Mark Richard Hunt was born on 23 March 1974 and is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia.
85 Facts About Mark Hunt
2.
Mark Hunt is known as "King of Walk-Offs" due to his popularization of walking away and stopping attacks before the referee officially ends the match.
3.
Mark 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.
4.
Mark Hunt 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.
5.
The brawl did not last long, and Mark Hunt knocked out multiple people.
6.
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, Mark Hunt won a Muay Thai kickboxing match via knockout.
7.
Mark Hunt received a six-pack of beer as a reward for the fight.
8.
Later that year Mark Hunt moved to Sydney, Australia, to train with Alex Tui, and few years later he settled in Liverpool Kickboxing Gym under Maori instructor Hape Ngaranoa.
9.
Mark Hunt 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.
10.
Mark Hunt lost his first international fight by unanimous decision against Jerome Le Banner.
11.
In 2001, Mark Hunt returned to K-1 by winning the K-1 Oceania tournament for the second consecutive year.
12.
However, because of his exciting fighting style Mark Hunt was granted a wildcard spot in the repercharge tournament for the K-1 World GP 2001 Finals, when Mirko Cro Cop had to pull out due to injury.
13.
Mark Hunt was drawn against Ray Sefo, who won the bout by outpointing Hunt.
14.
Mark Hunt won the rematch by knocking out Le Banner in the second round and advanced himself onto the semi-finals facing Stefan Leko.
15.
Mark Hunt knocked down Leko two times in the first round and went on to win the fight by unanimous decision.
16.
In 2002, Mark 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.
17.
On 17 December 2002, Mark Hunt returned to defend his K-1 World Grand Prix Championship.
18.
In quarter finals, entering the third round and behind on all scorecards, Mark Hunt 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.
19.
Mark Hunt lost the fight at the end of the first round by spinning back kick to the body.
20.
Mark Hunt's first MMA fight was a submission loss to Hidehiko Yoshida, an Olympic gold medalist in judo.
21.
Mark Hunt stepped in as a late replacement for Sakuraba, and won a split decision against an outweighed PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.
22.
At the PRIDE Shockwave 2005 event, Mark Hunt surprisingly defeated Mirko Cro Cop via a split decision, after his earlier loss to him in K-1.
23.
At PRIDE 31: Unbreakable, Mark Hunt defeated Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima in the third round with a powerful one-two punch.
24.
Mark Hunt's next fight was in the opening round of PRIDE's 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix on 5 May 2006.
25.
Mark Hunt's opponent was Japan's Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, who he defeated by TKO in the second round.
26.
Mark Hunt then faced American catch-wrestler Josh Barnett at PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute in the second round of the tournament.
27.
Mark Hunt was immediately taken down by Barnett and ultimately lost to a kimura submission roughly two and a half minutes into the first round.
28.
Mark Hunt controlled Emelianenko most of the fight and even effectively countered an armbar early in the bout.
29.
Unfortunately for Mark Hunt, Emelianenko was able to fight through it and submit Mark Hunt with a kimura.
30.
On 21 July 2008, more than a year after his previous MMA fight, Mark 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.
31.
On 26 May 2009, Mark Hunt fought former DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi in the opening round of the Super Hulk Grand Prix at Dream 9.
32.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via submission in the first round.
33.
Mark Hunt was transferred to the UFC as part of their acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships.
34.
Mark Hunt made his UFC debut on 25 September 2010, at UFC 119 against fellow UFC newcomer and undefeated prospect Sean McCorkle.
35.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via submission in the first round.
36.
Mark Hunt's next fight in the UFC was against Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on 27 February 2011, in Sydney, Australia.
37.
Mark Hunt defeated Tuchscherer in the second round via KO, earning Knockout of the Night honors.
38.
Mark Hunt faced Ben Rothwell at UFC 135 on 24 September 2011.
39.
Mark Hunt next faced Cheick Kongo on 26 February 2012, at UFC 144.
40.
Mark Hunt won the fight via TKO in the first round.
41.
Mark Hunt was expected face Stefan Struve on 26 May 2012, at UFC 146.
42.
Mark Hunt defeated Struve via third-round TKO in a performance that earned him Knockout of the Night honors.
43.
Mark Hunt faced Junior dos Santos on 25 May 2013, at UFC 160, replacing an injured Alistair Overeem.
44.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via knockout in the third round in a bout that earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.
45.
Mark Hunt faced Antonio Silva in the main event on 7 December 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33.
46.
On 5 August 2014, Mark Hunt posted cryptic tweets about becoming unemployed, which Dana White immediately denied.
47.
Mark Hunt originally wanted a three-fight contract while the UFC wanted an eight-fight contract.
48.
Mark Hunt faced Roy Nelson on 20 September 2014, at UFC Fight Night 52.
49.
Mark Hunt won the fight via knockout in the second round.
50.
On 21 October 2014, it was announced that Mark Hunt would replace injured UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez in the main event of UFC 180.
51.
Mark Hunt faced off against Fabricio Werdum for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
52.
Mark Hunt faced Stipe Miocic on 10 May 2015, at UFC Fight Night 65.
53.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via TKO in the fifth round.
54.
Mark Hunt faced Antonio Silva in a rematch on 15 November 2015, at UFC 193.
55.
Mark Hunt won the fight via TKO, after dropping Silva with a straight right up against the fence at 3:41 of the first round.
56.
Mark Hunt faced Frank Mir on 20 March 2016, at UFC Fight Night 85.
57.
Mark Hunt won the fight via KO in the first round after sending Mir to the canvas with a right hand.
58.
Mark Hunt was awarded with Performance of the Night for his efforts.
59.
Mark Hunt faced a returning Brock Lesnar on 9 July 2016, at UFC 200.
60.
Mark Hunt faced Alistair Overeem in a rematch on 4 March 2017, at UFC 209.
61.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via knockout in the third round.
62.
Mark Hunt faced Derrick Lewis on 11 June 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 110.
63.
Mark Hunt was expected to face Marcin Tybura on 19 November 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Mark Hunt vs Tybura.
64.
Mark Hunt was upset with the news, responding on his Instagram that the quote was taken out of context and that he had been cleared to fight by doctors two days before he was pulled from the bout.
65.
On 5 December 2017, it was announced that Mark Hunt had been cleared to fight after undergoing medical tests in Las Vegas that were arranged by the UFC.
66.
Mark Hunt faced Curtis Blaydes on 11 February 2018, at UFC 221.
67.
Mark Hunt knocked down Blaydes in the first round, but would be outwrestled for the remainder of the fight and lost via unanimous decision.
68.
Mark Hunt faced Aleksei Oleinik on 15 September 2018, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 136.
69.
Mark Hunt lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
70.
Mark Hunt faced Justin Willis on 2 December 2018, at UFC Fight Night 142.
71.
Mark Hunt faced Paul Gallen in a six-round heavyweight match on 16 December 2020 at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
72.
Mark Hunt faced Sonny Bill Williams on 5 November 2022 at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia.
73.
Mark Hunt won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round.
74.
Mark Hunt had his first professional wrestling appearance on 25 November 2007 for Japanese promotion Hustle.
75.
Mark Hunt was introduced as a living weapon sorted in a Dynamite Hardcore Weapons Match between a team of the babyface faction Hustle Army and one of the heel stable Takada Monster Army.
76.
Mark Hunt stayed in the ring and danced with the victorious Kintaman and Kurodaman, though accidentally knocking them out as well in the process.
77.
Mark Hunt returned to the promotion on 21 February 2008, coming to the ring to save Monster Bono from a beating by Tiger Jeet Singh and his allies of the Takada Monster Army.
78.
Mark Hunt is known as a brawler and prefers to fight standing up.
79.
Mark Hunt has a powerful left hook and right straight.
80.
Mark Hunt holds a notable KO victory over Roy Nelson, who is cited as having one of the most durable chins in combat sports.
81.
Mark Hunt fought Cro Cop a second time in Pride Shockwave 2005 and won by decision.
82.
Mark Hunt is the subject of a feature-length documentary The Art of Fighting, which premiered on Fuel TV on 22 May 2013.
83.
Mark Hunt was cast in a small role in the Australian film Crazy Murder, released in 2014.
84.
Mark Hunt was born a Mormon, but is a born-again Christian.
85.
However, on 7 July 2016, Mark Hunt stated that he has not gone completely vegan due to the time demands of the sport, but is a vegetarian.