UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt wants to fight five more times in 2019, then retire from MMA officially.

UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt will be making his last ever walk to the Octagon on Saturday, and he’s never been happier. He’ll be fighting out the last fight on his contract, and no matter the terms the UFC might offer, he won’t be fighting under their banner again.

“I don’t think I’ll be fighting for the UFC again,” Hunt told FanSided. “I’ve got things going on, I’ve got gaming. I want to fight five more times next year, I dont know maybe boxing or kickboxing. I want to compete while I still can, make a bit more [money] and then hang it up this time next year. You never know what could happen tomorrow, you could walk outside and it all be over, who knows. I’ll let them beat the fight out of me, then that’s the end of it.”

He went on to say that there wouldn’t be anything the promotion could do to entice him to stay.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “If there was, we would have talked about it already. I’ve been pretty vocal about my side. I’ve got a lot of injuries from guys that were cheating. I’m not blaming the UFC, I’m blaming the guys that are taking the shortcuts. I just don’t think it’s fair that they should be standing behind the guys that have cheated or done the wrong thing. They should be standing behind guys like me. They should be making things a lot easier for the guy’s that are doing it correctly. The message is clear now about what’s it all about these days — its all about money. It’s not about who is the best martial artist in the world, it’s about who is the best cheater, I don’t think it’s legitimate anymore. I would rather just walk out.”

Hunt isn’t ready to step away from the sport just yet though and says that he’s focused on the fight in front of him first, then he’ll think about where his career may lead.

“Maybe Mark Hunt Promotions,” he laughed. “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to anyone about it, I’m still under contract. I’ve just been talking to some friends about doing stuff. It’s all just talk, nothing specific. I’m a bit optomistic, come Dec. 4 I’m going to be unemployeed. After a couple decades working with some crazy people I’m going to be unemployed… oh damn. I do think I have a lot of go left in me, that’s why I say another five fights next year.”

For now his focus is on getting a win in his last outting. Hunt will square off with Justin Willis on the main card portion of the event and for now, that’s where Hunt’s thoughts are.

“This camp has been great,” he said. “No injuries, I’m thankful. It’s going to be a knockout, maybe the first round. He comes from a good camp, so who knows.”

The fight career isn’t always easy, and oftentimes has moments of incredible lows, Hunt says that in those times he has to remember to pick himself back up and move on.

“It’s pretty easy for me,” he said. “As a kid you get a lot of knocks coming up but it’s not like you want to stay on the ground otherwise what’s the point of even going out. There’s 70 more reasons to get up, than stay down that’s the way I look at it. You know, it’s a loss — you start again. You wipe yourself off and you go again otherwise you might as well just give it up. I always say stand up in this game or stick to the side, someone else is coming through.”

He says that somedays the routine is unbearable and being away from his family is hard. Then other days it makes it all worth it.

“It depends on the day you ask me,” Hunt laughed. “If I did my 10 rounds getting punched in the face I’d probably say that’s a negative day. Today it’s been an alright day, especially with it being my last fight with the UFC. I’m pretty cheerful. The last time I was here I got the beat down really bad and I know it was because I did stuff stupidly. It’s not going to be the same on Sunday.”

As Hunt’s career begins to wind down, one might wonder what his legacy will be. Will be remembered as the man who stood up to the UFC? Or the man with some of the sickest walk off knockouts? Or something else altogether.

“It’s not what I want to be remembered as, it’s how you all will remember me. I’m just gonna do my thing.”

UFC Adelaide takes place on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 live from the Adelaide Entertainment Center in Adelaide, Australia. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights throughout the night.