Mark Hunt: In His Groove And Not Ready To Quit

It may not have been quite the spectacular knock-down, walk-off knockout that has become his trademark method for finishing fights over the years, but Mark Hunt’s fourth-round TKO stoppage of Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 110 on Saturday was still very impressive.

The 43-year-old veteran kickboxer had the dangerous Lewis backed up against the cage and powerless to prevent the thudding blows aimed in his direction. Although “The Black Beast” may not have been felled, the referee’s intervening to call the bout to a close was the only logical, and safe, option.

Fighting on home soil in Auckland, New Zealand, the “Super Samoan” was plainly keen to impress. Lewis came into the contest riding a five-fight winning streak and was widely regarded as one of the rising stars of the division. Stopping the 32-year-old in such emphatic fashion showed that Hunt is still more than capable of hanging with the best and brightest of the UFC’s heavyweight ranks.

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The win got Hunt back on track after a knockout loss at the hands — or, rather, the knees — of Dutch striker Alistair Overeem in March, a defeat that has clearly left a bitter taste in the Australia-based fighter’s mouth.

Hunt took legal action for a greater share of Brock Lesnar’s purse when the WWE superstar failed a post-fight drugs test after their UFC 200 fight last year. Taking on and losing to Overeem, who has faced doping penalties in the past and over whom similar allegations still hang, in his next outing hasn’t sat well with Hunt.

“He’s always going to be a cheating bum to me, regardless of whether he beat me,” Hunt said on Saturday at the post-fight presser. “All of his achievements, you don’t know whether they’re done by steroids or not. Sorry, Alistair, you’re a cheat.”

Whether he gets the chance to take another crack at Overeem remains to be seen, but the 43-year-old, who is perhaps one of the more unlikely fan favourites in UFC history, has no intention of hanging up his gloves just yet.

“I like to get beat up. Shucks, there’s nothing else I’m good at,” he said following his victory over Lewis. “But I’ve got a couple of fights I want to finish. Why not see the contract out and then retire?”

The end is in sight but Hunt has found his groove in the UFC — a notch below title contention but an entertaining and popular fighter who can cause problems for any heavyweight on his day. He can’t go on forever, but for now he’s happy and will seek at least a couple more knockouts before making the ultimate walk-off.