Mark Hunt vs Ben Rothwell was a UFC fight that I didn’t expect to find entertaining. The only reason I watched, was because I had thought Mark Hunt was a kickboxer and not a MMA fighter, and was curious to see how he would perform. Last I heard of the tubby Samoan was that he was viciously knocked out by the much smaller Melvin Manhoef.

Little did I know that by the end I would be a new fan of Mark Hunt. I think it was watching him defy the odds by going for an unlikely armbar on Rothwell, and somehow out-striking and backing down the exhausted Ben Rothwell in the third round to win the decision. Granted, Ben Rothwell looked terrible, but I had thought previously there was no way that Mark Hunt would ever win any matches in the UFC.

The only reason he was fighting in the UFC, because he had an iron-clad contract with Pride, and UFC couldn’t cut him. Mark Hunt, himself, is a soft-spoken man who has always had a body that looked more suited to drinking beer than fighting. I think that’s why I like him. He is someone that the UFC obviously didn’t think had anything left, but he proved them wrong.

So imagine my delight when Mark Hunt was able to knock-out Cheick Kongo, the man who looks like an African god. Comparatively, on looks alone, there was no way that Mark Hunt could win. But he was able to knock-out Kongo and continue his Cinderella story. I’m not sure it can go much farther, but already it shows that an old dog CAN learn new tricks. To be a K1 mainstay and somehow transition to the foreign world of MMA shows that Mark Hunt has a lot more talent than I or anyone else gave him credit for. Look at him! He’s 100% Samoan!