Mark Hunt eyeing “one last hurrah” in the UFC

Yesterday afternoon, in the main event of the UFC’s first ever stop in Russia, heavyweight legend Mark Hunt stepped into the cage with Russian submission ace Alexey Oleynik. Though Hunt seemed to be giving Oleynik some trouble early, he wound up being submitted by the Russian in the bout’s first round.

With his outcome, the 44-year-old Mark Hunt is on a two-fight losing streak, and a tough 1-3 in his last four fights. While he is still a tough out for any heavyweight on the roster, he appears to be nearing the end of the road.

Speaking to the media shortly after his loss to Oleynik, Hunt confirmed that he’s hoping to fight once more for the UFC — a company he has frequently been at odds with. More specifically, he’s interested in fighting on the UFC’s December 2 return to Adelaide, Australia, which will be headlined by a heavyweight showdown between former champion Junior dos Santos, and his teammate Tai Tuivasa. After that fight, his current UFC contract will be complete, and he can take his career elsewhere if he decides to continue fighting.

“I love working for the UFC, but we have issues,” Mark Hunt told the media shortly after his loss to Alexey Oleynik (via MMAjunkie). “I’ve got one more fight left, and I’m trying to get on the Adelaide card with Tai and the boys. One last hurrah for the old guy.”

Hunt also touched on his loss to Oleynik. Despite his best efforts to prepare for his foe’s world-class grappling, he said, he still got caught.

“I trained a lot of stuff for the ground, of course, but I got caught with a sub,” Hunt said. “That’s the way it works in this business.”

What do you think the future holds for Mark Hunt after the UFC’s debut in Moscow?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/16/2018.