Sherdog’s Top 10: Undeserved Title Shots

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5. Mark Hunt vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Pride “Shockwave 2006” | Dec. 31, 2006 -- Saitama, Japan

There were a few prominent adversaries in mind for Emelianenko’s third heavyweight title defense with Pride Fighting Championships, but Hunt was not initially among them. Emelianenko had bested Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Filipovic in his first two defenses, and the promotion had targeted a return date with Filipovic or a meeting with Josh Barnett as two desirable destinations for the stoic Russian. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of the Japanese organization did not come to fruition.

“While Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ and Josh Barnett were the leading candidates for the fight,” Pride General Director Nobuhiko Takada said, “neither of the two are in the best condition.”

It is never a good idea to go into a bout against a pound-for-pound legend at anything less than 100 percent. Enter Hunt, the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner. The heavy-handed Kiwi had already earned notable victories over Wanderlei Silva and Filipovic under the Pride banner, but his ground deficiencies were exposed in a submission loss to Barnett five months earlier.

Despite the perceived disparity in grappling skill heading into the bout, Hunt held his own on the mat with Emelianenko in the early going. “The Super Samoan” escaped an armbar attempt before taking control of the positional battle for much of the opening frame, even attempting a keylock of his own.

Emelianenko would restore order late in the stanza, landing a takedown from the clinch and eliciting a tapout with a kimura. It was the second of six straight losses for Hunt, five of which would come via submission. Who would have thought that that disappointing stretch would serve as a precursor to the popular knockout artist’s current run at heavyweight relevance? With four straight wins in the UFC, Hunt could be just a win or two away from receiving a much more deserved championship opportunity.

Number 4 » Jardine vs. Rockhold