The UFC have made the decision to remove Mark Hunt from his headlining fight against Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 121 in Sydney, Australia on November 19th due to concerns that he could be suffering from CTE.
In an article titled, “If I die fighting, that’s fine,” for playersvoice.com last month, Hunt confessed that, “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. “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.”
Hunt vowed to continue fighting regardless, but it seems that UFC officials weren’t comfortable with that and so they’ve taken him off the card and replaced him with former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum instead.
Werdum is coming off a 65 second submission win over ultra-late replacement Walt Harris at UFC 216 this past weekend, and after emerging unscathed the Brazilian has gladly excepted the opportunity to fight Tybura next month
As for the 43-year-old Hunt, it seems that he will have to undergo a barrage of tests before he’d be allowed to continue competing in the Octagon.
“The organization will require that Hunt undergo further testing and evaluations prior to competing in any future UFC bout,” an unnamed UFC official told Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Hunt (who is still actively engaged in ia lawsuit against the UFC in which he accuses them of fraud, racketeering and battery due to his belief that they allowed Brock Lesnar to fight him at UFC 200 despite knowing his was on Performance Enhancing Drugs) has lashed out in foul-mouthed fashion at Dana White over the decision to remove him from UFC Fight Night 121.
“@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,” Hunt wrote on Instagram.
