Former K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Mark Hunt will face his toughest UFC opponent to date on May 25th at UFC 160: “Velasquez vs Silva 2” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hunt has stepped in to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior “Cigano” dos Santos in the co-main event on the card.
MMAFighting.com first reported on plans for the matchup earlier today. Dos Santos was originally booked to face another former K-1 champion, Alistair Overeem, but Overeem withdrew from the fight this week after suffering a quadriceps injury. Hunt has won four straight fights inside the Octagon.
Hunt (9-7-0) is in the midst of an improbable career comeback and the veteran knockout artist has won all but one of his UFC fights since making his debut in September 2010. Three of Hunt’s UFC victories have come inside the distance and he is coming off of a third-round stoppage of Dutch standout Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve this past weekend at UFC on Fuel TV 8. The entertaining fight left Struve with a fractured jaw. When Overeem dropped off of the UFC 160 card, Hunt immediately began campaigning for a fight against dos Santos. It first appeared as if the UFC would proceed with a different plan, but Hunt’s persistence paid off and he was awarded the fight.
Dos Santos (15-2-0) won seven straight UFC fights to set up a title bout against Cain Velasquez on the inaugural UFC on FOX card in November 2011. He knocked out the previously unbeaten champion in just 64 seconds and went on to retain the belt by stopping former champ Frank Mir in May. The talented boxer was then matched up against Velasquez in a December rematch at UFC 155, but the pair’s second meeting played out much differently from the first. Velasquez dominated dos Santos from bell to bell en route to a lopsided Unanimous Decision victory. Now looking to earn a rubber match against Velasquez, dos Santos must first get past Hunt in May.
UFC 160: “Velasquez vs Silva 2” takes place on May 25th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between Cain Velasquez and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)