Ex-UFC contender Mark Hunt suffered a fatal blow in the courtroom.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey dismissed Hunt’s longstanding case against the UFC, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White stemming from his scrap with the current WWE Superstar as part of the promotion’s UFC 200 card on July 9, 2016.
Mark Hunt competed against Lesnar at the event, with the former heavyweight champion scoring a unanimous decision victory over Hunt. However, the following month it was revealed that Lesnar had tested positive for a banned substance prior to and following the fight. In fact, the United States Anti-Doping Agency had flagged Lesnar’s failed drug test 11 days before UFC 200 went live.
As a result, the bout was overturned and ruled a no-contest, but the battle was far from over. In 2017, Hunt filed a lawsuit against the trio for battery, fraud, and conspiracy. In short, Hunt alleged that Dana White and the promotion were well aware of Lesnar’s positive pre-fight sample and swept the results under the rug until after the show to ensure their big event didn’t take a last-minute hit.
BREAKING: Mark Hunt loses lawsuit filed against the UFC, Dana White, and Brock Lesnar after Court grants defendants' motion for summary judgment on all claims.
Hunt claimed that White and the UFC knew Lesnar was using PEDs but encouraged Lesnar to fight Hunt in UFC 200 anyway. pic.twitter.com/N6cFzH7TRJ
— Jason Morrin (@Jason_Morrin) September 26, 2023
In 2019, Judge Dorsey ruled against Hunt, but the lawsuit found new life courtesy of a revival through the court of appeals in 2021. Unfortunately for Hunt, that win was short-lived as his lawsuit was delivered a fatal blow this week.
“In sum, each of Hunt’s fraud theories requires far too many inferential leaps and ignores too much contrary evidence for a jury to reasonably find in his favor, particularly by clear and convincing evidence,” wrote Dorsey in a 27-page opinion, which was first reported by Conduct Detrimental writer Jason Morrin.
Neither Hunt nor the UFC has publicly commented on the dismissal, but we imagine the ‘Super Samoan’ will feel just as frustrated by the ruling as he did in 2019.
“I tried to make things even on the battlefield of MMA, but again, the cheating company, Dana White, UFC with all its billions, they ripped everyone off win again,” Hunt said after a 2019 ruling. “Someone will die against a steroid-using cheater, and your sh*t ripoff company will be at fault, UFC.”
Mark Hunt Will Be on the Hook for a Hefty Amount of Legal Fees
Following the first ruling in 2019, the UFC counter-sued Hunt to recover $388,000 in legal fees. The court ruled in favor of White and the company. Now, with another two years of legal fees to tack on, this whole endeavor looks to cost the former heavyweight title challenger a pretty penny.
After his bout with Brock Lesnar, the ‘Super Samoan’ fulfilled the obligations of his UFC contract, participating in five additional fights within the Octagon while his lawsuit against the Las Vegas-based promotion continued. Hunt finally walked away from the UFC in 2018 after dropping four of his last five fights. Hunt has since competed in two boxing matches, the most recent occurring in 2022. Shortly after, he announced his retirement from combat sports.
“I’m done fighting,” Hunt said in 2022. “I think I lost the passion a long time ago when I filed this lawsuit against the UFC. They took that passion away from me, to be honest. The only fight I’ve had since I left the UFC was a boxing match, [and] I couldn’t get another match anywhere. I don’t think any company would pick me up because of this lawsuit, to be honest.”
