Mark Hunt set for Australia return against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 221
Mark Hunt’s enforced hiatus by the UFC looks to be coming to an end.
As first reported by The Daily Telegraph, Mark Hunt is set to compete for the first time since June when he takes on rising prospect Curtis Blaydes at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia.
Hunt (13-11, 1 NC) had been forced off of a main event berth earlier this year after penning an article in ‘The Players Voice’ where the 43-year-old named health issues he had been suffering from. ‘The Super Samoan’ took umbrage with the UFC’s decision to remove Hunt of his main event bout with Marcin Tybura amid an ongoing legal battle between the two parties as Hunt is currently suing the UFC, Dana White and Brock Lesnar for allegedly having knowledge of the latter’s use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Blaydes (9-1) meanwhile is currently on a four-fight win streak in the UFC with his lone career loss coming at the hands of upcoming title challenger Francis Ngannou. Blaydes has successfully finished all but one of his victories via TKO and the 26-year old is currently ranked #9 in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings.
UFC 221 is also set to feature Robert Whittaker’s first title defence of his middleweight championship as ‘The Reaper’ takes on former champion Luke Rockhold at the February event.