Mark Hunt at the UFC 135 weigh-ins

In the wake of the Alistair Overeem’s failed drug test that put the UFC  146 main event in jeopardy, the Twitter world had exploded in calls for Mark Hunt to be the replacement to face Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight title.

Fans “tweet bombed” Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and media outlets clamoring that Hunt be given the shot at the championship. The hash tag #rallyformarkhunt even was one of the worldwide trends measured by Twitter.  Mark Hunt even got involved, joining Twitter and naming those petitioning for him as “The Army of Doom.”

Dana White finally responded to the rally at the UFC on Fuel 2 post fight press conference and to the dismay of the “Army of Doom” he shot down any idea of having Mark Hunt competing in the main event of UFC 146.

When asked if the Rally could possibly put Mark Hunt in consideration for the title shot Dana White answered:

“It ain’t going to happen. I have apologized and praised Mark Hunt for what he’s accomplished in the situation he was in. And I think this fight with Struve is a good fight for him. If he beats Struve, he’ll break in and start fighting some of the top five heavyweights in the world. Anything can happen in a fight, but in all reality, it’s not fair to Mark Hunt either, to throw the guy right in there with Junior Dos Santos for a title shot. The guy worked his way up, he beats Struve, he fights somebody in the top five. I guarantee you this, he beats Struve, his next fight will be someone in the top five that can get him closer to that title shot.”

So there you have it, the rally may not be over but it has been answered. Although not resulting in the initial goal for Hunt, it has had to get the attention of UFC officials and show them how many fans “The Super Samoan” has and how passionate they are about him. The fans of Hunt could truly see what they hoped for come to fruition if he continues to put wins together.

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