Mark Hunt sues UFC, Dana White, Brock Lesnar over drug testing controversy
‘The Super Samoan’ Mark Hunt. Image: UFC.com
It may have been almost six months since Brock Lesnar failed multiple drug tests leading to his fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200, but the hulking Samoan is still holding a grudge over everyone involved.
After publicly voicing out his displeasure over the incident, the 42-year-old heavyweight has elected to file a civil lawsuit against the currrent WWE superstar, UFC president Dana White, and the UFC’s affiliate company Zuffa LLC regarding their involvement in the doping issue.
The suit, as per MMAFighting, covers eight charges of alleged racketeering, fraud, negligence, and breach of contract, and was filed by Hunt’s lead attorney, Christina Denning.
“I want the UFC to understand it’s not OK to keep doing what they’re doing,” the current number 7 ranked heavyweight described his purpose for filing the case. “They’re allowing guys to do this. They had a chance to take all the money from this guy, because he’s a cheater, and they didn’t.”
Hunt is expecting “millions in damages” and said he wants to make an example out of Lesnar for the future generation of fighters.
“What message is that sending to the boys and girls who want to be a fighter someday? The message is, ‘You just have to cheat like this and it’s OK.’ In society, if you commit a crime, you pay. Why is it different in MMA? It’s hurt the business, so it’s even worse. They need to be held accountable for this,” he said.
Lesnar was originally awarded the victory after dominating Hunt over the course of three rounds. However, he was popped by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) for failing two separate drug tests and even tested positive for the same substance come fight time.
The premiere mixed martial arts organization suspended Lesnar and overturned the result of their fight into a no contest, but the hard-hitting ‘Super Samoan’ says the UFC must pay for “wrongfully jeopardizing fighter health and safety for profit”.
As of writing time, the UFC has yet to address the lawsuit, but seems to continue their relationship with Hunt who is expected to fight Alistair Overeem in a heavyweight bout on March 4 at UFC 209.
Despite being put in a complicated situation, the New Zealand-based fighter said he won’t settle and shall push on with the suit.
“I didn’t want to be in this position,” Hunt admitted to ESPN. “It puts me in a weird spot because I’m still under contract.”
“This was the last straw. I lost that fight, it ruined it for my fans. It wasn’t good,” he added. “I asked to get out of my contract but I can’t. I need to work like everyone else.” Khristian Ibarrola
