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Thursday, Oct 27, 2016

Report: Mark Hunt Hires Lawyer, Examining Possibility of Lawsuit Against UFC

Mark Hunt (photo via UFC.com)

By FCF Staff

Since it was revealed that Brock Lesnar failed his post-UFC 200 drug test, Mark Hunt has been extremely critical of the UFC, and now the legendary fighter has hired a lawyer for a possible lawsuit against the promotion.

Lesnar was allowed to compete at UFC 200 after the promotion elected to waive the four month, drug testing requirement, which is typically enforced for fighters, who come out of retirement. The Hunt – Lesnar fight was finalized on relatively short notice, however, and the latter was drug tested leading up to, and after the July 9th card.

After the bout, which saw Lesnar win via unanimous decision, the pro-wrestling star allegedly tested positive for an estrogen blocker. Hunt was outraged by the news, and called on the UFC to pay him the $2.5 million dollar purse Lesnar earned for the bout.

Recently Hunt held a media call with an attorney he’s hired, Christina Denning from Higgs, Fletcher and Mack. During the call Denning had this to say, about the possibility of Hunt launching legal action against the UFC (quote via MMA Mania.com):

“One of the things about a lawsuit or a potential lawsuit is that we’ve got to let Brock Lesnar go through and exhaust his ability to challenge the findings of USADA. “And Brock Lesnar’s hearing was originally scheduled for sometime in October, but it got put off until November 10. I’ve been trying to figure out if I need to make plans to go out there because we’ve requested permission to participate in that hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission. Brock Lesnar retained an attorney (Howard Jacobs) who handles these things and I found out today in calling that attorney, who is representing Brock Lesnar, that he has already requested another continuance, which would push this out into mid December. It has not been granted yet.”

“We’ve got the UFC’s own anti-doping policy, which also gives the UFC the ability to take away Lesnar’s purse, and it’s broad enough to include any money that he makes from the result of these fights,” Denning said. “So, theoretically, the UFC upon the finding of a violation could take all of the money back from Brock. Not only the 2.5 million dollar purse, but anything he earned from pay-per-view, if he had a win bonus–all of that–and then put it into it’s anti-doping program. Or better yet–and what we’d like to see happen–is the person that had to get in the ring with him gets allocated that money.”

Denning also reportedly pointed to the UFC’s decision to waive the four month, drug testing requirement for Lesnar, and called it “concerning”.

Hunt has also been calling for fighters to organize a union in recent weeks.

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posted by FCF Staff @ 9:15 pm
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