Mark Hunt has been ordered to pay UFC $388K in attorney fees and costs
Mark Hunt has been ordered to pay UFC $388K in attorney fees and costs | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Mark Hunt has offered the UFC a 'unique' way out of their ongoing legal battle: a 3-on-1 fight inside the Octagon.

The United States District Court in Nevada has ordered former interim UFC heavyweight title challenger Mark Hunt to pay attorney fees and costs amounting to $388,235 to the UFC. Whether or not the UFC is actually going to be able to collect on that money remains to be seen

All of this stretches back to a 2017 lawsuit filed by Hunt against the UFC. In that lawsuit, Hunt claimed the UFC knew of Brock Lesnar's use of a banned substance before Hunt and Lesnar stepped into the Octagon at UFC 200. Lesnar won that fight by unanimous decision, but the result was later overturned and changed to a no contest after it was revealed Lesnar had tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene during a pre-fight drug test. Lesnar also tested positive for that same substance after the contest.

Hunt claimed in the lawsuit:

"Without HUNT's knowledge or consent, the UFC conspired and caused LESNAR, a doping fighter, to fight HUNT, a clean fighter, despite the fact that LESNAR used substances banned by the UFC, USADA and WADA. The substances, Clomiphene and 4-Hydroxyclomiphene, are known 'Post Cycle Therapy' ('PCT') substances believed to be used after a period of strength training with anabolic steroids or similar prohibited substances."

Most of Hunt's suit was dismissed in Nevada court in February 2019. The final charge of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing was dismissed in November of the same year.

In December 2019, Paul Gift reported the UFC had filed a motion to recover $388K in fees and costs from Hunt.

According to a new report from Combat Sports Law, the United States District Court in Nevada ruled in favor of the UFC on that motion back in March of 2021:

"Plaintiff Mark Hunt filed this lawsuit against Zuffa, LLC d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), its president Dana White, and mixed-martial-arts fighter Brock Lesnar, alleging that UFC violated state and federal law by manipulating its own drug-testing requirements to allow select fighters to use performance-enhancing drugs. After prevailing on several motions to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment, UFC moves for its attorneys' fees and costs under the prevailing-party provision in the 2016 Promotional and Ancillary Rights Agreement, which governed the parties' professional relationship…. While Hunt concedes that UFC may seek attorneys' fees and costs for defending itself against the full complement of Hunt's claims under the explicit terms of the parties' agreement, he argues that UFC's fee request is premature and unreasonable and seeks costs disallowed under federal law. Because I find that UFC is entitled to attorneys' fees and costs under the parties' agreement, its request is reasonable, and its motion is ripe, I grant UFC's motion in its entirety.

"IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that defendant UFC's renewed motion for attorneys' fees and costs [ECF No. 193] is GRANTED. Defendants are awarded $301,792.50 in attorneys' fees and $86,442.72 in costs, for a total of $388,235.22, and the Clerk of Court is directed to ENTER JUDGMENT accordingly"

Following this latest news becoming public, Hunt took toInstagram with a new, less litigious offer to settle the whole mess:

Mark the super Samoan vs Dana the parasite white Lorenzo Fertita and frank fertita

5 rounds mma these losers @danawhite frank Fertita Lorenzo Fertita has sucked the life out of so many fighters him and his scum friends -u win I drop the law suit-I win u pay every fighter u have ripped off since @ufc started now who would pay to see that

Hunt fought five times for the UFC after the Lesnar matchup at UFC 200. He went 1-4 in those contests. He finished his contract with the promotion in December 2018 with a decision loss to Justin Willis. He has not competed in MMA since that loss, but did return to the ring for a boxing match against Paul Gallen in December of 2020.