Mark Hunt

Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winner of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix. He is known as "King of Walk-Offs" due to his popularization of walking away and stopping attacks before the referee officially ends the match. Background Hunt was born in South Auckland, into a large Samoan family, and was a troubled child eventually leading to two jail terms for violent offending. He had no intention to be a professional fighter until a late night altercation outside a nightclub just after getting out of jail for the second time in Auckland changed the course of his life. The brawl did not last long, and Hunt knocked out multiple people. Sam Marsters, one of the bouncers at the door was impressed by the young man's knockout power and invited him to his gym to take up formal training, and a week later, Hunt won a Muay Thai kickboxing match via knockout. Hunt received a six-pack of beer as a reward for the fight. Later that year Hunt moved to Sydney, Australia (residing in Campbelltown), to train with Alex Tui, and few years later he settled in Liverpool Kickboxing Gym under Maori instructor Hape Ngaranoa. Kickboxing career K-1 In the beginning of his career, Hunt was used by the promoters as a stepping stone for their up-and-coming fighters, taking up fights at short notice, until Tarik Solak promoted K-1 Oceania tournament in February 2000. With a record of (15–4, 3 KO's) Hunt entered his first K-1 tournament as a heavy underdog.