Once upon a time, Mark Hunt was as legendary as it gets, but after his last fight with Junior Dos Santos, has his time run up?
Mark Hunt was once a K1 Champion and was kicking people's faces off before most us even knew what MMA and UFC was. Even once he entered the MMA scene with PRIDE, he was still destroying his opponents and taking down some of the best guys in the sport during those days. One of those guys being Wanderlei Silva after his 4 year undefeated winning streak.
Things got a little dicey after his impressive start in PRIDE. Starting in 2006, he started losing a lot and it was killing his career.
Then everything changed. The UFC was making strides and Dana White bought PRIDE out and gave Mark an opportunity that he might be regretting now: the opportunity to quit MMA but still get paid. He told Dana no, he wanted to earn it; A noble decision driven by his warrior spirit and his passion for martial arts. Unfortunately, Mark lost his UFC debut against Sean McCorkle. After that fight though, in an incredible turn of events, he won his next four fights and became a contender pretty much "overnight".
May 25, 2013 came and he found himself in the ring versus Junior Dos Santos on short notice. After the usual Bruce Buffer introduction and fighter handshakes, they went to war. Mark started off great landing some shots but slowly got tired. After 14 minutes of intense fighting, Junior Dos Santos scored with an incredible spinning wheel kick that had Hunt down for the count. Probably just as bad, it was revealed that Hunt had a broken toe since the first round.
Normally, this loss and injury wouldn't be a big deal as it just takes a bit of time to recover and then "re-fight" his way to the top again, but there is no time. Mark is 39 years old, which is almost ancient in MMA, and he isn't getting any younger. The question is now, is it all over for the once dangerous Mark Hunt?
In my honest opinion, I think he is done, but there is a part of me that says there is still a small window of hope. I think he knows this as well. After he recovers from his injury, he will have an uphill battle but is blessed with a thin division. With just a couple more wins, he can get back to the top and reach his goal of becoming a UFC champion. He might have to face Roy Nelson or some of the other tough options, but at 39 years old the clock is ticking. Once he comes back, he doesn't have any time to waste and must be near perfect. It will be tough, but it is possible.
Dana White once said that he doesn't tell anybody to retire, but if the fighter has it in his mind, then he should. Mark Hunt so far does not, so he will probably go on and give it all he has.
