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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Mark Hunt may be a native of New Zealand, but he's setting aside his home country and fully embracing Australia ahead of his UFC Fight Night 33 main event fight with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.
On the poster for the event, Hunt is standing in front of the Australian flag, and he explained on his Facebook page this week why he's not representing his former home into the December event. Here's Hunt's explanation, in his own, unedited words:
"Jus so u know I said It was ok to rep the Australian flag,even though I'm a kiwi.ive been living in Australia for nearly 20 years wife kids are Australian.i call Australia my home.and one of the main reasons Im really proud to rep the Australian flag is cause NZ has never recognized my achievements in my sport the only man to ever win the k-1 world title outside of Europe and will be the only one man to ever do it.i been fighting for 23 years 15 years at the top of the world,and what recognition does NZ give me nothing,so don't ask me why anymore,I have jus told u.
Never said anything about my NZ fans wat I said was the NZ media have never shown me or my sports any recognition.15 years of warring with the best fighters on this planet.and I'm tired of being left in the dark.read and understand what I have said before u go and pass judgement.
Penick's Analysis: Hunt's a strange and vocal fellow, so the way he laid out his reasonings here isn't surprising in the least. Of course, he's got reason to feel slighted by the media in his home country if they're not accepting him as much as Australia has. For that alone he could have gone with Australia, but add in the fact he's lived there for 20 years, and he's got plenty of reason to accept Australia as his home. He'll be the "hometown" guy for the fans in this main event in December, and that's a role he's more than happy to play.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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