Mark Hunt couldn’t wait to get out of there.
That’s the impression you got on Wednesday if you sat through all of Hunt’s long, uncomfortable interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. Just a few days prior to taking on 4-1 favorite Fabricio Werdum for the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 180, Hunt appeared distracted, displeased with his situation and deeply ambivalent about this weekend’s outcome.
In other words, he didn’t sound like he was about to pull off the upset.
Hunt began the interview by stoically stating he had “other things” on his mind, and after 21 minutes of questioning admitted he “doesn’t care” what happens when he meets Werdum in the cage. In between, he confessed he had to lose more weight than he anticipated for this bout, didn’t know that Mexico City’s altitude would affect him so much and dropped hints that there might be trouble at home.
“It’s not a good time for Mark Hunt the father,” he said at one point.
Before Helwani even finished his final question, Hunt was trying to pull off his microphone. Once their talk ended, he was gone, leaving Helwani standing alone in the middle of a hotel courtyard and awkwardly holding the fighter’s discarded mic in his hand.
Hunt appeared in better spirits at the next day’s media events, even breaking into dance during his staredown with Werdum, when music began blaring through the room's PA.
"My mind is strong," he said, via MMAFighting.com's Shaun Al-Shatti. "I had a bit of a hiccup yesterday, but I think I'm through to the other side now. It's a hard hump to get over, but hopefully I'm through it. I'll be good. Of course, come fight night I'll be trying to get this belt."
Still, Hunt declined to elaborate on what had been bothering him the day before. After his weird performance with Helwani, concerns were duly raised. At least that day, it didn’t seem at all like he wanted to be there—not just in that interview but in Mexico, or in this fight.
For fans who have cheered on each step of his improbable comeback, it was distressing. Hunt had worked so hard to get to this point, succeeding when nobody thought he would, that it would be a shame to see personal issues derail it now.
Still, it’s hard to blame him if he’s feeling a little bit on edge. This is one time when the strange, shifting sands of the UFC’s live event schedule don’t appear to be doing anyone any favors.
It’s tempting to say Hunt deserved better than this.
After losing six consecutive fights from 2006 to 2010, Hunt became the UFC’s most improbable contender, amassing a 5-1-1 record in seven Octagon appearances dating back to Feb. 2011. Along the way, he established himself as a bona fide fan favorite and maybe even a marketable draw in a division that sorely needs one.
Now, all of that is at risk. Hunt could see his contender status evaporate and his feel-good story brought to a screeching halt if things go wrong for him against Werdum.
Fighting for the UFC heavyweight title is obviously a tremendous opportunity, but now he’ll do it without the benefit of a full fight camp, after a substantial weight cut and after arriving later than his opponent to get acclimated to the city.
It appears he’s on pace to make the 265-pound limit, but there’s no telling which version of Hunt we’ll get on Saturday night. As far as we know, he wasn’t training for a fight when he inherited this matchup against Werdum after Cain Velasquez dropped out with yet another injury.
Here's hoping Hunt was telling the truth about being beyond the problems that dogged him on Wednesday and that on Saturday he'll be having one of his good days.
It will take all of his faculties to stand a chance against the Brazilian.
