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Mark Hunt plied his trade inside the UFC Octagon between 2007 and 2018, racking up a bevvy of memorable KOs and slugfests. His career petered out in 2018 on the back of three straight losses and a release from his contract.
Towards the end of his time with the UFC, Hunt’s relationship with the UFC had grown quite bitter. The animosity can be traced back to UFC 200 in 2016 when Hunt took on former UFC Golden Goose Brock Lesnar in a fight that, on the night, ended in a unanimous decision win for the WWE superstar.
The win was later turned into a no contest after Lesnar tested positive for banned substances in both pre and post-fight drug tests.
This incident prompted Hunt to sue the UFC and Lesnar in 2017, accusing them of RICO violations, fraud and breach of contract. Last month that lawsuit ended when a judge determined Hunt had not proven that the UFC scheduled him to fight Lesnar with prior knowledge that he was taking performance enhancing drugs.
Mark Hunt trashes Dana White and UFC over ending USADA program
With the UFC and USADA ending their relationship, Mark Hunt has been one of many fighters to weigh in on the subject. Hunt’s view on the situation is that the UFC, and its CEO Dana White, will struggle to remain relevant without what USADA brought to the table.
“I give you a year [Dana White] [UFC] before u are no more,” Hunt wrote in a post to his Instagram in reaction to the announcement that the UFC was ending its USADA program starting in 2024. “U can’t keep ripping fighters and there families off. The exodus from u criminals is already starting.”
“The only scumbag gutterdog is u worthless fkn mutt [Dana White],” Hunt continued in a second post. “Imagine waiting for my lawsuit to end so u could try force USADA to put McGregor in without testing. Why make rules when u don’t follow them or enforce them yourself? It isn’t over yet boi.”
Since leaving the UFC, Hunt has focused on boxing and fought three times since 2000. The first of those bouts was a draw with the 55-year-old Joe Askew. He then lost a decision to bad boy rugby player Paul Gallen. In 2022 he scored his first ever pro boxing win with a TKO victory over Sonny Bill Williams (another rugby player).
UFC announces new drug test system
Soon after the UFC and USADA’s break-up was made official, the UFC announced a partnership with Drug Free Sport International and SMRTL Labs.
It was also announced that former FBI agent George Piro will act as an independent administrator for the new program. Piro is most known for interrogating Saddam Hussein in 2004.
Piro will reportedly have carte blanche over decisions regarding the drug testing of UFC athletes from here on out.
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