UFC: Nelson next on Hunt's tough road to riches

Mark Hunt. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Mark Hunt's hands tell a story. With nicks and scrapes on them and a sizeable scar down his left paw courtesy of his last trip to the UFC's octagon, they're two of the tools he has relied on for more than 15 years to earn a living.

Few sports are as unforgiving on the body as fighting and, despite being 40, Hunt still has the motivation to drag himself through the rigours of training as he prepares for his next bout. He started as a kickboxer and was a world champion in 2001 before switching to MMA during the mid-2000s.

His last fight, an epic five-round scrap with Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva at UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane nine months ago, which ended in a draw, took a huge physical toll. Hunt needed 16 stitches in his left hand following an operation to repair a broken bone.

Silva would later test positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Hunt needed time to let his mangled mitt heal.

His next bout is next weekend at UFC Fight Night 52 at the Saitama Super Arena, near Tokyo, where he will meet Roy 'Big Country' Nelson.

The match-up has been brewing for years. They both have similar builds, tremendous power and an ability to absorb punishment.

Some might suggest he gets a fair bit at home, too. A father of six, the Sydney-based Hunt has two adult children from a previous relationship and four under the age of seven with wife Julie. The last, Maisie, arrived earlier this year.

He received some sage advice from Julie recently as his contract negotiations with the UFC hit a snag - he even tweeted last month he was "unemployed".

"I've got to support my family and my wife brought me to that realisation when I was doing my negotiations," Hunt says. "But I'm a fighter and I have to do these things and I'm also a father, so I draw from that."

Hunt signed a revamped six-fight deal with huge incentives if he fights for UFC's heavyweight title, and the terms provide greater security for his family.

It's 6am and, as many West Aucklanders still sleep, cars pull up at Oliver MMA in Glen Eden. Despite living in Sydney, Hunt's training camps are in New Zealand where long-time trainer and ground-game specialist Steve Oliver is based.

Five sparring partners, ranging from Commonwealth Games wrestler Marcus Carney to undefeated Kiwi heavyweight boxer Hemi Ahio, arrive to work with Hunt. Some will test his grappling, others his striking.

Hunt warms up as he wrestles former Oracle grinder and Olympic sailor Carl Williams, now a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Then comes sparring. Hunt spends 40 minutes taking on opponent after opponent with fatigue as much a challenge as each adversary.

"That's the shit, Mark," Oliver barks at Hunt late in the session. "Don't just survive, put him down."

The rounds seem to extend longer than they should and Carney later jokes that every wrestling coach has a broken stopwatch.

Following one particularly brutal round of sparring, Ahio can't close his jaw properly and Oliver politely tells him his modelling career is over. Hunt put himself through three of these sessions in each of the final four weeks of his training camp as he prepared for the Nelson fight.

The toughest slog always comes at the beginning of the camp. Hunt weighed 153kg a few months ago following his lay-off with his broken hand and it's always a challenge for the veteran brawler to make the UFC's 120kg heavyweight limit.

Nelson, ranked eighth by the UFC with a 20-9 record, has lost only once via knockout and is a skilled grappler with a huge right hand.

Hunt's conditioning could prove valuable because Nelson has never fought past three rounds - all UFC title fights and main events are scheduled for five - and Hunt can draw on the experience of his battle with Silva when he was still dangerous in the fifth.

Fighting for the UFC heavyweight title, held by Cain Velasquez, is something that burns deeply within Hunt (9-8-1) and he believes he can get there.

"I'm always learning," he says. "I feel I'm getting better at MMA and not many people get the opportunity to fight the best in the world for as long as I have. I've danced with many of the top fighters on the planet and I'm still in one piece.

"I have short, medium and long-term goals and, when I walk away from fighting, I'm going to walk away totally. You won't see me come back. I will have done everything I've wanted to achieve."

Clearly, there are a few more marks to be added to those hands yet.