Mark Hunt Steps In to Face Junior dos Santos at UFC 160

Mark Hunt will face former UFC heavyweight champion Junior do Santos at UFC 160 on May 25 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

MMAFighting.com  first reported the news, and UFC officials later confirmed the match.

The announcement comes days after UFC president Dana White said Hunt had turned down the fight with dos Santos.  A phone conversation between Hunt and White seems to have been what made the fight happen.

dos Santos was originally scheduled to face Alistair Overeem on the UFC 160 card, but a quadriceps injury in training forced Overeem out of the bout.

Hunt (9-7) is on a four-fight winning streak and is coming off of a knockout win over Stefan Struve at UFC on Fuel TV 8 on March 3.  dos Santos (15-2) is coming off of a loss to Cain Velasquez at 155 in December, where he lost the heavyweight title.

UFC 160 is headlined by a rematch between Velasquez and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.  Hunt vs. dos Santos will be the co-main event.

There’s no word yet on whom Overeem will face when he returns.

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