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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The co-main event for UFC 160 was already changed once when Alistair Overeem was forced out of his bout with Junior dos Santos due to injury, but there could potentially be an issue with his replacement as well, Mark Hunt.
The New Zealander has been stopped multiple times at the airport this week attempting to head to the U.S., stemming from an incident in Las Vegas in 2002 that led to an arrest.
"Just a stupid incident which happened in 2002," Hunt said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. "It wasn't even my fault, but as usual, I get canned for it. I should be fine by today. UFC is on it."
That was on Thursday, as Hunt gave his side of what happened in that 2002 incident while remaining optimistic he'll get to the U.S. this week.
"A friend of mine punched another friend outside a club. Another guy said to me that they needed help. I went out to see what had happened. I see that these two losers were pissed [drunk]. I try to go back in the club and an undercover cop said I wasn't allowed. I said, Can I just go back in to get my girl? He says, no. I ask him again, he says, I'll tell you one more time you're under arrest. Guess what? I ask again, he flicks his baton; I get upset.
"So, he has his baton in his left hand, and I walk up to him. He maces me with his right hand, and they jump me. I wasn't even drunk. I spent New Year's in jail for public intoxication, and I wasn't even drunk."
Hunt believes the fight isn't in jeopardy, but the longer it takes him to get into the U.S. the more that becomes a possibility.
Penick's Analysis: Hunt has gotten into the U.S. for two of his fights in the UFC thus far, but it's probably the fact that he's trying to fly into Las Vegas this time when he had been arrested there that is giving him issues now. Hopefully it all gets sorted out soon, because it's a very long flight from New Zealand and he's got to get himself re-set to Las Vegas time in the two weeks leading up to the fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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