The 10 most popular fighters in UFC history

#7: Mark Hunt

UFC 200: Tate v Nunes

When he came into the UFC and was submitted in a disappointing performance against Sean McCorkle, it didn’t feel like Mark Hunt would have a long career inside the Octagon. But almost 9 years – and 17 UFC fights – later, Hunt has become one of the most universally loved UFC fighters of all time. And with his unique style, can you blame the fans for adoring him? Definitely not.

Sure, Hunt would never be considered the greatest fighter of all time; his UFC record is 8-7-1 with one No Contest, and he’s been badly beaten by the likes of Alistair Overeem and Junior Dos Santos, but the Kiwi brawler literally always comes in to fight. Afraid of no man, Hunt has one thing on his mind when he steps into the Octagon – in his own words, “knocking the other bloke out”.

Some of Hunt’s knockouts are amongst the most legendary in UFC history – Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir are amongst his victims – and he became even more popular for introducing the ‘walk-off knockout’ – refusing to follow up with further shots due to his confidence in his knockout power. Throw in one of the all-time greatest UFC Heavyweight fights alongside Antonio Silva in 2013, and it’s no surprise that everyone loves ‘The Super Samoan’.