MMA veteran Mark Hunt’s chances of earning a shot at the heavyweight title have taken a huge blow after he suffered a defeat against rising American star Curtis Blaydes at UFC 221 in Perth last month.
Hunt can’t wait to cut ties with UFC and continue his fighting career outside of the biggest MMA promotion in the world as he only has two fights left on his UFC contract. Before exiting, he mentioned two high-rank contenders Francis Ngannou or Alexander Volkov, whom he wants to lock horn this coming summer:
“We’re looking to see if I can get Ngannou for August in Hawaii – that’d be great,” Hunt told Sporting News recently. “Ngannou would be good for me, or [Alexander] Volkov, who just beat Fabricio – if he’s still available.
“I’m just trying to get someone higher than me. I’ve got two fights left, so I’m seeing if I can get Ngannou. I don’t know if they’ve confirmed Hawaii, but it’d be a great match… see who shoots for the takedown first.
I fought a guy that was beneath me last time, so I want someone higher now,” Hunt said. “Even Werdum, I want that rematch, but Ngannou would be a better match. Even give me Blaydes again and I’ll have another shot at him.”
Hunt had an up and down in UFC career and he’s currently in a legal battle with the UFC over WWE champ Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 fiasco.
It’s not only ‘Super Samoan’ who showed interest in a fight with Ngannou, but Derrick Lewis has recently made it clear that he wants to fight UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou as well. Both Lewis and Derrick exchanged words on social media, where Ngannous recently told ‘The Black Beast’ to contact the UFC if he really wants to throw down in the Octagon. That talk left Hunt in the cold.
Francis Ngannou who is coming off a loss to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 on Jan 20th. Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov, who is coming off a win against former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum this last weekend.
At this point, Blaydes and Alistair Overeem are slated to fight one another at UFC 225, so Fabricio Werdum rematch with Mark Hunt could make sense if UFC could not make a fight with Francis Ngannou. To remind you, Werdum knocked out Hunt to claim the interim heavyweight title back in 2014.
Who do you think Mark Hunt fight next?
