Mark Hunt pulled Fabricio Werdum in at UFC Fight Night 121

[PBR]

seriously though how stupid can Hunt be -- i mean it's pretty crazy when you have a lawsuit going against ufc and then to write an article that your suffering from cte and not expect to get pulled or something happen

 

Mark Hunt has been pulled from his slated UFC Fight Night 121 headliner with Marcin Tybura and the circumstances surrounding his removal are explosive and provocative.

On Tuesday, Ultimate Fighting Championship officials confirmed that Hunt had been removed from main event slot after the promotion became aware of a recent article the heavyweight contender wrote for Australia’s Players Voice last month in which the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix champion admitted that he had been suffering from worrying signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Hunt’s spot will be filled by former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, who needed just 65 seconds to submit Walt Harris at UFC 216 on Oct. 7. UFC Fight Night 121 takes place Nov. 19 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Hunt’s article, entitled “If I Die Fighting, That’s Fine,” was published on Sept. 14. In the piece, “The Super Samoan” lambastes previous opponents and fighting contemporaries who have been caught using performance enhancing drugs, while lamenting the money and financial opportunities he feels he lost out on as a result of fighting “cheaters” and “monkeys.” However, the 43-year-old, who has spent 20 years as a professional prizefighter, opens the essay by conceding a variety of cognitive and neurological symptoms consistent with the early signs of CTE.

“My body is f---ed but my mind is still here. I’ve still got my senses about me and I know what’s right and wrong, which is the main thing,” wrote Hunt. “Sometimes I don’t sleep well. You can hear me starting to stutter and slur my words. My memory is not that good anymore. I’ll forget something I did yesterday but I can remember the s--- I did years and years ago.”

“That’s just the price I’ve paid – the price of being a fighter,” he continued. “But I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right.”

In a report by Australia’s Daily Telegraph, an unnamed UFC official explained the native New Zealander’s removal.

“Following a recent first-person article published by heavyweight Mark Hunt, the UFC has taken the precautionary steps of removing Hunt from a previously announced bout in Sydney, Australia,” said the UFC rep.

“The health-related statements made by Hunt in the article represent the first time UFC was made aware of these claims,” they continued. “Athlete health and safety is of the utmost importance to the organization and it would never knowingly schedule an athlete complaining of health issues for a fight. The organization will require that Hunt undergo further testing and evaluations prior to competing in any future UFC bout.”

Shortly after he was taken out of the contest, the ever-candid Hunt hit back at the UFC and its president Dana Whit in a profane Instagram post

 

@danawhite u peice of shit motherfuker why u fuckers pull me from the fight u getting another lawsuit u fuckwit u can kiss my ass u bald headed prick u put that chicken shit bitch in get fucked cocksucker

[Trump2020]

[Guest]

His reaction and inability to understand why he got pulled following his statements proves his own point that he aint right in the head.

[Trump2020]

His reaction and inability to understand why he got pulled following his statements proves his own point that he aint right in the head.

 

Who are you to talk shit to Mark Hunt?

[JDV916]

Welp, 20 years of getting punched and kicked in the head tends to do that to ya. Hell he could be a trend setter and set an example for prize fighters in the future but his blatant ignorance towards his own health of which he wrote an article about is truly head scratching.

 

Love Mark Hunt but he's had enough fights. Good move on UFC's part. If Hunt continued to fight he would eventually sue the UFC for "misleading him about the traumatic effects the sport has" or whatever it is all the old football players are suing the nfl over.

[kenlow73]

I thought they only knew if somebody had CTE after they died and autopsied the brain, like they did with Aaron Hernandez.

[Trump2020]

I thought they only knew if somebody had CTE after they died and autopsied the brain, like they did with Aaron Hernandez.

 

Read what Hunt said he was cleared to fight by doctors two days before he pulled from the fight.

[kenlow73]

 

Read what Hunt said he was cleared to fight by doctors two days before he pulled from the fight.

what does have to do with my comment?

[Guest]

 

Who are you to talk shit to Mark Hunt?

 

Why can I not talk shit to Hunt?

 

You his fanboy by any chance?

[thedry16]

Sounds like it is for his own good. Hopefully he will appreciate it in 10-15 years time. There are only so many times you can be punched in the head!

[PBR]

I thought they only knew if somebody had CTE after they died and autopsied the brain, like they did with Aaron Hernandez.

they can only tell how far advanced or how much trauma after death -- but they can diagnose you having it by the symptoms and issues your having, and possibly brain scans somewhat since they now know what looking at but that is just a guess i dont know for sure on scannings -- sort of like concussions its diagnosed by your symptoms that you have

[bjornmma1]

Good move by the UFC. They are both protecting themself and Hunt.

He might try to sue them, but does not matter. Even uf he wins, UFC would have to oay them a fee that would be peanuts for them.

[PBR]

Good move by the UFC. They are both protecting themself and Hunt.

He might try to sue them, but does not matter. Even uf he wins, UFC would have to oay them a fee that would be peanuts for them.

actually i think they fubared mark's plan of suing them later for brain damage hoping they wouldn't notice the article he wrote and few years down the line him suing saying hey i ever wrote about my issues and they still put me in fights -- and then for him to turn around and bitch about it is plan crazy and just shows yea he is brain damaged -- lol

[Trump2020]

what does have to do with my comment?

 

Maybe if he was cleared to fight he doesnt have CTE?

[Affekonig]

He was stupid for putting it out there and crying that he was removed from the card. It's his own fault.

[Trump2020]

If he is cleared by doctors whats the difference what he says?

[Affekonig]

Depending on what medicals he does for a fight, they might not cover what he's saying is happening.

[JHL]

Agree with this as much as I like Hunt...if hes saying he's messed up the UFC has no other choice but to pull him out of fights

[Affekonig]

Agree with this as much as I like Hunt...if hes saying he's messed up the UFC has no other choice but to pull him out of fights

 

Exactly. If they left him in to fight, with this on the public record, and something happened to him the UFC would be held responsible.

[Affekonig]

You can't believe everything that comes out of his mouth but here is the latest from him and its hard not to believe it.

 

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/10/30/16568950/ufc-sydney-dana-white-response-mark-hunt-fabricio-werdum-marcin-tybura-heavyweight-mma-news

 

Heavyweight veteran Mark Hunt has not been happy with the UFC, as of late. His displeasure is all rooted to management’s decision to pull him out of his supposed headliner against Marcin Tybura in Sydney, Australia this November.

At the height of emotion upon his removal, he lashed out at Dana White whom he branded as a “bald-headed prick” for pulling him after claiming that he was given medical clearance for the Sydney card.

White offered a short response to Hunt when TMZ caught up with a couple of weeks ago, saying he was only trying to “protect the fighters from themselves.” But most recently, he wrote an open letter of his own where he disputed all of Hunt’s claims.

“Mark Hunt was never ‘cleared’ to fight Marcin Tybura in Sydney, Australia this November. Period,” White wrote in his letter obtained by The Daily Telegraph. “And the statements he’s been making, saying that he is, are just not true.”

White also reiterated that the UFC is also about protecting its fighters, especially those who are already experiencing troubling health concerns.

“I get it, they’re fighters and they want to fight. But this only works if safety comes first, and that’s always been my goal — to provide a level playing field and a safe, regulated environment for our fighters to compete in.”

Below is the full version of White’s letter

Mark Hunt was never “cleared” to fight Marcin Tybura in Sydney, Australia this November. Period. And the statements he’s been making, saying that he is, are just not true.

Let me tell you what I know.

Mark Hunt recently wrote an op-ed piece for an Australian website that described some serious symptoms.

He wrote that he’s starting to stutter and slur his words.

He wrote that he’s not sleeping well.

He wrote that he can’t remember something he did yesterday.

These are his words, from him, but now he’s saying it was taken out of context. How can you take your own words out of context? So you know what I did? My team contacted his management within the first week of learning about these symptoms and offered to fly him to Las Vegas first class to visit the Lou Ruvo Brain Center — which is the best in the world for brain research — to get more tests done. And you know what? He absolutely refused.

How can I put a guy with these symptoms he said he’s experiencing immediately back in the Octagon without additional tests? I definitely wasn’t going to do that. So I did the only thing I could do — which is to pull him off an event that would have him fighting just nine weeks after writing his piece so he can have the proper time to see a specialist. Let me remind you that this is an event I already had signed contracts for and spent a lot of money marketing and advertising, so this was a big loss. But it was the right thing to do.

So here we are now. After all of this, Mark is saying that I have it out for him and I am holding a grudge because he filed a lawsuit. Let me ask you this:

Would I have placed him in two additional fights, including one in which he headlined the event?

Or paid him 1.645 million dollars, which includes a $50k Fight of the Night bonus and a $25k discretionary bonus?

All of this was AFTER the lawsuit, so how can anyone say I have any issues with this guy?

Bottom line, my job is to put on the best fights in the world and part of that is to protect these guys from themselves. I get it, they’re fighters and they want to fight. But this only works if safety comes first, and that’s always been my goal — to provide a level playing field and a safe, regulated environment for our fighters to compete in. I’ve been doing that for almost 20 years and I’m not going to stop now.

UFC Sydney will now be headlined by Tybura and former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. The event takes place on November 18th (November 19th in Australia) at the Qudos Bank Arena.