Over the weekend, Lowking.pl reported that the UFC’s November 19 return to Sydney, Australia, would be headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Mark Hunt and Marcin Tybura. This report was later confirmed by MMAJunkie.com, and now, it’s been officially announced by the UFC.
#UFCSydney: @markhunt1974 vs @MarcinTybura
Sunday, Nov 19 | @qudosbankarena
🎫 👉 https://t.co/T3qpToug8G pic.twitter.com/iaTU5w4x2A— UFC Aus/New Zealand (@UFC_AUSNZ) August 14, 2017
While this is certainly an interesting main event for the UFC’s return to Sydney, it is not the fight Hunt was angling for. After being called out by fellow contender Alexey Oleynik, Hunt made it clear that the fight he wanted was one with fellow heavyweight veteran Fabricio Werdum.
“Hey ‘Alexeyholeydik,’” Hunt said on Facebook after being called out my Oleynik. “Never heard about any fight with you, but if I did I’d beat you silly anyway. I want Fabricio Werdum. Everyone message Fabricio and tell him I want to dance.”
For whatever reason, Werdum didn’t accept this fight, which resulted in Hunt’s being paired with Tybura. With this new matchup now official, Hunt decided to send a little jab Werdum’s way, suggesting on Instagram that the Brazilian legend didn’t accept the fight because he was getting a manicure.
“Tried getting someone in the top-5, but everyone is busy,” Hunt said. “Had asked for Werdum in Japan, and also for Sydney, but he is getting a manicure so it’s party time, Tybura.”
Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum have met once before. In their first meeting, Werdum scored the knockout win with a flying knee and a volley of followup punches.
Would you have preferred to see Mark Hunt matched up with Fabricio Werdum over Marcin Tybura?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/14/2017.