We at Fight At The Night have decided to explore the most possible, most appropriate and most interesting next fights for both Hunt and Nelson in the aftermath of their bout in Tokyo, Japan.
Mark Hunt
Hunt did at UFC Fight Night 52 what very few fighters have done before – finish Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson on the feet.
It would come as little surprise to those who’ve followed Hunt’s 15-year kickboxing and MMA careers as has collected an abundance of TKO/KO victories over some of the world’s best fighters.
The victory puts the Australian-based Samoan-New Zealander back in the win column after a draw against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, which followed a loss against former UFC Heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.
Hunt’s win leaves him firmly entrenched in the top 10, but still a few more wins away from a title shot. That said, however, there are still a few interesting and appropriate fighters available for the Super Samoan to fight next.
One of the prime candidates to be standing across Mark Hunt in his next fight is Andrei Arlovski. The Pitbull showed fans that he was far from gone after knocking out Antonio Silva in less than three minutes last weekend.
That propelled the Belarussian into the top ten but like Hunt, he is likely still a few wins removed from a title shot. Both Hunt and Arlovski are big names in the sport, with both fighters each enjoying well over a decade of professional fighting experience.
The name value of both fighters would help make Hunt vs. Arlovski a popular UFC Fight Night Main Event or a Co-Main Event bout on a Pay Per View.
For Hunt, the opportunity have a victory over a well-rounded fighter who is a former UFC Heavyweight champion will also be a major asset to him at this stage of his UFC career.
Arlovski has been criticised for having what many critics view as a ‘glass chin’ or, in other words, being knocked out far too easily.
That would not bode well against a fighter like Hunt, who is one of the hardest hitters to ever fight in the sport. However, Arlovski’s athleticism, power and strong ground game means that he would not be an easy fight for Hunt.
This is more than likely to be the match the UFC makes for both fighters next given that most other top heavyweights currently have fights booked between now and the end of the year.
One fighter who doesn’t have a fight booked is Ben Rothwell, whose most recent win was a Performance of the Night earning TKO of Alistair Overeem. However, Rothwell and Hunt fought three years ago at UFC 135, which Hunt won by decision in what a relatively lacklustre fight.
Bigfoot Silva is also available, and most fans would likely not be against seeing a repeat of the action packed fight of last December’s Hunt – Bigfoot bout. Silva’s stock dropped significantly as a result of his loss to Arlovski, however, which makes Bigfoot vs. Hunt 2 a less appropriate bout than Hunt vs. Arlovski at this time.
