Speaking to Thunderpick, the former UFC star questions Jon Jones’s GOAT status, reveals the personal toll of his ongoing legal proceedings against the UFC, and compares preparing for a fight with training for a Counter-Strike tournament.
Jon Jones will be remembered as the greatest cheat of all time
Jon Jones is the greatest cheat of all time, that’s all he is and that’s how he got to the top end. That’s how he got to hang out with guys like me, he’s a cheating little rat.
That’s all he’ll ever be. You can’t be the greatest fighter in the world when you’re sticking needles in your ass and hiding under the octagon from USADA. How are you supposed to be the greatest fighter?
UFC have put these cheaters and these shortcut takers in the Hall of Fame. The way I see it, any guy that’s been caught doping or cheating – there goes everything you’ve earned. Your world titles mean nothing, you’ve been caught as a shortcut taker, that’s all you are.
The personal toll of suing the UFC and Brock Lesnar is huge
Equality, that’s the only thing I’ve been about from the start. I said ‘Dana it’s not fair, can we make this fair, these guys are cheating’.
‘It’s not up to me Mark, it’s up to USADA’, were his precise words. I only asked for an even playing field, now it’s come to this nearly a decade later.
I’m separated now and it’s hard because the toll and the damage is huge. My mental health is struggling, my finances are struggling, it’s been really, really hard. It’s cost me everything.
But the question of law must be changed right now, this is what my end goal is, what I want to do is change all contact sports law so it’s an even playing field forever.
Did I give my consent to fight a guy that’s doping? No. Hell no. All the girls and boys that do any sports, whether that be MMA or any fight sports, there should be an even playing field.
All I can say is if I ever actually watch UFC I feel sorry for the fighters. I understand what situation they are in.
Sonny Bill Williams ripped me off – I want Paul Gallen to win
I’d normally back Sonny Bill to win, but those guys ripped me off. I had a deal with Sonny Bill’s agent, Khoder Nasser. He shook my hand. But then he came to me after his boy got knocked out and said [my purse] is $140,000.
I was promised $1 million for the Sonny Bill flight, that’s why I am backing to Gallen on this because even though I rang his bell, I’m going to go with Gallen because I don’t like being ripped off.
Even in that fight, they [Gallen’s team] offered me $3 million to take a dive in the first round. I said ‘no’ and even though I lost the fight I still rung his bell.
I’ve fought both of them, and I’m kind of interested in who’s going to win that fight, but I’m going to back Gallen on this one because I don’t like being ripped off. I’d rate Sonny Bills’ skill set the same as Paul Gallen’s, so it’s an even fight.
I’d love to fight in BKFC
I’d love to fight in that BKFC arena in Rome, an amazing walkout, feeling the history of all those deaths. But I have to wait for my lawsuit to be over.
Fighting for the world title would be something I’ve always wanted, to be like a modern-day gladiator. That doesn’t matter whether I’m in the ring, octagon, or now the law courts.
But to be in a place of history like Italy, where all these died for their freedom, now that would be something special.
Gamers make more money than UFC fighters
Counter Strike I’ve played for over 21 years, there are so many different maps where you try to plant a bomb, they try to diffuse it, it’s a strategy game.
You can buy skins – I used to have an inventory worth around $20,000. It’s my favourite game apart from chess. When I play, I have an alter ego, and my alter ego can be fierce.
You’ll probably see me owning my own team at the Counter-Strike tournaments, I think Shaq’s got his own team. I would love to challenge Shaq’s team.
Esports is really big and esports players train like athletes. They hire a house and sit there 18 hours a day gaming together, like an actual fight camp, ready to battle it out for $1 million.
Some gamers make more money than sportsmen and women, I’d say, and some of them retire at 23. UFC fighters don’t make as much money as gamers, unless you’re going to the top, where you can get more of the pie.
Training for a CS tournament is like training for a fight
Fighting and gaming is the same, you go into camp, you learn the map as a Counter-Strike team, it’s like a job.
You learn timings, the things you do as a team on every single map you challenge on, so when you execute the plan, it’s like clockwork.
So, when I go to fight camp, I go to training every day, I do my wrestling, I finish up with sparring, and then I go to fight, just like an esports team.
Esports helped me relax when I prepared for a fight
Esports helped me when I was fighting because I could be the devil online, take all the frustration mentally up there, and then go back to training.
My alter-ego is fierce; I could be who I wanted to be online, and then I can get off and be okay. Violence can happen when I’m gaming, my alter-ego is fulfilled, my cup is full, and I can just leave it.
But I think games like Fortnite are getting toxic, with people just trolling; it’s trolling heaven. I’m laughing because there’s just abuse coming everywhere.
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Keep an eye out for Mark Hunt online under his tag Slaine when dropping into Country Strike, see if you can keep up with the Super Samoan.