Ex-UFC fighter Mark Hunt arrested on domestic violence charge in Australia

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 30: Mark Hunt of New Zealand poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in event at Hilton Adelaide on November 30, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC fighter Mark Hunt was arrested and later released on bail due to a domestic violence charge in Sydney, Australia.

Online court records show Hunt was arrested on a criminal charge on April 15 before he was granted bail. The Sydney Morning Herald first reported the news.

According to the initial report, Hunt was arrested and charged with one count of stalking or intimidation with intent to cause physical harm. The court was also informed that Hunt allegedly sent a text message with a death threat to the woman in question.

After he was arrested, Hunt spent the night in custody at Ballina Police Station.

During the initial court hearing, Hunt was accused of becoming aggressive towards the alleged victim and a witness after she was helping him with a task. Hunt allegedly behaved in an “intimidating and berating matter” and caused the victim “fear and distress,” which led to the police being contacted.

Police told the court that Hunt allegedly texted the victim a death threat stating “I’m just going to murder you in the end anyway.”

Hunt’s attorneys disputed that the text was sent, and he hasn’t faced any additional charges related to that message.

While prosecutors argued against Hunt receiving bail because he was painted as a potential threat due to his fighting background, his defense attorney stated “just because he’s a retired UFC fighter does not mean he is a domestic violence offender.”

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hunt’s attorney said that he was likely to plead guilty to the stalking and intimidation charge.

Hunt was granted bail under the condition that he returned to a different resident and not contact the alleged victim in the cage. His next date in court is schedule for April 30 along with an application for a protection order to keep him away from the alleged victim in the case.

At his peak, Hunt was a top 10 heavyweight in the UFC and he once battled for an interim title in a fight against Fabricio Werdum in 2014. Hunt remained part of the UFC roster for several more years, which included an infamous fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 200.

He lost a unanimous decision that night but the result was eventually overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance.

That led to Hunt filing a lawsuit against Lesnar and the UFC seeking damages after claiming accusations of battery, fraud and conspiracy and eventually ended with claims that the UFC knowingly misled him and booked him in a fight against an opponent on performance-enhancing drugs.

Hunt’s lawsuit was struck down numerous times and finally came to an end in 2025 after a three-judge panel affirmed an earlier decision that dismissed all of his claims.

He last fought in the UFC in 2018.