A report surfaced today that the UFC has signed two new heavyweights to meet at UFC 119, and MMA Fighting has confirmed from a source close to the organization that Sean McCorkle and Pride and K-1 veteran Mark Hunt will fight in Indianapolis.
Though UFC 119 has not yet been officially announced, it is expected to take place at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, on Sept. 25. The Hunt-McCorkle bout is slated for the preliminary card, according to the source.
Share Hunt, a kickboxing legend whose brightest moment was winning the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001, has lost his last five MMA fights. Those losses have come against some elite-level competition – submission losses to Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko in Pride in 2006; a submission loss to Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at Dream 5 in 2008; a knockout loss in just 18 seconds to Melvin Manhoef at K-1 and Dream's Dynamite 2008; and a submission loss to Gegard Mousasi at Dream 9 in May 2009.
Hunt did have a five-fight winning streak in Pride between 2004-06, including wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, both by split decision. Hunt joining the UFC would appear to open up the possibility for rematches with both fighters down the road.
The Indiana-based McCorkle is unbeaten and will make his major-promotion debut in front of his home fans. His wins have all come in Indianapolis, predominantly for the Legends of Fighting Championship promotion. And once again, he won't have to travel far. UFC 119 will be the promotion's debut in Indiana.
Other rumored bouts for UFC 119 include Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham, Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens and Indianapolis-based heavyweight Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran.
Though UFC 119 has not yet been officially announced, it is expected to take place at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, on Sept. 25. The Hunt-McCorkle bout is slated for the preliminary card, according to the source.
Share Hunt, a kickboxing legend whose brightest moment was winning the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001, has lost his last five MMA fights. Those losses have come against some elite-level competition – submission losses to Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko in Pride in 2006; a submission loss to Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at Dream 5 in 2008; a knockout loss in just 18 seconds to Melvin Manhoef at K-1 and Dream's Dynamite 2008; and a submission loss to Gegard Mousasi at Dream 9 in May 2009.
Hunt did have a five-fight winning streak in Pride between 2004-06, including wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, both by split decision. Hunt joining the UFC would appear to open up the possibility for rematches with both fighters down the road.
The Indiana-based McCorkle is unbeaten and will make his major-promotion debut in front of his home fans. His wins have all come in Indianapolis, predominantly for the Legends of Fighting Championship promotion. And once again, he won't have to travel far. UFC 119 will be the promotion's debut in Indiana.
Other rumored bouts for UFC 119 include Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham, Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens and Indianapolis-based heavyweight Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran.