Mark Hunt's next fight was made as a last-minute replacement for injured Cain Velasquez, and it has greatly impressed UFC president Dana White. "Super Samoan", on the other hand, is not at all worried about his opponent's full camp preparations and fighting prowess.
Mark Hunt's next fight is scheduled for this Saturday as the headliner for UFC 180, the company's debut event in Mexico, against number one title contender Fabricio Werdum. It was a fight intended originally for hometown hero Cain Velasquez, but an injury during camp a few weeks prior forced him out of the fight. Instead, Hunt and Werdum will be fighting for the interim heavyweight title.
Before Mark Hunt's next fight, "Super Samoan" fought another top heavyweight contender Roy Nelson in September as a headliner for a UFC Fight Night event in Japan. Hunt won the fight via second round knockout, as well as a Performance of the Night award, which equates to a $50,000 bonus.
Hunt took the fight against Werdum just weeks after his last fight in Japan, and this sheer willingness to compete has greatly impressed none other than UFC president Dana White.
"People talk about his [lack of] conditioning, but this guy just came off training for a five-round fight," White said in a report by Yahoo! Sports. "He fought that fight [against Nelson] Sept. [20]. We called him back in the middle of October. He accepted the fight and was in Mexico, I believe, two days later."
For Hunt, however, a golden opportunity such as this one cannot be ignored, despite it being given to him at such a short notice.
"These kinds of opportunities don't come around too often," Hunt stated. "Any fighter would jump at this opportunity, not just me. If you say no to this, then you're not really a fighter after all."
His opponent Fabricio Werdum was made to be the title challenger for a reason. A decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with a notable victory against the man who is considered as the Greatest of All Time, Fedor Emelianenko, he deserves to make a title run.
But for "Super Samoan", his opponent is just another obstacle to his success.
"I don't care about black belts or ground game or anyone else," Hunt declared. "They could be King Kong, Godzilla, whoever, but give them a shot to the face and everything is different. So we'll see what happens, right?"
