10 Most Devastating Big Country/Mark Hunt Knockouts

10. Mark Hunt vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka

Event: Pride Total Elimination Absolute - May 2006 When it comes to Mark Hunt, we need to dig back a little in the record books to come up with five top knockouts in his MMA career. Luckily, he had some early success in Pride FC prior to its purchase by Zuffa and its roster being merged into the UFC. Hunt was a fan favourite in Japan, and it's easy to see why: he was a big man who could punch and kick his way to victory in convincing, violent fashion. However, after a five fight win streak in Pride that included wins over Wanderlei Silva and Cro Cop, Hunt began to struggle - albeit against the utmost of elite competition. He lost to Josh Barnett, Fedor, Overeem, Manhoeff, and Mousasi, consecutively. When you look at that list, well - Barnett is back in the UFC and ranked above Hunt in the top 10, Fedor is considered one of the greatest of all time, Overeem went on to be huge before his current fall from grace, Manhoeff is decent and has signed with Bellator (he might be the weakest name in the group), and Mousasi, though he just lost to Jacare Souza, is still a contender in the UFC, at middleweight these days. Still, losing five in a row is losing five in a row. The UFC offered to buy out Hunt's contract, in essence saying "sit at home, and we'll pay you." Hunt's reply was "no thanks, I want to fight." So they lined him up a fight against Sean McCorkle, and he lost. At that point he was 5-7 fighting for the number one MMA promotion on the planet - something you rarely if ever see. Fans loved Hunt however. He got another fight - and one. Then another, and another. For his first entry on this list, however, we rewind back to May of 2006 and Pride Shockwave. Hunt, who outweighed his opponent by about seventy pounds, took on Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The lack of weight classes in Pride sure was something, wasn't it? The strength and size advantage in the fight was apparent, but Kohsaka (sometimes spelled Kosaka) did attempt to submit Hunt on the ground. Hunt, however, would regain top control, and while on their feet, though Kohsaka was the more active striker, Hunt was the more powerful, doing some serious damage. Eventually Hunt threw a knee towards a slipping Kohsaka, and when the fighter came back up, looking dazed, Hunt connected with a solid punch, leaving his opponent breathing hard in the corner of the ring, forcing the ref to stop the fight at 4:15 of the second round.