Mark Hunt Pulled From Fight Night 121
Following the stunning admission that he had been suffering from potential signs of CTE, the UFC removed Mark Hunt from his main event with Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 121.
Hunt’s admission came from a recent article penned by the popular heavyweight, where he admitted in Australia’s Players voice that he stated that…
My body is f**ked but my mind is still here. I’ve still got my senses about me and I know what’s right and wrong, which is the main thing. Sometimes I don’t sleep well. You can hear me starting to stutter and slur my words. My memory is not that good anymore. I’ll forget something I did yesterday but I can remember the s**t I did years and years ago. That’s just the price I’ve paid – the price of being a fighter. But I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right.”
Following the UFC confirmation, it was announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Fabrico Werdum will step in for Hunt. Werdum is coming off a 65 second submission victory at this past weekend’s UFC 216 event.
In a report by Australia’s Daily Telegraph, an unnamed UFC official explained the native New Zealander’s removal.
“Following a recent first-person article published by heavyweight Mark Hunt, the UFC has taken the precautionary steps of removing Hunt from a previously announced bout in Sydney, Australia.”
“The health-related statements made by Hunt in the article represent the first time UFC was made aware of these claims,” they continued. “Athlete health and safety is of the utmost importance to the organization and it would never knowingly schedule an athlete complaining of health issues for a fight. The organization will require that Hunt undergo further testing and evaluations prior to competing in any future UFC bout.”
Quickly following his removal, Hunt went on a tirade on his personal Instagram account attacking the UFC and its President Dana White.
Hunt was brutally knocked out by fellow former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem this past May but rebounded in his hometown of Auckland in June, stopping Derrick Lewis in a four-round slugfest.
“The Oceania Super Fighter” is also in the process of suing the UFC pursuant to his UFC 200 loss in July 2016 to former UFC heavyweight champion and pro-wrestling star Brock Lesnar, who twice tested positive for the banned estrogen blocker clomiphene. Hunt’s ongoing suit alleges that alleging the UFC, Lesnar and Dana White committed racketeering, fraud, battery and civil conspiracy by letting Lesnar fight with knowledge that he was actively using banned performance enhancing substances.
Read more at http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Mark-Hunt-Replaced-By-Fabricio-Werdum-at-UFC-Fight-Night-121-After-Admissions-of-Early-CTE-Signs-127543#Al4fgSvt8JQgZTAM.99