Mark Hunt’s stock continued to rise this weekend when he knocked out Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane, Australia. It seems like Hunt is now on the road towards a shot at the UFC heavyweight title if he can perform just as impressively on a few other fighters, and MMA legend Bas Rutten agrees that Hunt has a shot at the title – if he starts to actually train for his fights!
Bas had learned that Hunt barely trains for most of his fights, a startling revelation when you consider the long career that the ‘Super Samoan’ has had. “I read his book, Mark Hunt’s book, and what a ride he has had and what an experience he went through in his life… and one of the biggest experiences for him is that he doesn’t train for fights. Now if he does prepare for a fight the correct way, the guy is a frikkin’ terminator. He’s already a terminator even when he doesn’t train… but with him, it’s what spot is he in? If he is in a good spot and can train two times a day for a full training camp, Yeah, I can see him go really far.”
Rutten also does not think Hunt being 42 should affect his chances of wearing UFC gold if the opportunity arrived.
“That’s just a number to me. When I was 42, I had my last fight and all my reflexes were there. I had a problem with all my injuries, but these Samoan guys, man! These Samoan guys, they have thicker bones, thicker skulls, thicker everything. They’re more durable than normal people, so if he doesn’t have big injuries, Yeah, I don’t see his explosiveness or his power – well, they say power is the last thing that goes – but even his explosiveness is still there.”
This Friday, March 25, check out Bas Rutten and his new co-host, Mauro Ranallo, on “Inside MMA” on AXS TV.
If you want to hear the full interview I did with Bas, where we also discuss the future of Ronda Rousey in MMA, what is next for Conor McGregor, his thoughts on Jon Jones VS Daniel Cormier 2, and much more, check out the video below.