Yahoo Sports Mark Hunt Puts UFC on Blast, Plans on Forming a Fighter Association
After it was revealed on Tuesday that Brock Lesnar had been flagged for the second time for a potential anti-doping violation, his UFC 200 opponent Mark Hunt is calling for the formation of a fighter union.
In an interview with his website, MarkHunt.tv, The “Super Samoan” criticized the UFC for not caring about fighters.
“The way I see it, the Brock Lesnar doping thing is just another reason why we need a fighter’s association,” Hunt said. “These guys are just making up the rules as they go.
“First, the Reebok thing, then Brock’s 4 month-testing exemption. Conor (McGregor) gets pulled off a card for not going to a press conference that me or Brock didn’t go to anyway. Work that out. There’s probably a heap of others.”
“These guys are just making (expletive) it up as they go,” he added. “Yet, fighters refuse to support other fighters when they (expletive) us over.”
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Hunt questioned the anti-doping procedures and believes they’re in place to put the fight promotion in a favorable light with a $4 billion sale pending.
“They say they are cleaning up the sport, yet I’ve risked my health two times against guys cheating since this USADA thing started. I was told Brock was gonna be tested when I took the fight. He comes in looking fricking juicy as hell and then I find out he’s popped after the PPV has already been sold.
“It’s ridiculous. The fact that they haven’t even bothered to make contact with me since all of this happened just proves they don’t care.
“I don’t even know how he made 265 pounds, that guy; he looked about 500 kilograms. Look at the pictures and tell me this guy passed the smell test that Jeff (Novitsky) guy talks about. I mean, even the other passport stuff, which is supposed to be important for testing, they would have none of that from Brock because of the exemption,” said Hunt.
“The whole point of the four-month testing period should be to make sure someone doesn’t pop back in, juiced to the gills, and beat the crap out of the guys who are clean and have been clean and tested this whole time,” he added. “I’m pretty sure all of this stuff is just there to look good for the sale.”
Hunt’s rant didn’t stop there. He continued to blast the UFC about fighter pay and benefits.
“These guys have lined their pockets with our blood. They deserve to get paid, no doubt. They took the UFC from nothing into what it is today, but come on, most of the guys fighting get paid nothing and have no benefits,” he said.
“There needs to be a system where they at least run things past the fighters before making these decisions and the fighters can look out for each other. We need an association where we can have our voices heard. We are a massive reason why fans watch the sport, and we risk our health to do it.”
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Speaking out against the organization could have repercussions, but Hunt’s not concerned about that.
“I’m not worried about the UFC,” he said. “I’ve been fighting my whole life. Fighting to survive in my home, to the ring, and now the cage. These guys didn’t even want me in the UFC, but here I am. I’m not scared of them.
“I’m not sure what it's like in the States, but in Australia workers stick together to make sure their voice is heard. Lots of guys have talked about this, but someone needs to make this happen and I’m happy for it to be me.”
Hunt called for fighters to contact him about forming a fighter association. He’s more than willing to spearhead the effort.
“I’m not an expert on all this, but me and my team have been talking to the experts about how to make this a reality,” he said.
“To the fighters listening to this, I want them to get in touch with me via my Facebook page and we can get things going. I won’t name anyone until we sort it all out, but get in touch and let's make this happen.”
