Mark Richard Hunt[2] (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist and former

kickboxer of Samoan descent,[3] currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was the winner of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix.
As of 10 June 2017, he is #7 in official UFC heavyweight rankings.[4] He is known as "King of
Walk-Offs" by walking away and stopping attacks before the referee officially ends the
match.[5][6][7]

Contents
[hide]

1 Background
2 Career
o 2.1 K-1 career
3 Mixed martial arts career
o 3.1 PRIDE Fighting Championship
o 3.2 Post-PRIDE
o 3.3 Ultimate Fighting Championship
3.3.1 Contract dispute
o 3.4 Continuation in UFC
4 Television and film
5 Personal life
6 Championships and accomplishments
o 6.1 Kickboxing
o 6.2 Mixed martial arts
7 Mixed martial arts record
8 Kickboxing record (Incomplete)
9 Professional boxing record
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

Background
Hunt was born in South Auckland, into a large Samoan family, and was a troubled child
eventually leading to two jail terms for violent offending.[8] He had no intention to be a
professional fighter until a late night altercation outside a nightclub just after getting out of jail
for the second time in Auckland changed the course of his life.[8] The brawl did not last long, and
Hunt knocked out multiple people.[9] Sam Marsters, one of the bouncers at the door was
impressed by the young man's knockout power and invited him to his gym to take up formal
training, and a week later, Hunt won a Muay Thai kickboxing match via knockout.[9] Hunt
received a six-pack of beer as a reward for the fight.[8] Later that year Hunt moved to Sydney,
Australia (residing in Campbelltown), to train with Alex Tui, and few years later he settled in
Liverpool Kickboxing Gym under Maori instructor Hape Ngaranoa.[10]
Career
K-1 career

In the beginning of his career, Hunt was used by the promoters as a stepping stone for their up-
and-coming fighters, taking up fights at short notice, until Tarik Solak promoted K-1 Oceania
tournament in February 2000. With a record of (15-4, 3 KO's) Hunt entered his first K-1
tournament as a heavy underdog.

He won the K-1 Oceania title by knocking out "The Coconut Crusher" Aumitagi in quarter
finals, Rony Sefo in semis and Phil Fagan in the finals. After this he was invited to Japan for K-1
qualifications. He lost his first international fight by unanimous decision against Jrme Le
Banner.

In 2001, Hunt returned to K-1 by winning the K-1 Oceania tournament for the second
consecutive year. After that he took part of K-1 World GP 2001 in Melbourne, where he beat
Japanese boxer Hiromi Amada, before suffering a close unanimous decision loss to reigning
champion Ernesto Hoost. However, because of his exciting fighting style Hunt was granted a
wildcard spot in the repercharge tournament for the K-1 World GP 2001 Finals, when Mirko
Filipovi had to pull out due to injury. He was drawn against Ray Sefo, who won the bout by
outpointing Hunt. After the fight however, Sefo suffered an eye injury and was not able to
continue, allowing Hunt to proceed in his place. Hunt then TKO'd Adam Watt to earn his place
in the K-1 World Grand Prix Finals at the Tokyo Dome.

During the matchmaking for the K-1 Finals, Hunt surprised the crowd by choosing Jrme Le
Banner, whom he had just lost in the previous year, as his quarterfinal opponent. Hunt won the
rematch by knocking out Le Banner in the second round and advanced himself onto the semi-
finals facing Stefan Leko. Hunt knocked down Leko two times in the first round and went on to
win the fight by unanimous decision. The stage was set for the final battle against Brazilian
Kyokushin karate champion Francisco Filho. In the final Hunt defeated Filho by unanimous
decision to become the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 champion.

In 2002, Hunt went to Paris to fight Le Banner again for the third time what turned out to be one
of the biggest battles in K-1 history. Le Banner, fighting in front of his hometown audience,
knocked down Hunt in the second round but was in turn knocked down himself a few seconds
later. In the final moments of the round, Hunt was knocked down for the second time again by
the powerful Frenchman. In between rounds the towel was thrown in as Hunt could not continue.

On 17 December 2002, Mark Hunt returned to defend his K-1 World Grand Prix Championship.
In quarter finals, entering the third round and behind on all scorecards, Mark was able to connect
with a right cross that knocked out Stefan Leko and advanced him to the semi-finals against his
career long nemesis Jerome Le Banner. Despite knocking down the Frenchman at the end of the
third round, Hunt lost the fight by decision. It would to be his last K-1 World Grand Prix
appearance.
In April 2008, FEG announced Hunt's return to K-1 and nominated him as the challenger of K-1
Super Heavyweight Championship held by Semmy Schilt. The match was held on 13 April 2008,
in Yokohama, Japan at the K-1 World GP 2008 in Yokohama. Hunt lost the fight at the end of
the first round by spinning back kick to the body.

Mixed martial arts career

PRIDE Fighting Championship

Hunt's mixed martial arts career saw him fight in events in Japan's PRIDE Fighting
Championships. His first MMA fight was a submission loss to Hidehiko Yoshida, an Olympic
gold medalist in judo. In his second fight, he defeated American wrestler Dan Bobish by TKO.
Hunt stepped in as a late replacement for Sakuraba, and won a split decision against an
outweighed PRIDE middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. Silva, renowned for his
brutal punching and Muay Thai clinch game, was neutralized by the hard-hitting Samoan and
knocked down several times in the fight. At the PRIDE Shockwave 2005 event, Hunt surprisingly
defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovi via a split decision, after his earlier loss to him in K-1. At
PRIDE 31: Unbreakable, Hunt defeated Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima in the third round
with a powerful one-two punch.[11]

Hunt's next fight was in the opening round of PRIDE's 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix (PRIDE
Total Elimination Absolute) on 5 May 2006. His opponent was Japan's Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, who
he defeated by TKO in the second round. He then faced American catch-wrestler Josh Barnett at
PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute in the second round of the tournament. Hunt was
immediately taken down by Barnett and ultimately lost to a kimura submission roughly two and
a half minutes into the first round.

Following that fight, Hunt next lost to PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko at
PRIDE Shockwave 2006. Hunt controlled Emelianenko most of the fight and even effectively
countered an armbar early in the bout. Hunt's greatest chance of winning came when he was able
to put Emelianenko in an americana. Unfortunately for Hunt, Emelianenko was able to fight
through it and submit Hunt with a kimura.

Post-PRIDE

On 21 July 2008, more than a year after his last MMA fight, Hunt returned to MMA to face
Alistair Overeem at the Dream 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final Round, and was submitted
by an armlock in just over a minute into the first round.

Hunt was set to fight Jerome Le Banner at Dynamite!! 2008 but ended up fighting late
replacement Melvin Manhoef after Le Banner pulled out. Despite the fact that he had a
substantial weight advantage over Manhoef, he was knocked out in 18 seconds in the first round.
This marked the first time he had been stopped by knockout due to punches to the head.
On 26 May 2009, Hunt fought former DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi in the
opening round of the Super Hulk Grand Prix at DREAM 9. He lost by submission in the first
round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Hunt was transferred to the UFC as part of their acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships.
The UFC offered to pay up Hunt's contract and more - totaling $450,000 - but Hunt elected to
fight instead.[12][13]

Hunt made his UFC debut on 25 September 2010 at UFC 119 against fellow UFC newcomer and
undefeated prospect Sean McCorkle.[14] Hunt trained with American Top Team for the fight.
Photos that had emerged on the internet had shown that Hunt had lost a considerable amount of
weight in comparison to that of his Pride days.[15] He was defeated via Submission (straight
armbar) at 1:03 of the first round.

Hunt's next fight in the UFC was against Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on 27 Feb in Sydney,
Australia.[16] Hunt defeated Tuchscherer in the second round via KO, earning Knockout of the
Night.[17]

Hunt followed this performance with a decision win over Ben Rothwell at UFC 135 on 24
September 2011.[18]

Hunt next faced Cheick Kongo on 26 February 2012 at UFC 144.[19] Hunt won the fight via TKO
due to punches, at 2:11 of the first round.

Hunt was expected face Stefan Struve on 26 May 2012 at UFC 146.[20] However, he pulled out of
the bout due to injury ten days prior to the event.[21]

The bout with Struve was rescheduled for 3 March 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 8.[22] Hunt defeated
Struve via third-round TKO[23] in a performance that earned Hunt Knockout of the Night
honors.[24]

Hunt faced Junior dos Santos on 25 May 2013 at UFC 160, replacing an injured Alistair
Overeem.[25] Hunt lost the fight via knockout in the third round in a bout that earned both
participants Fight of the Night honors.[26] Afterwards, some major MMA media outlets was
considering this to be the best fight in the history of the UFC heavyweight division.[27]

Hunt faced Antnio Silva in the main event on 7 December 2013 at UFC Fight Night 33.[28] The
fight went to a decision, with one judge scoring it 48-47 for Hunt while the other two had the
scores even, 47-47, resulting in a majority draw.[29][30] Post-fight, Dana White stated that the bout
won Fight of the Night and, despite the draw result, both men would receive their win bonuses.[31]
The bout with Silva has been described as one of the best in the promotion's heavyweight
history.[32][33] Subsequently, Silva failed a post-fight test for elevated testosterone (he had been
undergoing UFC-approved testosterone replacement therapy). In turn, the bout is still a "draw"
on Hunt's official record, while in Silva's case it was overturned to a no-contest.[34]
Contract dispute

On 5 August 2014, Hunt posted cryptic tweets about becoming unemployed, which Dana White
immediately denied.[35] At first, Hunt blamed his tweets on hunger, but later in mid-August he
revealed that he had decided to walk away from the sport due to business reasons.[8] Hunt
originally wanted a three-fight contract while the UFC wanted an eight-fight contract.[8] After
Hunt's decision to walk away, his wife talked him around and he ended up with a six-fight
contract with the organization.[8] At the end of August 2014, Hunt revealed that the contract will
be the last of his mixed martial arts career.[36]

Continuation in UFC

Hunt faced Roy Nelson on 20 September 2014 at UFC Fight Night 52.[37] He won the fight by
knockout in the second round. The win earned Hunt his first Performance of the Night bonus
award,[38] and the World MMA Awards' 2014 Knockout Of The Year award.[39]

On 21 October 2014, it was announced that Hunt would replace injured UFC Heavyweight
Champion Cain Velasquez in the main event at UFC 180. He faced off against Fabrcio Werdum
for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.[40][41] Despite having early success and dropping
Werdum due to punches twice, Hunt lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[42]

Hunt faced Stipe Miocic on 10 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65.[43] He lost the fight via TKO in
the fifth round.[44][45] Miocic set a UFC record for the most strikes landed in a fight, outlanding
Hunt 361 - 48 over the duration of the bout.[46]

Hunt faced Antnio Silva in a rematch on 15 November 2015 at UFC 193.[47] Hunt won the fight
via TKO, after dropping his opponent with a straight right up against the fence, at 3:41 of the
first round.[48]

Hunt faced Frank Mir on 20 March 2016 at UFC Fight Night 85.[49] He won the fight via KO in
the first round, after putting Mir to the canvas with a right hand, and finished with a 'walk-off'
KO.[7] He was awarded with Performance of the Night for his efforts.[50] It was later announced
that Mir failed an in-competition drug test.[51]

Despite talks about the contract done after previous dispute being Hunt's last, on 14 April 2016 it
was published that Hunt had signed new six-fight, multi-million contract with UFC.[52]

Hunt faced a returning Brock Lesnar on 9 July 2016 at UFC 200, but lost by unanimous
decision.[53][54][55] However, on 15 July it was revealed that Lesnar had tested positive on a banned
substance in a pre-fight drug test.[56] The test result was conducted on 28 June 11 days prior to the
fight, and was flagged by USADA as a potential anti-doping violation.[57] On 19 July, the UFC
announced that Lesnar tested positive for the same banned substance on a second, in-competition
sample.[58] On 23 August, the Nevada Athletic Commission confirmed that Lesnar twice tested
positive for the estrogen blocker clomiphene, and that he has been temporarily suspended.[59] As a
result of Lesnars positive tests, the result of the fight was later changed to a no contest.[60]
Hunt faced Alistair Overeem in a rematch on 4 March 2017 at UFC 209.[61] He lost the fight via
knockout in the third round after being dropped by a series of knees.[62]

Hunt faced Derrick Lewis on 11 June 2017 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 110.[63] It was
first combat sports fight in Auckland since K-1 New Zealand Grand Prix 2001 in ASB Stadium.
He won by TKO in the fourth round.[64] The win also earned Hunt his third Fight of the Night
bonus award.[65]

Television and film

Hunt is the subject of a feature-length documentary The Art of Fighting (2013), which premiered
on Fuel TV (Australia) on 22 May 2013.[66] Hunt was cast in a small role in the Australian film
Crazy Murder, released in 2014.

Personal life
Hunt was born a Mormon, but is now a born-again Christian.[8] He lives in Australia with his
second wife and has six children. The first two children from his first marriage are already
adults.[8] Hunt and his second wife, Julie, met in a reggae club around 1994 and have four
children.[8][67] In December 2014 Hunt's older brother John committed suicide at the age of 44.[68][69]

In August 2015, Hunt became a vegan after viewing undercover video footage of the insides of a
factory farm. On his Facebook page, where he posted the video, he captioned, "I'm going vegan,
hate this".[70] However, on 7 July 2016, Hunt has not gone completely vegan due to the time
demands of the sport, but is a vegetarian.[71]

Auckland's UFC team and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) performed "Haka -
a traditional war cry, dance or challenge from the Maori people from New Zealand" to cheer and
support Hunt on his upcoming fight against Derrick Lewis.[