Due to ongoing visa issues delaying his arrival to the United States for next weekend’s UFC 160 event, Mark Hunt (9-7, 4-1 UFC) may be forced to withdraw from his planned co-main event bout against Junior Dos Santos (15-2, 9-1 UFC) if he is unable to resolve the situation.
Hunt has been unable to depart from his native New Zealand to Las Vegas several times over the last week due to an unidentified arrest in 2002. UFC officials stated on Tuesday’s UFC 160 conference call that they are “confident the issue will be resolved” and that Hunt is still slated to fight Dos Santos next Saturday.
However, a backup plan has been made in the event Hunt is unable to make the trip. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani reported on UFC Tonight on Tuesday that UFC officials have asked Roy Nelson (19-7, 6-3 UFC) to apply for a license to fight Dos Santos, and he is on the agenda for the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s hearing on Friday clearing the path for Nelson to be on standby to meet Dos Santos.
Nelson and Dos Santos previously fought at UFC 117 in August 2010. Dos Santos took home the win by unanimous decision.
“A stupid misunderstanding, that’s all it is, really. It was something that happened a long time ago, and it should be cleaned up,” said Hunt about the situation during Tuesday’s conference call.
