Mark Hunt (9-7, 4-1 UFC) will get his chance to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos (15-2, 9-1 UFC) after all at UFC 160. Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com reported the news on Saturday morning.
Hunt replaces the injured Alistair Overeem (36-12, 1-1 UFC), who pulled out of the fight due to a slight tear in his quadriceps, which will keep him out of training for the next four to five weeks. There were rumors of Dos Santos vs. Overeem being moved to a UFC event in the summer before the saga with Hunt began.
Hunt originally said he would take the fight against Dos Santos, but UFC President Dana White posted on his Twitter page that Hunt had originally turned down the fight. White then posted on Thursday that he had a “GREAT conversation” with Hunt, which led to news of the fight being announced.
Hunt is riding a four-fight win streak heading into his showdown with Dos Santos, who looks to rebound from losing the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Cain Velasquez in December. Hunt fought last weekend at UFC On FUEL TV 8, scoring a dramatic knockout win over Stefan Struve.
UFC 160 takes place on May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs on pay-per-view, with prelims airing on FX and Facebook. Dos Santos vs. Hunt will be the night’s co-main event, and Cain Velasquez defends the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in the night’s main event.
