Hunt blasts UFC after he is pulled from Fight Night card
Mark Hunt says the UFC is using medical concerns as an excuse to pull him from next month’s UFC Fight Night in Sydney.
The Kiwi heavyweight was due to headline the event against Poland’s Marcin Tybura but was replaced on Wednesday by former champion Fabricio Werdum after Hunt confessed to slurring his words and losing his memory in a recent article.
After reviewing the article, UFC officials decided to withdraw the 43-year-old for further testing, citing the interests of fighter safety.
But a furious Hunt insists he has been cleared to fight by doctors and believes the real reason behind his removal is his current legal battle against the UFC, president Dana White and former opponent Brock Lesnar.
‘‘I’m disappointed that I have been withdrawn from the fight, I have passed all medicals 2 days ago. And spent ($)100,000 on camp,’’ Hunt said in a series of posts on Facebook.
‘‘The truth is the legal case I have filed has caused me to be withdrawn. The interview has been taken out of context and want to reassure all my fans, I slur my words only when I have a drink. I’m fit and healthy, and would have understood if the UFC requested a medical to ensure my safety, however this is total b.......’’
Hunt filed a civil lawsuit against the UFC in January after Lesnar failed two doping tests following their bout last year.
Lesnar was Hunt’s third consecutive opponent who had tested positive for performanceenhancing drugs. He has fought twice since launching the suit, against Alistair Overeem - who also has a history with doping - in March, and Derrick Lewis in Auckland in June.
In a first-person piece for Australian website the Players Voice last month, the ‘Super Samoan’ opened up about the brutal toll his 16-year combat sports career has had on his mind and body in a bid to highlight the dangers of competing against fighters using PEDs.
The Sydney-based slugger revealed in the article that he was starting to ‘‘stutter and slur my words’’ and would forget some- thing he would do the day before.
But Hunt said it was taken out of context.
‘‘I spent hours the other day with the doctors I was cleared to fight. The interview I did was misquoted. I don’t slur my words and it a is a running joke between my wife and me that my memory isn’t that great but who remembers.’’
Hunt has three fights remaining on his contract and an official told Australia’s Daily Telegraph he would have to undergo further testing and evaluations prior to competing in any future UFC bout.