Mark Hunt: ‘Fighting is the gift I was given by God’

THOU shalt go into the Octagon and clubbeth thy opponent with all thou might. At least that’s how Mark Hunt’s bible reads.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 07: Mark Hunt punches Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva of Brazil during the UFC Brisbane bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva of Brazil at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on December 7, 2013 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

BEFORE he began proper training, UFC heavyweight contender and former K-1 kickboxing champion Mark Hunt did his fighting outside of the ring and cage.

In his younger days, the 41 year-old was a bit lost and got into his share of trouble, which only helps him appreciate how far his life has come.

He’s at the top of this Saturday’s big UFC Adelaide card, opposite fellow top contender Stipe Miocic. Both men lost quite competitive fights in their last outings — Hunt to Fabricio Werdum for the interim heavyweight strap, and Miocic in controversial fashion to former champion Junior dos Santos — and the stakes will be big for each of them.

With champions Cain Velasquez and Werdum meeting in June, Hunt’s fight near home this Saturday could decide the next man to get a shot at whoever emerges as unified heavyweight champion this summer. The adopted Australian by way of New Zealand never lacks for confidence, however, even in the most pressure-packed of situations.

“I’ve been fighting for 25 years and you need mental strength,” he explained.

“You need to view yourself as the best fighter in the world and I fight like that. Fighting was God’s gift to me and after 25 years I’m one of the best fighters on the planet — thank you Jesus.”

Mark Hunt at the UFC gym in Alexandria.

Hunt likely wasn’t being sarcastic. The hulking kickboxer is open and vocal about his Christian faith, even if it strikes some as an odd paradox given his professional penchant for violence.

“I don’t give a rat’s what people think about me,” Hunt said, when asked to consider the perceived strangeness of his spirituality, juxtaposed with his job as a knockout artist.

“If I worried about what people thought I wouldn’t get out of bed.”

Hunt keeps it simple and takes care of his own. The “Super Samoan” is thankful for the gifts he’s been given and believes he’s just doing what he was made to do.

“All I need to worry about is my family and Jesus. I pay my bloody tax, man,” he concluded.

“I pay my bills and I believe in Jesus. All the time people say: ‘why do you pray to Jesus Christ and then go and beat up people?’ Well, fighting is the gift I was given by God.”