Dissatisfied, Mark Hunt rejects UFC 206 match

UFC News – According to his attorney Christina Denning, seventh-ranked UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt turned down a rematch with Junior dos Santos at UFC 206 due to unsatisfactory terms.

Mark Hunt isn’t backing down from his legal battles with the UFC.

At UFC 200, Mark Hunt fought the most high profile fight of his life, welcoming back former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar; Hunt lost by decision. After the event, Lesnar was flagged by USADA for failing both an out-of-competition drug test a few weeks before the event as well as an in-competition test. Lesnar failed after testing for hydroxy-clomiphen, a banned estrogen blocker. He’s been temporarily suspended until a full hearing can be adjudicated. Hunt is livid.

In the aftermath of the failed test, Hunt was fuming. He demanded half of Lesnar’s $2.5 million purse in recompense or demanded a release from the UFC. Shortly after that herailed on the UFC and Lesnar for their doping policy and ineffectiveness. Then, just last week Hunt hired San Diego attorney Christina Denning to explore possible legal actions against the UFC.

On The Luke Thomas Show on SiriusXM radio Thursday, Denning spoke with Thomas about Hunt’s goals going forward and how the relationship is currently between Hunt and the UFC.

“Simply with respect to moving forward, Mark is getting older. He’s in his 40’s now. He is tired of fighting people who are, what he calls, ‘juicers.’ That does nothing for his brand when he has to take a loss and then it comes out later that the person is doping… That’s not advancing his career. So moving forward he wants to have bout agreements that provide for compensation to the non-doping fighter if one of the competitors is ultimately found to be doping. He thinks that would provide a deterrent for fighters to violate the anti-doping provisions.”

Hunt faced criticism from many fans for his reaction to the situation, in part because before the fight Hunt gave many interviews where he claimed that Lesnar was “juiced to the gills” but consented to the fight anyway (Hunt’s comments at the time were in reference to Lesnar receiving a special exemption from the UFC to bypass USADA’s mandatory four month testing period). He was also criticized because Lesnar is the third UFC opponent to have failed a drug test against Hunt, but Lesnar is the first to have gotten this reaction from the “Super Samoan.”

Denning says Hunt’s reaction isn’t  sour grapes but that the Lesnar situation was the final straw for a man who spent his career fighting opponents who were cheating and has been let down by the UFC for allowing it to continue.

“This is not a new concept. All the sudden Mark hasn’t woken up after this Lesnar fight and said, ‘I really want to do something about doping violations.’ He’s always had a great disdain for doping in his sport and in the sport that he’s chosen to pursue. In his book…he expresses relief that when he finally got to the UFC, that the UFC actually had some anti-doping policies…This is not just coming out of nowhere for him. This is something he’s felt strongly about and he feels really let down by the UFC and he really wants to fight. He really wants to fight again, he just doesn’t want to be thrown in the ring with another person that tests positive for steroids.

“He’s had enough… He has a family. He’s getting older. These could be the last years of his fighting if he does ever fight again. He realizes that it’s just become very unfair and he’s sick of it and he doesn’t to end up hurt or dead and he doesn’t want anyone else to either.”

Hunt’s desire to fight may be genuine, but his window is closing quickly. Hunt is 42 years old and a protracted legal battle with the UFC would likely mean Hunt never setting foot in the cage again. It was this same pressure which facilitated Randy Couture ending his contractual disagreements with the UFC back in 2008.

With this in mind, Hunt and Denning are attempting to resolve the situation without a legal battle and the UFC seems willing to oblige some, even offering Hunt a rematch with former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. A win over dos Santos would put Hunt right at the top of the potential title challenger list but Hunt and Denning aren’t willing to give ground on what they see as fair. Ultimately the UFC refused their contract conditions, causing Hunt to turn down the fight. Still, Denning says the door remains open for future discussion.

“Mark turned down the upcoming UFC 206 fight against Junior dos Santos because the UFC wouldn’t agree to the terms that we have proposed. The UFC folks haven’t shut any doors on us and they haven’t said we’ll never talk to you about a provision like this in the contracts. The door is open. I’m waiting for the UFC to call us and come up with a resolution.

“Normally I’d just file a lawsuit… but we are talking about it because he want’s to resolve it and he wants to fight. He just wants a fair fight. That’s what the UFC anti-doping policy, that’s what they state is the goal of it, to have a level playing field and it’s not.”

Category: Mixed Martial Arts