Weight Class: Heavyweight An injury to champion Cain Velasquez, who has been plagued by injuries since becoming UFC heavyweight champion, means Mark Hunt finally gets a shot at UFC gold. It caps a remarkable career turnaround - or at least, it almost caps it. A win, and then winning the full title, would be the real icing on the cake. The story has been well-told. Mark Hunt (1081) was a Pride guy who fought his whole career in Japan and was loved there. However, he went on to have a six fight losing streak, and was in the midst of it when the UFC bought Pride. They wanted to buy out his contract, he told them he'd rather fight for his pay. He then lost his first UFC fight, but after that, he won four straight, then lost a fight to Junior Dos Santos, fought to a draw in one of the best heavyweight tilts ever against Bigfoot Silva, and became the first man to knock out Big Country in the UFC. Fabricio Werdum (1851), meanwhile, is having a career resurgence of his own since returning to the UFC after exiting the company and winding up in Strikeforce. Since losing his final Strikeforce fight in one of the most embarrassing heavyweight MMA contests of all time against Alistair Overeem (The Reem refused to go near Werdum on the ground, as Werdum has some of the best Jiu-jitsu in MMA), he is undefeated, having dispatched Big Country, Mike Russow, Big Nog, and Travis Browne. He's looking like a whole new fighter with a much more well-rounded game. Age will not be a factor in this fight: Hunt is 40, Fabricio closing in on 38. Conditioning could be, but Hunt has gone five rounds before. He will lose power as the fight stretches on, however, and Werdum has the more well-rounded game. He has the clear edge on the Matt, better conditioning, and doesn't need to rely on one-punch knockout power. If Hunt is to win this, he needs to do it in the first two rounds. After that, Werdum can pick him apart. As much as we love Hunt, that's what we're expecting to happen here. Werdum by decision if he can survive the first two rounds.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
