The UFC heavyweight veteran Mark Hunt may have failed to land a fight with a higher ranked opponent, but he is remaining pragmatic
“I couldn’t get Werdum for Japan or Sydney so I had to settle for the No 10 guy,” Hunt said of his upcoming fight with Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 121 in an interview with NZHerald. “I’ve asked already for JDS [Junior dos Santos] or anyone but they’re all busy. Cain [Velasquez] is injured and Werdum said no so I can’t do anything else.
“He [Werdum] doesn’t want to lose his ranking. This fight does nothing for my ranking. If I lose I go backward and if I win I probably stay the same. I understand why he wouldn’t take it because he has a chance of losing. If I was No 1 or two and I was offered the sixth of seventh guy I probably would’ve said no because the title shot is right there.”
Hunt knows that he must remain active in order to keep the momentum in his favor. taking a fight with tybura, which may not be of immediate benefit to his position in the rankings, will keep him on the right path:
“If I beat this guy they can’t give me another guy under me – they’ve got to give me someone higher. I’ve just got to take this guy out and then get a top guy and go from there. I don’t want to sit around on the sidelines. I want to keep active and keep making money. He’s a young fighter. We’ll see how he goes. I’m the best fighter in the world.”
