Mark Hunt believes his fight against the UFC in court has caused promotions to avoid him.
Hunt has been at odds with the UFC ever since his UFC 200 bout with Brock Lesnar back in July 2016. Lesnar was initially awarded the unanimous decision victory but that was result was changed to a No Contest after Brock tested positive for banned substances.
Hunt has accused the UFC and Brock Lesnar of battery, fraud, aiding and abetting, and civil conspiracy. Those complaints are alive in court after an appeal was won on Hunt’s side. The UFC and Lesnar are expected to file responses sometime in January. Hunt’s lawyer, Christina Denning, hopes to “further work up the case.”
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Mark Hunt Claims He’s Been Blacklisted
Mark Hunt appeared as a guest on The MMA Hour. He told Ariel Helwani that he is no longer a professional fighter and feels his lawsuit against the UFC and Lesnar has cost him opportunities with other organizations.
“I’m done fighting. I think I lost a passion a long time ago when I filed this lawsuit against the UFC. They took the passion away from me, to be honest. The only fight I had since I left the UFC was a boxing match. I couldn’t get another match anywhere. I didn’t think any company would pick me up because of this lawsuit, to be honest.”
Cost Of Training Camp Takes Its Toll
Hunt went on to say that the cost of training camp has also made him come to the conclusion that fighting simply isn’t worth it anymore.
“Oh, definitely. Why wouldn’t you hire someone as good as me? I mean, such a good-looking guy, such a great fighter [laughs]. Why wouldn’t you hire someone like me? I think I got blacklisted, to be honest. I couldn’t get a match anywhere.
“The money was great for that match [2020 boxing bout with Paul Gallen] but I don’t think there’s — you would have to get someone to pay that sort of money again and training for camps costs a lot. Like I said, it was getting a lot harder to keep training. I do a lot spending time with the kids. Chasing the kids around, teaching them how to ride a bike instead of chasing some other dude in the ring [laughs].”
Denning confirmed with Helwani that there was a mandatory settlement meeting but it went nowhere. As updates continue to roll out on the legal battle between Mark Hunt and the UFC, Middle Easy will keep you posted.
