Throwback: When Alistair Overeem Destroyed Mark Hunt With a Huge Knee

Mark Hunt—considered as the king of walk-off knockouts—had his fair share of defeats in the octagon. Relive one of his most brutal losses against Alistair Overeem.

Mark Hunt is a New Zealand based fighter. He kick-started his MMA career in 2004 under Pride Fighting Championship. With little to no training on the ground, Hunt lost his debut via an armbar.

He would then go on a five-fight win streak followed by a six-fight losing streak. Most of his losses came via submissions. His career bounced back and forth. When Hunt was not losing, he was putting people to sleep.

“I Never Asked To Be A Fighter” – A Look Back At Mark Hunt KOs – The King Of Walk-Offs

For the majority of his career—both, kickboxing and MMA—Hunt had a granite chin. The ‘Super Samoan’ could take some brutal shots to the head without even budging. Although he was knocked out a few times, Alistair Overeem’s knockout of Hunt stands out among the rest.

Alistair Overeem knees Mark Hunt into oblivion

In the main card of UFC 209, Mark Hunt took on Alistair Overeem. It was a shot at redemption for Hunt, as he was submitted by the ‘Demolition Man’ in 2008.

The fight itself was a war. Hunt opened up with a heavy leg kick. Soon, blood was pouring out Hunt’s right leg due to a checked leg kick. As the fight progressed, Hunt’s right hand put Overeem off balance. Unfazed by the attack, Overeem threw more kicks. Towards the end of the first round, Hunt had Overeem running away from him.

In the second round, Overeem attacked Hunt’s body again. Hunt took more knees to the body in the clinch. An elbow from Hunt stumbled Overeem. But, Overeem was smart enough to tie him up and land some hard elbows of his own. Elbows were raining from every direction in the second round.

Overeem opened up the third round with a right hook. The duo clinched again and Overeem landed more knees to the body of Hunt. After a left elbow, Overeem threw a knee to the head, followed by another one and faceplanted Hunt to the canvas. A disgruntled Hunt stormed out of the cage before the decision was announced.

After this defeat, Hunt would go on to lose 3 out of 4 fights. Hunt denied to renew his contract with the UFC and his last fight in the company took place on December 2018