Contributor: Ben Kohn
On UFN 33, in the main event of the evening, Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt will throw down with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. While Hunt is looking to solidify himself as a top 10 Heavyweight, Bigfoot is trying to maintain his top 5 status as he sits officially ranked at number 4. Bigfoot is coming off another 1st round beatdown, courtesy of champion Cain Velasquez, and Hunt is coming off the brutal spinning head kick knockout at the hands of Junior Dos Santos. The good news is that neither man is in any real danger of getting cut with a loss so I have a feeling both men will be looking to make a real statement come fight night. Hunt is the Cinderella story that everyone wants to keep on going and with a win, Hunt will solidify that he is not just a fluke that got lucky as he will have a win over a legitimate top Heavyweight. Bigfoot on the other hand is looking to establish that there is a difference between the middle pack Heavyweights and a top 5’er. His record speaks for itself and he has shown himself to be an elite Heavyweight, but will he demonstrate that he is really a cut above Hunt? Can Hunt keep this late career rally going?
Mark Hunt was basically someone the UFC just wanted to get rid of. They even tried to buy him out of his contract but he refused and after losing to Sean McCorkle, it really seemed like Hunt was just hanging on for no apparent reason. Fast forward 3 years, and 4 wins later, Mark Hunt was fighting Junior Dos Santos in the Co-Main Event of UFC 160. Despite losing the fight by KO in the 3rd round, Hunt showed that he has improved tremendously as a fighter and can still make waves in the shallow Heavyweight division. When fighting Hunt, everyone knows what to expect. Incredible power, resilience, and a granite chin, Hunt is a nightmare on the feet for almost any Heavyweight as he can put out pretty much anyone on the planet if he lands cleanly. The fact that he is able to take shots that would put out almost anyone allows him to strike against guys who should give him issues due to his short stature. Hunt has also impressed with his much improved ground game as is evidenced by his ability to avoid being in real danger on the ground against JDS and escaping some dangerous positions against Stefan Struve. With that being said, Hunt is not suddenly going to be competing at ADCC anytime soon and he relies on his very strong takedown defense rate (he stuffs 69% of takedowns) to keep the fight on the feet. While Hunt is definitely flawed as an overall fighter, Hunt has maximized his talents and improved the areas that allow him to keep him where he can beat almost any Heavyweight, on the feet.
Bigfoot is coming off of his second loss to champion Cain Velasquez. Despite clearly being a top 5 fighter, he just cannot seem to beat that elite group at the top. Overall, Bigfoot is 2-2 in his UFC run but that should not mislead those who would immediately write him off. Before joining the UFC, Bigfoot went on a 3 fight streak with wins over Andrei Arlovski (when it meant something still), Mike Kyle (always a respectable win), and a punishing beatdown on Fedor that solidified him as a top contender at Heavyweight. Also, looking at his losses shows that he has only been beaten by top 5 Heavyweights in recent years like Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Fabricio Werdum. Sandwiched in between his UFC losses are KO wins over Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem where Bigfoot demonstrated just what makes him so very dangerous. He’s big, strong, and hits like a Mack truck injected with more TRT than Vitor, Chael, and Hendo combined. The finishing combination he landed on Overeem was like something out of a video game and after he finally fell, Bigfoot stood over his motionless body and roared and yelled like an unleashed animal. Bigfoot is truly a monster of a man but despite his power on the feet, his top game is his real strength. Bigfoot is not exactly a skilled wrestler but he uses his size well to lean on his opponent and drag them down. Against Fedor, he demonstrated just how devastating his ground and pound can be and combine that with the fact that he’s a BJJ blackbelt…well good night Irene.
We all know that Hunt wants to keep this fight standing at all costs but the question is if Bigfoot will oblige him. If he does, let’s see how these two stack up. Hunt has spent almost his entire career punching up at taller opponents so this isn’t exactly something he will not be used too. Hunt has demonstrated consistently an ability to close the range on taller fighters despite being only 5’10 and having a 74” reach. Hunt knows this (see what I did there?) and uses his tremendous power and surprising agility to enter range on the offensive with leaping left hooks or countering with cross counter rights over his opponents jabs. 
Because of his power, he knows that his opponents need to defend or dodge his strikes in some way and he uses the left hook/straight to set up his right hand, which he will throw to the body and head alternatively. Although known for his punching power, Mark also has really hard kicks that he will generally throw to the leg, and I mean it when I say they are hard. Against Struve, he repeatedly knocked Struve’s left leg across his body after landing them. When counter punching, he is very good at slipping off to the outside of his opponents jab and jabbing through his opponents guard. While he struggled in his counter punching against JDS because of his speed, he will not have this problem against the much slower Bigfoot and will actually have a very good hand speed advantage over him. Finally, let’s discuss Hunt’s defense, which at times is really good and at times really not so good. When Hunt isn’t tired, he will slip and actively work to avoid punches and strikes of his opponents. When tired, he will be less than likely to do so (or maybe he’s bored I don’t know but either way Hunt doesn’t give a fuck). His defense against JDS is what worries me most as he would repeatedly almost shoulder roll and get thwacked on the ear by overhand rights of JDS. Again though, I think this had more to do with JDS’s speed over anything Hunt was necessarily doing wrong. Against a slower opponent such as Bigfoot, I feel as if he will be able to avoid the punches more easily. Overall, Hunt is an enigma on the feet and one most would prefer not to try and solve.
Bigfoot Silva is not exactly a very complex striker but he is extremely dangerous nonetheless. His massive size, 6’4 with an 82” reach, and power force even the most skilled and accomplished strikers to take him as a serious threat on the feet. For an example of someone who doesn’t, talk to Alistair Overeem. Bigfoot is pretty bland when his opponent is not hurt, using very simple straight lefts and rights, not moving his head or feet much, and for some reason, uses a lot of lead rear (right) uppercuts that rarely seem to land on skilled opponents. Bigfoot’s footwork is also very slow and plodding (although Hunt isn’t known for his fleet-footedness) and because he isn’t a mover, he generally keeps his hands high and his guard tight. But again back to the issue that seems to plague most MMA fighters, Bigfoot constantly leads with the rear hand, rarely setting up his strikes with 
the jab or left hook. Right straights and right uppercuts are his go to strikes although he will also toss in right hooks as well. Bigfoot, though a massive man, has shown some good dexterity in his kicks and although he doesn’t kick very much, he has demonstrated that getting caught by his high kicks are not a good idea and his leg kicks are also very powerful. But let’s talk about what makes him scary and that’s his finishing combo against Overeem. When Bigfoot has his opponents hurt, he can unleash hell upon them with thunderous blows where he finally uses more than just one punch at a time. Throwing right and left hands, knees when he can, and as mentioned before, a high kick. It’s terrifyingly beautiful and as good as Hunt’s chin is, I don’t know if he can survive that kind of onslaught. As good as that all sounds, Bigfoot has some serious defensive flaws and he just gets hit a bit too easily for me to feel good about this fight for him. Bigfoot seems to back straight up when pressured, his guard lets in punches too easily, and he really doesn’t have great head or foot movement. His size which aides him in certain areas limits him where speed and quickness is necessary. Against Cormier, Bigfoot was first dropped by a looping right hand that landed flush on his large chin. Cormier also repeatedly landed because Bigfoot would extend his arms when being punched and that’s a big no-no against a guy like Hunt who has an excellent cross-counter which would go right over the top. Overall, Bigfoot is dangerous on the feet because of his power and size but his defensive flaws and lack of diversity when fighting in free-range will limit him against such an experienced striker like Hunt.
A quick look at the stats on the feet (thanks to Fightmetric) gives us an idea of what I am talking about. Hunt lands more strikes per minute at 3.43 to Bigfoots 2.73, has better defense with 2.2 strikes absorbed per minute compared to Bigfoots 2.51, and has slightly better striking accuracy and defense with 44% and 57% for Hunt and 43% and 55% for Bigfoot respectively. Overall, Hunt’s ability as a striker cannot be underestimated despite his loss to JDS. He is deceptively quick, versatile, and tough as nails. Although Bigfoot is capable on the feet for sure, he’s just not on the same level skill wise as Hunt, and if he stands with him, I don’t see him winning this fight. Edge in striking goes to Hunt.
Alright so we all know the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt that is incredibly massive is obviously going to have a grappling advantage in this fight. When Bigfoot is on top, he is a monster and although we haven’t seen it in the UFC, the Fedor fight shows just how hellish it is to be mounted by Bigfoot. His large hands, massive size, and good power would finish most Heavyweights and Hunt is not exactly the most technical or defensively minded (in regards to blocking punches) on the 
ground. Against Struve, he basically let him punch his head over and over from mount and against Silva, who is much stronger and heavier (more skilled too), that would be a really bad idea. Hunt’s grappling should be purely defensive but for some reason, it’s not. Surprisingly, Hunt has a higher takedown accuracy of 58% as opposed to Bigfoot’s abysmal 40% success rate. And that’s where the key factor of this fight is, the ability of Bigfoot to get the fight to the ground. Bigfoot is not a good wrestler by any means. Most of his takedowns will come from leaning on a fighter against the fence and dragging them to the ground. He is just not fast enough to grab a double leg in the center of the cage and that severely limits him from employing his best skills which is top control and ground and pound. That is not to say that Hunt now has an advantage in the grappling but in terms of wrestling ability, I would actually say he does have more skills than Bigfoot. Edge in wrestling goes to Hunt. Edge in grappling goes to Silva (despite that “beautiful” armbar Hunt went for against Rothwell).
Cardio could be an issue for both of these men. This is a 5 round fight and neither of these two has ever had to fight 5 full rounds. Hunt’s cardio has always been an issue and although he has improved it greatly, he still visibly tires as the fight goes on. Bigfoot on the other hand has really good cardio, especially for a massive Heavyweight like himself, and went into the 3rd round of the Overeem fight looking fresh. He has also gone the distance in 3 round fights before without a problem so he will definitely have an advantage but can he last 5 rounds? I don’t know but he still gets the edge in my eyes. Edge in cardio goes to Bigfoot.
How will Hunt’s chin hold up after his fight with JDS? That’s a question many fans are surely wondering and personally, I am very nervous about it. He clearly has supreme confidence in his chin and always has but if JDS cracked it, than Bigfoot could be in for a good night and Hunt bad. Bigfoot, while not glass chinned, does not have a very good one and has been finished by 
strikes in 4 of his 5 losses. We already know his chin won’t hold up if Hunt lands hard enough but the question mark is on Hunt. I still give the edge to Hunt though for past results. Plus, who wouldn’t get knocked out by that spinning kick from JDS? Edge in chin goes to Hunt.
This fight really is interesting and could have a very big shakeup of the division rankings wise. A win for Hunt secures him a top ten spot and creates more interesting matchups for him against top guys. A win for Silva keeps him around the top 5 and could allow for him to get another title shot if the cards line up for him. The problem is, I don’t see him getting past Hunt. This is one of those fights where there styles favor the man who is less skilled overall but is more skilled in the specialties will win. Hunt’s takedown defense is really good; Bigfoot’s takedown offense is pretty bad. Hunt’s striking is really good; Bigfoot’s striking is good but not great. Hunt Bigfoot is well-rounded, he can strike serviceably and grapple very well, but when a grappler can’t get the fight to the ground against a better striker, we usually can forecast the result beforehand. My forecast is simple. He was born down, you know this.
Final prediction: Mark Hunt by KO Round 1
-Ben can be reached at [email protected] or @agentbenten.
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