On May 25th, Mark Hunt was in the co-main event of UFC 160 against Junior dos Santos, while Antonio Silva was challenging for the heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez in the main event. Both Hunt and Bigfoot lost, setting up the obvious Cain/JDS trilogy matchup in October. According to MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Hunt and Bigfoot will fight each other in a Fox Sports 1 main event this December in Australia:
UFC returns to Australia on Dec. 21, and heavyweight Mark Hunt will be on the main event of the Fight Night card.
Sources close to the situation told MMAFighting.com that Pride veteran Mark Hunt has verbally agreed to meet Brazilian heavyweight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in a five-round battle in Australia on Dec. 21, but the city or venue for the event has not been determined. Combate first reported the news.
Hunt (9-8) went on an inspiring run through the UFC’s heavyweight division, and after knocking out Stefan Struve he was inching closer towards an unlikely title shot. He stepped in for Alistair Overeem against JDS at UFC 160, and although he was ultimately knocked out via wheel kick, he put forth a valiant effort in what would’ve otherwise been a 30-27 unanimous decision loss.
Bigfoot (18-5) lost his UFC debut to Cain Velasquez and was left a bloody mess on the canvas. He was an underdog in his next two fights against Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem, but he knocked both men out and earned a rematch with Velasquez. Unfortunately, Velasquez stopped him 2 minutes and 15 seconds quicker than their first meeting, and his bid to become a UFC champion fell short.
The UFC had announced a return to Australia earlier this year, and this looks like a great main event for the fans.
UPDATE: MMA Fighting has learned that the card is expected to take place on December 6th, not 21st.
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