It appears that Mark Hunt’s
long legal battle against the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana
White and Brock
Lesnar has reached its conclusion.
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U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey dismissed Hunt’s lawsuit on
Tuesday when she determined that the former UFC heavyweight failed
to prove the promotion and White booked him against Lesnar while
knowing that his opponent was using performance enhancing drugs.
Conduct Detrimental writer Jason Morrin first
brought word of the dismissal on social media.
Hunt initially
filed a civil lawsuit against the trio in 2017. The case was
initially dismissed in 2019 but found new life in appeals court in
2021. Dorsey concluded that Hunt did not meet the evidentiary
burden on his remaining claims of fraud, battery,
aiding-and-abetting battery and civil conspiracy.
“In sum, each of Hunt’s fraud theories requires far too many
inferential leaps and ignores too much contrary evidence for a jury
to reasonably find in his favor, particularly by clear and
convincing evidence,” Dorsey wrote in a 27-page opinion
document.
Lesnar defeated Hunt via unanimous decision at UFC 200 in July
2016. It was revealed after the fact that the former heavyweight
champion tested positive for the anti-estrogen agent clomiphene in
both an in-competition and out-of-competition drug screening, and
the result was overturned to a no contest.
Lesnar was eventually suspended for one year and fined $250,000 for
the failed drug tests. However, Hunt was upset that Lesnar received
the majority of his purse and that his opponent was given an
exemption from the USADA policy that requires fighters to enter the
drug testing pool for a four-month period upon coming out of
retirement.
“It’s only fair that if a guy gets caught cheating, he doesn’t get
paid,” Hunt said then. “I’m putting my life on the line when I get
inside the cage, all I’m asking for is a level playing field.”
Hunt would compete five more times under the UFC banner, posting a
1-4 record within the Las Vegas-based promotion. His last
appearance came at UFC Fight Night 142 on Dec. 1, 2018, when he
dropped a unanimous decision against Justin
Willis.