, but they couldn’t work anything out so they released him (from my understanding). Why keep Hunt?
http://www.instrength.com
did PRIDE ever give out guaranteed contracts?
If so, there’s your answer.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former - Albert Einstein"
- Goonisis
people got mad at u for suggesting that a guy whos lost five fights in a row doesnt belong in the UFC?
wow…
We have a saying back home that if your coming on, COME ON!!!!
im just utterly shocked by it
We have a saying back home that if your coming on, COME ON!!!!
If you look at the caliber of some of the people
Who have been given opprotunities to fight in the octagon, Mark Hunt definitely deserves a shot.
David Louiseau,Gilber Yvel, Tim Hague, Jay Silva, for god’s sake Alessio Sakara has fought in the UFC since like UFC 56 and has never won 3 in a row.
MMA fans typically look at records, or who beat who, to determine a fighters worth. I personally like to judge fighter based on their skill, Mark Hunt is a truly dangerous Fighter who has always shown great skill in his fights.
P.S. MMA is all about making money- James Toney
by Dr. Leo Marvin on Jul 13, 2010 12:40 PM EDT reply actions
Actually, Hunt hasn’t shown great skill in any of his last three fights, two of which were one-sided losses to non-heavyweights.
Loiseau, Yvel, Hague, Silva, and Sakara had all at the very least won their most recent fights before entering the UFC. Hunt has lost his last five. He hasn’t won an MMA fight in over four years.
No doubt he’s a tough guy and I wish him the best, but to say he deserves a shot right now is to revise the criteria for deserving a shot pretty thoroughly.
If the UFC has room for Roy Nelson
It has room for Mark Hunt.
But boy oh boy is there not much room left after that.
by troy_doney on Jul 13, 2010 12:45 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Alessio Sakara has fought in the UFC since like UFC 56 and has never won 3 in a row
Sakara is on a three fight win streak right now. Plus seven of his last 8 fights have ended by first round KO (win or lose). I guess people want to see that. I am surprised he stuck for so long, but he is currently on the best run of his UFC career.
Reply fail...
One other difference between Hunt and
David Louiseau,Gilber Yvel, Tim Hague, Jay Silva, for god’s sake Alessio SakaraNone of these guys was on a fight fight losing streak when they signed and none of them had sub .500 records.
I don't understand the big raucous here.
Obviously, he’s not a UFC caliber MMA fighter, but Zuffa has to fulfill their contractual agreement with Hunt due to their Pride buyout. They can’t just cut him, and while they probably offered him the option to simply be paid off for those remaining fights, Hunt probably turned that down. So what does the UFC do? Put him on the undercard fighting new fighters or other older generation fighters they want to be rid of.
Why couldn't they just buy him out?
Cause there's only one, and that's me
You understand? for all that fighting, you understand
That sucka think he good, that sucka think he can whoop me
And i know he can't whoop me, Ay boy, the n**** whole style is chump
by S.C. Michaelson on Jul 13, 2010 4:30 PM EDT reply actions
Maybe they are going to use him in an Australian card
by bigc4277 on Jul 13, 2010 4:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The interview hints strongly that the official explanation may not be the whole story
UFC boss Dana White tweeted Thursday that Hunt was owed fights because of the company’s purchase of Pride, despite the fact that the course of history showed us many of those contracts were non-transferable and thus unenforceable. However, Hunt himself is unwilling to divulge any deals.
“I don’t think I should say anything. I could get in trouble, you know? I’m not saying nothing,” he smiles.
“How active in the negotiation were you? Were you involved at all or was it strictly on your management?” I ask. Hunt squints his eyes at me.
“You just changed the way you said the question, didn’t you?” he laughs. “I’m still not answering.”
You guys, it’s MARK HUNT! This is awesome.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 13, 2010 5:20 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
You even think THIS is a good thing?
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
I like the move, Hunt will give any of the heavies a run.
Any fan boys complaining obviously haven’t watched any of his fights, neophytes. This guy can compete with the big boys, just like your god Lesnar, what part of 1 and 0 made him ready for the UFC.
Considering he’s 4-1 in the UFC, the heavyweight champion and 2x defending champion, I think you’re point is moot.
by dreamers_12345 on Jul 14, 2010 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions
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