Mark Hunt looking for seven-week turnaround with UFC Fight Night 55 spot

SAITAMA, Japan – What’s next for Mark Hunt? Ideally, a seven-week turnaround and a spot on November’s UFC Fight Night 55 fight card.

After scoring a second-round destruction of fellow heavyweight Roy Nelson (20-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in today’s UFC Fight Night 52 headliner on UFC Fight Pass, the Australia-based New Zealander was asked what he wants next.

“I want to move forward, and I want to move up in the rankings,” Hunt (10-8-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) said. “I want to get a title shot.”

Hunt’s march toward a shot at the belt looked all but impossible following a UFC-debut loss to Sean McCorkle in 2010. It pushed his overall losing streak to six fights, but he lobbied UFC officials for another shot. He got it, and he’s made the most of it.

Hunt won his next four fights, three of them via knockout, before a setback to former champ Junior Dos Santos in May 2013. Seven months later, he fought Antonio Silva to a draw, which again forced his title hopes to sputter.

However, with a vicious one-punch knockout of Nelson, who’s ranked No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings today in Saitama, Japan, No. 7 Hunt is back on track.

Now, he wants to fight at UFC Fight Night 55, which takes place Nov. 8 at Sydney’s Allphones Arena. The card is quickly filling, but Hunt could provided both some star power and some local flavor. The only issue, though, is a lack of high-ranked opposition, which Hunt knows he needs.

“My purpose is fighting for a title,” Hunt said. “Fighting someone outside of the top 10? It makes me go backward.

“But hey, of course I would consider fighting someone outside of the top 10 if it was in Sydney.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 52, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie. And for more on UFC Fight Night 55, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.