July 9 will see the biggest show in MMA history, as UFC 200 takes place from the newly built T-Mobile Arena is Las Vegas, Nevada. Surprisingly, it isn’t the Main Event that is capturing the most attention. But rather the co main event, a heavyweight showdown between former K-1 Champion Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt and the returning former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
This bout marks the first time that Brock Lesnar will enter the octagon since his 2011 loss to Alistair Overeem.
Surprising to some, the vast majority of MMA experts and fans are predicting a signature knockout victory in the favour of Mark Hunt. Although there is a growing number of people that foresee a possible submission victory for Brock Lesnar.
There is a saying throughout the combat sports world, which is that “styles make fights”. This heavyweight matchup is a classic Striker (Hunt) vs Grappler (Lesnar) fight.
Brock Lesnar is a former NCAA heavyweight champion by way of University of Minnesota, having previously earned the NJCAA heavyweight honours in his sophomore year at Bismarck State College.
Mark Hunt on the other hand, is a former K-1 World Grand Prix Champion in Kickboxing. Having defeated high level Kickboxers such as Jerrome Le Banner, whom he knocked out on way to claiming the K-1 Title in 2001.
In 2004, Mark Hunt officially made the transition from Kickboxing to Mixed Martial Arts, where he fought for Japanese based promotion, “Pride Fighting Championships” for two years. Fresh in the sport, Hunt would find difficulty in learning the necessary grappling techniques required in MMA. ‘The Super Samoan’ would lose 6 of his first 11 fight via submission, then go on to lose his UFC debut to Sean McCorkle via First Round Armbar. To say that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not the strongest attribute in Hunts skill set would have been an understatement.
However, Mark Hunt has bounced back incredibly from his early days. Having punched his way to a Top 10 UFC Heavyweight ranking spot with octagon wins over top contenders such as Ben Rothwell, Stefan Struve and most recently former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Whom he knocked out in March of this year in Brisbane. Most notable fights include a Fight of the Year candidate in which he & Antonio Silva fought to a majority draw, and a ‘walk away’ knockout of Roy Nelson who is unanimously touted as the hardest man to knock out in the UFC.
After his successful College Wrestling career at University of Minnesota, Brock Lesnar moved on to the WWE where he quickly became the youngest undisputed world champion in WWE history at the age of 25, where he continued as the company’s leading man for four years. Upon leaving the pro wrestling scene, Brock made his first venture into Mixed Martial Arts. Defeating Min Soo Kim via First Round Submission in his professional debut.
After his first pro MMA fight, Lesnar wasted no time, moving to UFC. Where he made his octagon debut opposite former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Lesnar began the fight with an opening flurry of strikes, which momentarily stunned and knocked his opponent to the mat. Upon chasing the TKO victory with subsequent shots on the ground, Frank Mir hit Brock Lesnar with a well timed sweep, catching Brock with a slick kneebar. Which resulted in Brock having to tap and take a loss in his UFC debut.
Brock Lesnar would then go on to dominate Heath Herring where he picked up his first win in the octagon. The dominant win got Brock a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title, where he defeated Randy Couture via TKO. Capturing the UFC Heavyweight Championship in what was only his fourth fight in Mixed Martial Arts. Lesnar would go on to defend his belt twice, defeating Frank Mir in a rematch at UFC 100 and submitting then UFC Interim Champion, Shane Carwin to unify the belts.
Mark Hunt has seen the 75% of his MMA wins come by way of knockout. Whereas Brock Lesnar has seen the majority of his wins come by way of Ground & Pound TKO, and Submission.
This fight may well come down to which fighter can impose their game plan and discipline more. Will Brock Lesnar be able to drag his opponent to the ground and get the submission or ground & pound victory, or will Mark Hunt catch his opponent rushing in with a trademark walk away knockout? Only time will tell.
If there is anything to expect in the unpredictable world of the UFC, it is to expect fireworks on July 9 as Brock Lesnar faces off against Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
