Mark Hunt to Make UFC Debut in September

There were some rumblings about this over the weekend, but it looks like it's now official - former K-1 Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt will make his UFC debut at UFC 119 on September 25 when he faces Sean McCorkle.

When Hunt steps into the Octagon, it will mark the first time a former K-1 Grand Prix champion has come to the UFC (Semmy Schilt also has a 1-1 record in the UFC, but those fights came before he made his K-1 debut).  Hunt won the GP crown in 2001, defeating Jerome Le Banner, Stefan Leko, and Francisco Filho to claim the title. 

Often viewed as the most unlikely K-1 champion on the record books, Hunt none the less has an impressive K-1 career.  His 16-8 K-1 record includes the GP victory, 3 additional tournament wins, and victories over big names like Le Banner, Bernardo, and Leko.  His loses came at the hands of elite fighters - men like Schilt, CroCop, and Hoost.

In 2003, Hunt left kickboxing to focus on MMA and compete in Pride where he raked up a 5-3 record.  His Pride stint included defeating Wanderlei Silva (ending Silva's 18 fight, 4 year undefeated streak) and Mirko Cro Cop, retiring Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, and giving it all against Fedor.  Unfortunately, after Pride folded, Hunt's career seemed to collapse.  Since 2006 he's gone 0-3 in Dream, losing all 3 of those fights in under 90 seconds each.  He also had a return to K-1 action when he faced Semmy Schilt in early 2008; Schilt won that fight via KO in round 1.

For newer fans who only know of Hunt through his recent performances, make no mistake - an in shape Mark Hunt has what it takes to be a contender.  The question is - does Hunt have what it takes to get in shape and make that happen?  He'll have to drop weight to make the UFC HW limit of 265 (right now, Hunt weighs in at about 290), and will need to really focus his training to compete at the UFC level - even against a debuting fighter like McCorkle.  But the K-1 fan in me would love to see him do it, and I can't wait to root for the one time GP champion on Sept. 25.

For more on Hunt, check out this piece on his epic series of fights with Jerome Le Banner and this one on his fight with Ray Sefo, still considered one of the best K-1 fights of all time.