Mark Hunt was one of the best KO artists in the UFC. The Kiwi is a true martial artist, having tried his hand at boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. He has had success in all arenas, but one place where he shined the brightest was the K-1 World Grand Prix. As such, Joe Rogan once highlighted the difficulty of achieving this feat.
Mark Hunt began his kickboxing career in 2000 with K-1. The Kiwi won 4 titles with the promotion, starting with the K-1 Oceania Grand Prix. He won it in 2000 and 2001. Subsequently, the Kiwi won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka. However, the most impressive feat that Rogan alluded to was winning the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001.
Mark Hunt, who used to fight in the UFC. He has calves like two shoulders. Like your whole body.
Joe Rogan on JRE
Furthermore, Rogan considered Hunt to be “one of the baddes motherfuc*ers to ever do it.” As such, he considers his accomplishment in K1 over everything else in combat sports. The UFC commentator also mentioned how Alastair Overeem also won the same competition. Moreover, Rogan talked about how Hunt beat an undefeated boxer after retiring from the UFC. The fight he was referring to happened in 2002 when Hunt took on the undefeated Sonny Bill Williams.
At the time, Hunt was 48 years old, whereas his opponent was 14 years his junior. Williams was on a 9-fight win streak coming into that fight. As such, he was the heavy favorite to continue his streak and claim his 10th consecutive win. Unfortunately for him, Hunt had other plans as he won via TKO in the 4th round of their bout. Hunt also had an impressive MMA career in Pride and later the UFC.
Mark Hunt wanted to take on Mike Tyson in 2024
In a now-deleted Instagram video, Mark Hunt declared his ambition of returning to combat sports in 2024. The Kiwi had a sane approach to his return, expressing his desire to fight people around his own age. He turned 50 this year. The most notable name around that age is Mike Tyson, who will be fighting Jake Paul at the end of the year. This might have put a dent into Hunt’s plan of fighting the former world heavyweight champion.
Mike Tyson vs Mark Hunt (Image credit- Marca, MMA Fighting)Another option for Hunt could be signing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Champion, where Conor McGregor recently became a part owner. Hunt, known for his devastating KO power would be a welcome addition to the promotion.
I AM THE LAST OF MY ERA … Mark Hunt.
-Advertisement-Give me this fight in June vs @mick_terrill, I will become the first and only champion @bareknucklefc over 50 who will change the temporal rules of combat sports 👑👊🏽👊🏽
Mark Hunt via Instagram
Moreover, Hunt even challenged BKFC heavyweight champion Mick Terrel to a title fight earlier this year. As such, fans could see one of their favorite fighters back in action pretty soon.
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