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Hunt was hoping to welcome Emelianenko back to MMA in Melbourne

You can add Mark Hunt to the growing list of heavyweights willing to violently usher Fedor Emelianenko back into professional mixed martial arts.

"I don't know why he retired," Hunt told Submission Radio, according to BloodyElbow.com's Karim Zidan. "I mean everyone has their reasons, but that's a long time coming. He's one of the greatest fighters of all time. I was hopefully looking forward to welcoming him back as a rematch. I was hoping it'd be with me in Melbourne somewhere, but I guess not. We'll see what happens. It's good that Fedor's back in the fighting circles, and especially with the UFC. I mean that's where the best players are right now ... UFC is where the party's at."

Hunt and Emelianenko last did battle at PRIDE Shockwave in 2006, when "The Last Emperor" - then the PRIDE heavyweight champion - submitted Hunt with a slick Kimura.

Once considered the greatest fighter on the planet, the legendary Emelianenko recently announced his intention to return to the sport after initially retiring in 2012.

"Well I never ask (for specific opponents) unless it's some freakin' guy talking rubbish, but I never ask for that person," Hunt said. "But it was just a thought. When I heard he was coming back, I was like 'oh, maybe I can welcome him to the UFC in Melbourne.' Who knows?"

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