Mark Hunt Says He’d Be UFC Heavyweight Champion If Not For Cheaters

Mark Hunt discussed his past fights with PED users in a new blog with PlayersVoice, saying he’d be the champion if not for losses against “cheaters.” Below are some highlights.

On the mental toll his career has taken: “Sometimes I don’t sleep well. You can hear me starting to stutter and slur my words. My memory is not that good anymore. I’ll forget something I did yesterday, but I can remember the (expletive) I did years and years ago.”

On having fought PED users: “That’s just the price I’ve paid – the price of being a fighter. But I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating, and that’s not right. I will probably end my life fighting. I’ve been fighting since I was a child, fighting to get out of my circumstances. I used to make $300 a week, struggling to put food on the table, but I have become one of the highest-paid fighters in the world. I feel that’s destiny. This is what I’m supposed to be doing, and if I die fighting, that’s fine. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be in an honest and fair competition. My body is (expletive), but my mind is still here. I’ve still got my senses about me, and I know what’s right and wrong, which is the main thing.”

On being naive regarding the Brock Lesnar fight: “If I had been able to go and take blood from Brock and test him myself then I could have known for sure – I don’t want to fight this guy. It frustrates me when people say, ‘Well, you must have known.’ I was told he was being tested properly. I didn’t realise the importance of me voicing my opinion about drugs in the sport until after the Lesnar fight. He hits like a bitch, but he still beat me using pure strength. I’m quite strong and could usually get out of most situations. I’ve fought some big guys, but Brock is only 6-foot-3 and he’s still three times my size. How does that work? If I was gearing the same as him, I probably would have thrown him out of the octagon.”

On his losses to people who have used PEDS: “I’d be champ already if it wasn’t for the cheaters. I’d probably be retired, sitting at home playing video games all day, eating KFC. These guys couldn’t cut it with me if they weren’t cheating. I’ve missed out on sponsors and millions of dollars. It pisses me off when I think about it. Lesnar is a big name. He’s a superstar. That was my chance to get closer to the title – it would have been my third straight win. Instead, all I got was people hating on me. They say, ‘You’re a whiner, why are you trying to get his money?’ It’s not his money. He shouldn’t get anything.”

On his fight with Antonio Silva: “Everyone says the first ‘Bigfoot’ fight is one of the greatest heavyweight bouts of all time, but not for me. It’s stained. That guy ruined everything. You take away his juice and he’s nothing. The first fight we had, we nearly killed each other. The second fight, when he was clean, he didn’t even last a round. He wasn’t the same person as the one that almost frigging killed me. I broke my hand in that first fight. I broke my hand punching a cheater, and I was out for almost a year. I didn’t have work; I had zero income. It takes a lot out of you and has a huge impact on your life.”

On the UFC’s failure to address the issue: “It pisses me off when some fighters say, ‘It’s great to be part of the UFC, it pays the bills.’ It doesn’t. That’s coming from one of the highest-paid fighters in the world. These guys don’t get paid jack (expletive). For someone that makes $200,000-$300,000 a fight, half of that goes to tax and half again is for their camp. Then whatever’s left they’ve got to use for their mortgage. If you’ve worked your arse off to get in the top 10, you should be getting paid properly.”

On his plans for his next contract: “But the next contract I sign I want to put a clause in – the Mark Hunt clause – where a fighter loses all his money if he is caught doping. That could be part of my legacy. I’m still one of the best fighters on the planet. I honestly don’t care what anyone says. I’m knocking fools out.”