Alistair Overeem of the Netherlands and Mark Hunt of Australia in a heavyweight bout during UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The UFC and mixed martial arts have done a lot to prevent the reputation around the sport that it is inherently barbaric. A fight that has been an uphill battle considering they only recently have been able to stage fights in New York, one of the last places to allow matches to take place.

One comment from a UFC fighter may have undone a lot of goodwill for the sport. Mark Hunt, a fighter in the heavyweight division wrote a piece for The Player’s Voice and stated that he didn’t care if he died in the ring.

Here is the full quote:

“I will probably end my life fighting. If I die fighting, that’s fine. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be in an honest and fair competition.”

Not only an insane comment given the fact, he doesn’t have to do that and he already knows the inherent risk of the sport.

“I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right. The cheats get all the advantages,” said Hunt.

Attaching one thought to the other takes away from the very valid dangers of fighting someone with a decided strength advantage. It only makes the statement all the more confusing.

Does he realize he doesn’t have to fight?

[TMZ Sports]

About Sam Blazer

Sam is a self proclaimed chess prodigy. He once placed seventh in the state of Ohio in Chess when he was in kindergarten. He will rarely if ever mention though that only eight people were entered in this tournament. Contact him at sblaze17@gmail.com