UFC Fight Night 52: Mark Hunt wants one chance at a title shot before calling it a career

Mark Hunt recently announced that once he fulfills his remaining fights on his new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract, he would retire from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).

And when he finally does call it a day, he has no plans on coming back... as in ever.

That's why "Super Samoan" recently told MMA Fighting that he wants to rack up the wins necessary to get one shot at the UFC heavyweight title before he walks away and leaves the sport he's competed in for more than a decade in his rear-view mirror.

"It's good for me to be doing what I'm doing at my age. I love doing what I'm doing. But when I'm finished, I'm not going to come back. I won't need the money. The only reason I'm still fighting is because I believe I'm still the best fighter in the world. I want to beat Roy on Saturday night, and then I want to fight a top-five guy. Then I want to challenge for the title once, whoever that may be against. That's all I'm interested in. I want one chance for that title shot."

Hunt was one win away from competing for the coveted title last year after reeling off four straight victories inside the Octagon. Junior dos Santos, however, quickly put an end to his run by knocking him out at UFC 160 via spinning wheel kick.

The heavy-hand brawler bounced back with an impressive showing against Antonio Silva at UFC Fight Night 33 in December 2013, though the highly entertaining fight resulted in a draw.

Now, Mark looks to start a new path to the title as he battles fellow knockout artist, Roy Nelson, in the main event of this weekend's (Sat. Sept. 20, 2014) UFC Fight Night 52 event in Saitama, Japan, which will air exclusively on Fight Pass.

A win over "Big Country" will be a nice way to kick of his new six-fight deal and help him pick up some steam for one last run at the gold before his clock runs out. But you can bet Nelson has some title aspirations of his own, which means this heavyweight suggest could prove to be a highly-competitive scrap.

But who will prevail?