Mark Hunt: UFC ‘forced me’ to fight Alistair Overeem

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight slugger Mark Hunt is gearing up for his UFC 209 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner against Alistair Overeem, scheduled for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 4, 2017.

Not that he has much choice.

Hunt (12-10-1, 1 NC) has bills to pay and a family to feed, so without the option to dissolve his current deal with the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion — good for six fights and worth “millions” of dollars — the “Super Samoan” will have to bite down on his mouthpiece and press forward.

From The MMA Hour:

“They put me in a position, like well what am I supposed to do? They forced this fight on me, pretty much. I couldn't go anywhere else. If I couldn’t work anywhere else and I'm still trying to get my fair deal in this thing, what am I supposed to do? If they're going to let me go, let me go. At least I can go work somewhere else. I've gotta look after my family and my commitments as well. And they can't just sit me at the back of the bus without having any work. You can't do that.”

Yes, I believe you can.

Hunt has been railing against UFC in the wake of his no contest against Brock Lesnar at UFC 200. That bout marked Hunt’s third straight opponent to pop for performance-enhancing drugs and he’s already threatened legal action if there’s to be a fourth.

The Las Vegas courtrooms are going to be very busy this year.