Hunt: 'I had no other option' but to accept Overeem fight
Mark Hunt is ready to step back into the Octagon, even if he's not thrilled about it.
On Wednesday, "The Super Samoan" confirmed that he will be fighting Alistair Overeem at UFC 209 on March 4, though Hunt's official agreement came two weeks after the promotion had already announced the bout. Hunt was reluctant to sign on the dotted line due to Overeem having previously tested positive for elevated testosterone in April 2012.
It's unclear if the UFC has accommodated Hunt's request that he receive extra compensation should Overeem be busted again, but the 42-year-old heavyweight told Marvin France of Stuff.co.nz that it's costing him too much to stay on the sidelines.
"I'm not young, I'm 42 years old," Hunt said. "In six months I've already missed out on a couple of fights, I've already missed out on a couple million dollars. At the end of the day I've stuck to my word. I've got no option, I'm in a contract that I can't get out of.
"All the doors I've gone through are closed and it's not like I can go and work somewhere else. Ages ago I was gladly ready to walk away and work somewhere else but they wouldn't allow it. Think it from my position, I had no other option. I can't work anywhere else so what am I supposed to do - let my family starve?"
Also keeping Hunt on the sidelines were his ongoing issues with the UFC regarding their treatment of his last opponent Brock Lesnar. The two men fought in July, with Lesnar winning a unanimous decision. It was later reported that Lesnar failed a pair of USADA drug tests, leading to a one-year suspension, a $250,000 fine, and the overturning of the result to a no-contest.
None of that was of much benefit to Hunt. He's been campaigning for cheating fighters to have to forfeit their entire purse to their opponents and is vowing to personally sue anyone he's booked against who fails a test in the future. Otherwise, he feels fighters like Lesnar will continue to go relatively unpunished.
"No. I didn't even think the other (NSAC) penalty was harsh enough," Hunt said. "He got a $250,000 fine but he made about $2 million bucks so how did it actually affect him?
"(Dopers) should be struck from the records and taken everything off them. They don't deserve to get a cent. This sport is already harsh enough as it is. When you add in steroid use it makes it even worse."