"People were too scared to touch me" - Mark Hunt claims he was "blacklisted" by MMA promotions because of UFC lawsuit
Former UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt believes he was shunned by a host of MMA promotions due to his lawsuit against the UFC.
'The Super Samoan' is a legend of MMA and is known for his run in both PRIDE and the UFC. Whilst he never became a world champion, due to his 13-14 professional record, Hunt was highly regarded for his knockout power and was crowned by fans as the king of the walk-off KO.
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While he may have been a popular figure amongst fans, Hunt's career in the UFC is often ignored by the MMA promotion due to the lawsuit he filed against them in 2016.
Hunt infamously faced off against Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, originally losing via unanimous decision. The result was then changed to a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
The New Zealand native then filed a lawsuit following the fight and claimed that the UFC and Dana White knew about Lesnar using banned substances but sanctioned the bout anyway. After a seven-year court battle, Hunt's lawsuit was permanently dismissed by a judge in 2023.
In a recent interview on the From the Stands podcast, Hunt shed some light on his career post-UFC. According to Hunt, he never landed in another promotion due to other organizations being 'scared' to touch him. He explained:
"I was talking to a lot of promotions, I just couldn't get a match. I probably got blacklisted. I think people were too scared to touch me because of the lawsuit."
Catch Mark Hunt's comments here (8:30):
Mark Hunt reveals he was offered millions to throw a fight in Australia
Mark Hunt recently made the revelation that he was once offered a seven-figure sum to purposely lose a fight.
The former UFC heavyweight appeared on The MMA Hour last week and recalled the time he had been asked to take a dive but noted that he declined to do so. He alleged an Australian promotion had offered him millions to lose a fight against an up-and-coming star but immediately rejected the offer as it went against everything he stands for.
Hunt said:
"I was offered three or four million dollars to take a dive in a fight here in Australia and I said, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'No!' Cause that's just not me. Although I could have done with the money - I was kind of going through some hard times... I could've done with three or four million dollars, that's just not my character, that's just not me." [H/t The MMA Hour]
Check out Mark Hunt's comments here: