Ok! Firstly apologies
for the small delay in posts, it’s been somewhat of a busy week for me, but not
to worry, I’m back for my next post this time coming straight out of the departure lounge in Queenstown Airport, New Zealand awaiting my 9:40am flight home.
Considering the
temporary change in location, I figured it might be fitting to do a quick
feature on some of the fighters in the UFC that hail from this country more
popularly known as ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’.
When looking at Kiwi
representatives that have made an impact inside the UFC, you really can’t look
any further than 205-pounder James Te Huna and heavyweight veteran ‘The Super
Samoan’ Mark Hunt. The pair have been key figures in a movement that has put
the Oceania region on the MMA map. The movement has gained a huge amount of
momentum and drawn a huge international fan base especially within the Southern
Hemisphere.
Hunt, a Pride FC
veteran and former K1 world kickboxing champion who is 4-2 in his 6 UFC bouts, only took up the
sport after a nightclub bouncer witnessed him handle an altercation against
four other men. The 39 year old former South Auckland resident is well-known for
being a man of few words with a granite chin and boulder-like fists. Despite
sporting 2 losses on his record (one against Sean McCorkle in Hunt’s 2010 UFC
Debut, the other to former UFC world champion Junior Dos Santos just recently) Hunt has displayed an exciting ‘juggernaut-esque’ style of attack with two fight
night bonuses to support that claim.
Te Huna, a native of
New Zealand and a former Cage Fighting Championships Light Heavyweight
grand prix winner, has held the light heavyweight strap in the King Of The Cage promotion and proved to be a tough competitor within the octagon. The Maori fighter is 5-2 in his 7 UFC fights with his only losses coming at the hands of current UFC 205-pound contenders Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Texeira. Both of these losses came by way of submission which UFC fighters from Australia/New Zealand aren't famous for defending effectively against higher level opponents.
While Te Huna and
Hunt weren’t and aren’t the first fighters from down south to make it to the
big leagues, they have arguably been two of the more noteworthy figures that
have inspired fighters of Kiwi/Maori heritage much like TUF: Smashes winner Robert Whittaker and TUF17 semi-finalist Dylan 'The Villain' Andrews who are already making an impact in the octagon.
Until next time...
Peace!
