June

Australia Samoa Newspaper
Sports
06 June 2016
21
UFC 200: Mark Hunt handed
blockbuster fight with Brock Lesnar
Mark Hunt has been catapulted into the biggest UFC heavyweight fight of 2016 — against American megastar Brock Lesnar.
Speaking on ESPN overnight, Lesnar revealed
42-year-old Hunt would be his
rival for what now shapes a blockbuster
“one off” return to the Octagon at UFC 200 on-
July 9.
Following the announcement that Lesnar
would return at UFC 200, Hunt has opened up
as a solid favorite over the former heavyweight
champion.
According to the odds makers at Bookmaker.
eu, Hunt was instilled as a -195 favorite with Lesnar
as the underdog at +166.
It means to win $100 on Hunt, you’d have to
bet at least $195 and if you bet $100 on Lesnar
and he won, you’d win $166.
The Daily Telegraph first revealed Hunt’s impending
appearance on the Las Vegas card a
fortnight ago, when the Sydney slugger explained
how UFC president Dana White had ordered him
to “stay ready” for UFC 200.
Then overnight in the US, Lesnar confirmed
the bout during an exclusive interview on the
Monday edition of SportsCentre.
The announcement means UFC Fight Week,
which culminates with the UFC 200 card, now
shapes as a bumper one for Aussie fight fans,
with rising Melbourne lightweight Jake Matthews
also involved on a separate Las Vegas card a
night earlier.
Asked about facing Hunt in his Octagon return,
Lesnar replied: “Why not? It could be anybody.
I didn’t care.
“If Dana White called me and said, ‘You have
opponent X, Y, and Z, who do you want?’ He never
gave me those options.
“This is the guy that we want you to face, I
said, ‘Great. This is what I’m going to do.’’
Later in the interview, Lesnar also hinted at
the punching power of a western Sydney ratepayer
who has won consecutive fights via knockout.
“If Mark Hunt ends up on the ground, the
fight’s over,’’ he said. “Obviously I need to work
on my stand-up game (though), but I’m excited
and enthusiastic about doing so.”
While Hunt only fought in March, Lesnar has
not stepped inside an Octagon since December
2011, where he lost via first-round TKO to Alistair
Overeem at UFC 141.
During his initial run, however, the hulking Dakota
native went 4-3, winning and twice defending
the UFC heavyweight title.
After retaining his strap against Frank Mir at
UFC 100, however, Lesnar then battled a case of
diverticulitis — with the medical condition outing
him for almost 12 months.
And while Lesnar eventually returned to defeat
Shane Carwin — a bout The Daily Telegraph
covered live in Las Vegas as then Australian
lightweight George Sotiropoulos was also on the
card — the US heavyweight then endured consecutive
TKO losses.
Which is why he describes this return bout
with Hunt as unfinished business.
“I couldn’t live with that decision [stepping
away from MMA],” Lesnar said. “That decision
has haunted me for the last 15 months, and I figured
I couldn’t live like that for the rest of my life.
“I’m a big believer of living out your dreams
and facing your fears and just facing the reality
of, I don’t want to be sitting 20 years from now
and saying, ‘You know what son? You should’ve
went and did that.’ And here I am. And on the
biggest stage of all — I was on UFC 100, so why
not be on UFC 200?”
And as for how the fight came about?
“It’s very simple,’’ he continued. “Nobody
called me. It was nobody else’s idea.
“Dana didn’t pick up the phone because [they]
need to fill a spot. It didn’t happen like that.
“I picked up the phone. It was me ... three
months ago.
“It’s taken some time for things to play out,
but I just said, ‘What are the chances of having
Brock Lesnar on the card at UFC 200?’
“I’m a crossover athlete. I’m a modern-day Bo
Jackson, and I’m excited about it.”
Asked about the purse for his one-off bout,
Lesnar added: “I can’t disclose. There’s lots of
zeros behind it.”
Source : www.dailytelegraph.com.au