"I'll knock his face off" - When Mark Hunt cautioned Brock Lesnar against mistaking WWE wrestling for actual UFC combat
Mark Hunt was not a fan of Brock Lesnar's return to the UFC after he previously left the organization to pursue his career in the world of pro wrestling.
At that juncture, Lesnar had last competed in the octagon in December 2011 against Alistair Overeem at UFC 14. He lost via first round knockout to the former Strikeforce champion before mounting a comeback to fight at UFC 200. Hunt would be the opponent for the former UFC champion's return in July 2016, which was when Hunt expressed his opinions on Lesnar.
Leading into the fight via an interview with MarkHunt.TV that was transcribed by Sherdog, Hunt said:
"I'll knock his face off. I knock his mouth off and then his lips fly off...I ain't no part time fighter. He thinks this is a game where he can come back and forth. I will send this pretender back so he can play house with the other part timers. This realm is for the real fighters, not these damn pretenders. Don't confuse wrestling with real fighting. I'm going to give it to him."
Check out Brock Lesnar's post fight-interview at UFC 200 below
Mark Hunt and Brock Lesnar: the fallout since UFC 200
Mark Hunt versus Brock Lesnar was initially ruled a unanimous decision win for the latter, until the bout was overturned after Lesnar failed multiple drug tests.
Lesnar would bounce back into the world of pro wrestling just weeks later at WWE Summerslam and has not competed in mixed martial arts since.
Conversely, the 50 year old KO artist did keep active across multiple combat sports after UFC 200. After the Lesnar clash, Hunt would fall to Alistair Overeem, but bounced back thereafter to knockout Derrick Lewis.
He would then drop his next three fights to Curtis Blaydes, Aleksei Oleinik and Justin Willis in the UFC. The fourth loss would transpire under boxing rules against Paul Gallen via unanimous decision. Mark Hunt would return to winning ways against Sonny Bill Williams with a fourth round TKO in November 2022.
Hunt has been teasing a possible BKFC foray lately as the former K1 Grand Prix champion seeks further accolades in yet another combat sport.