'It's the ones you don't see ... and I didn't see that one' - Mark Hunt loses UFC fight

Mark Hunt, left, battles against Brazil's Fabricio Werdum during a UFC 180 interim Heavyweight title fight in Mexico City. Photo / AP

Mark Hunt didn't want to make excuses. He probably had the right to note the deck was stacked against him ahead of his interim heavyweight title bout against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 in Mexico City today.

Hunt took the fight with only three weeks to prepare, had to shed nearly 20kgs, deal with Mexico's altitude, while he also didn't spar during the lead-up.

But after he copped a perfectly-timed knee from Werdum in the second round of the main event in front of 21,000 people at the sold-out Mexico City Arena, Hunt's dreams of holding a belt were smashed.

Werdum followed up his knee, which he caught Hunt by faking a takedown that forced Hunt to drop his head in anticipation of defending it, with a barrage of punches and the fight was stopped at 2:27 of the second frame.

The loss dropped Hunt to 10-9-1 for his MMA career, while Werdum improved to 19-5-1 and ensured he would fight champion Cain Velasquez when the American was fight again.

"It was hard getting here," Hunt said. "But no excuses, I got caught and the better man won; so, congratulations to the champ."

It was Velasquez's withdrawal from his scheduled defence against Werdum that gave Hunt his opportunity and the Kiwi combat sports veteran said he couldn't turn down the chance to fight for a title, no matter how short the notice.

Hunt, 40, also hinted during the final days before the bout that he was having problems at home and he said his focus would now be on returning to Sydney and spending time with his family.

"I go home and I'm going to fix my marriage," he said with a laugh that implied he was perhaps partly joking. "I'll go home and see my kids."

The crazy thing about the fight, which Werdum was heavily favoured in, was Hunt dominated the opening exchanges.

The Super Samoan landed two knockdowns and also took Werdum down during the first round, while Hunt safely grappled with the Brazilian on the canvas as he took the fight back to the feet.

Hunt's one-punch knockout power is his trademark but he was unable to land a shot flush to put Werdum out of the fight.

Despite tasting plenty of leather, Werdum showed impressive durability before he delivered the telling knee that changed the course of the bout.

"Mark is a talented fighter and I know he punched hard, I felt he punched hard, so I had to respect that," Werdum said. "I also figured he would plan for me trying to take him down. I went for a few attempts and then I faked, got him to duck, and came in with the high knee. Because he is so tough, I knew I had to be relentless in trying to finish it on the ground."

Hunt won't be seen again in the octagon until next year. He has four fights left on his contract, although it would be too early to speculate when and where he will appear.

- Daniel Richardson travelled to Mexico courtesy of Sky Arena and the UFC