5 Things You Might Not Know About Mark Hunt

Few fighters have experienced the almost universal reverence Mark Hunt enjoys.

Nearing the end of an illustrious combat sports career that has seen him move from Pride Fighting Championships and K-1 to Dream and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the 43-year-old Kiwi will face Derrick Lewis in the UFC Fight Night 110 main event this Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. There, Hunt seeks to rebound from his devastating knockout loss to Alistair Overeem on March 4, the Dutchman having wrecked him with a series of third-round knee strikes at UFC 209. While Hunt carries with him a mediocre 12-11 record, his unexpected resurgence in the UFC has been marked by victories over Frank Mir, Antonio Silva, Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell.

As Hunt prepares for his five-round clash with the monstrous Lewis before a throng of fellow New Zealanders, here are five things you might not know about the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner:

1. He runs in exclusive circles.

Hunt is the only man to have beaten both Mirko Filipovic and Wanderlei Silva, and he did it in back-to-back bouts. He defeated Silva by split decision at Pride Shockwave 2004 on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, ending a remarkable 18-fight unbeaten streak for “The Axe Murderer.” A year later at the same venue, he claimed a split verdict over Filipovic at Pride Shockwave 2005.

2. His talents have been monetized.

Since he joined the UFC roster in 2010, Hunt has accrued six post-fight bonuses in his 14 appearances inside the Octagon. The two “Knockout of the Night,” two “Fight of the Night” and two “Performance of the Night” bonuses have been worth $375,000.

3. He has seen the sights.

“The Super Samoan” has fought in six different countries as a professional mixed martial artist, boxer and kickboxer: the United States, Australia, Mexico, Japan, France and New Zealand.

4. Top competition has been a lure, not a deterrent.

The 10 men who have beaten Hunt -- Alistair Overeem (twice), Fedor Emelianenko, Stipe Miocic, Fabricio Werdum, Junior dos Santos, Sean McCorkle, Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef, Josh Barnett and Hidehiko Yoshida -- have 269 career victories between them.

5. Determination is not an issue.

Hunt once went four years, nine months and 22 days between victories. He stopped Tsuyoshi Kohsaka with second-round punches at Pride Total Elimination Absolute on May 5, 2006 and did not win again until he knocked out Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Feb. 27, 2011. In between, Hunt lost to Barnett, Emelianenko, Overeem, Manhoef, Mousasi and McCorkle in succession. All six of them finished him inside one round.