How Does Mark Hunt Still Have A Job?

I love Rulon Gardner. That guy was, and will remain, one of the most phenomenal American athletes ever. His 2000 Olympic match against Karelin was a nail-biter from the outset. But while he's never been a slender fella, he's spent the last 10 years getting FAT. Fat enough to embarrass himself on national TV.

Mark Hunt is, to me, MMA's Rulon Gardner. Never a slim guy, since his last win against Tsuyoshi Kosaka (who?) in 2006, he's basically just gotten FAT. Cruising around at well over 300 lbs, when he's not fighting he resembles a 5'10" Tim Sylvia. And that's not a good thing.



I mean, seriously - when you're weighing in AFTER CUTTING WEIGHT TO MAKE 265, if your muffin-top is still comfortably spilling out over the top of your shorts... you may need to re-examine your height-to-weight ratio.

But weight aside, if the guy had the skills to hang in the UFC's heavyweight division, it wouldn't be that big a deal. But he doesn't. Not anymore.

I want to be clear - Mark Hunt started off his career in FANTASTIC style, and even decisioned Mirko and Wanderlei before they both had their brains rattled a couple too many times. He's a hard puncher, and.... well, that's about it.

And let's be fair - yes, he's lost his last 6 fights. But other than Sean McCorkle (who?), he lost to Fedor, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Mousasi, and Manhoef. That's a pretty significant list. In fact, I don't know of too many guys who can say they've fought at that level of competition over the last several years, considering some of those names are bandied about on Greatest-Of-All-Time lists.

But what does it mean that Hunt showed up for the fight with Sean McCorkle fat, uninspired (although he did give us the Tito Ortiz "I promise it'll be different this time, guys"), and still without a shred of submission defense.

How is Mark Hunt still employed by the UFC with a 5-7 record, and with no win in the last 6 years? MAYBE you could argue he's a "fan favorite," that his presence on the card is supposed to drive up buys. If that's the case, though, why is this one of the only fights on the card NOT being shown on the PPV, Ion, OR Facebook?

It's a damn conspiracy, I tell you. I want to believe that Mark Hunt, Brandon Vera, and Tito Ortiz all have some super-secret information on Dana White, and it's got to be the only thing keeping them in the UFC. Of course, it's much simpler than that with Hunt.



Dana's got to be thankful THAT deal's about done. On a positive note, Hunt's opponent, Chris Tuchscherer, appears to have been given this fight simply to mangle Hunt. In fact, Tuch has 2 wins by legit submission, including an arm bar. Which makes him look like a jiu jitsu black belt compared to Hunt.

So here's hoping we see a big bear hug takedown and a merciful quick finish, so I can go back to remembering the guy that liver-kicked Dan Bobish (WAR BAS RUTTEN!) into submission (despite an AWESOME beer gut). Because that's how Mark Hunt should be remembered. Not as the muffin-top guy.