That's right! Just as the promo text says (people read that, right? the bit under the headline?), it's heavyweight week here on BE. Join me as I journey back in time to assess the last two weeks of UFC action, a period of time that has seen an astounding 32 UFC fights (a figure that would have once seemed unbelievable), three of those bouts earth-shaking contests between marquee heavyweights, all of which ended, as heavyweight fights are wont to do, in thunderous knockouts.

The curious thing about the heavyweight division--not only in the UFC but in combat sports in general--is the sheer age of the men that rule it. To wit, each of this week's three heavyweight features can trace their fighting origins back to the same year: 1999. Bill Clinton beat the impeachment rap, London was terrorized by a series of nail bomb attacks, and Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski, and Alistair Overeem made their professional fighting debuts.

Today's subject, the eponymous Super Samoan, Mark Hunt, is the oldest of that bunch at a ripe 40 years of age. Hunt is also quite likely the fan-favorite among those three names; in the last three years he has staged one of the most unexpected and downright enjoyable comebacks in the history of MMA, following a six-fight losing streak with a three-fight winning streak and two memorable battles against two of the best heavyweight mixed martial artists on earth.

Hunt may have been born in New Zealand, but his star was certainly born in Japan, and it was there that his latest Octagon outing took him. Perhaps in an effort to stage a classic Pride FC-style main event, the UFC pitted Hunt against Nelson, two of the unlikeliest UFC contenders imaginable. The bout was expected to be a battle between two durable, powerful punchers, and it delivered in satisfying fashion, with Hunt earning his fourth stoppage win under the UFC banner.

How'd he do it?

Adaptation!

In many ways, the concept of adaptation defines Mark Hunt's entire career. Once a brawler with little more than raw power and an unbreakable chin, Hunt developed into a fighter capable of a surprising depth of technique. Transitioning from kickboxing to MMA, Hunt once again adapted to his surroundings, transforming from a man with a puncher's chance and little else to one with deft defensive grappling and a bevy of techniques designed to punish those who would dare to take him down.

Long-term adaptations may define Hunt's career as a whole, but it is his ability to adapt from moment-to-moment that ends up deciding each individual fight. It was this ability to change up his tactics that gave Hunt the upper hand against Roy Nelson in Saturday's main event.

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1. Nelson advances with a series of left hand feints.

2. Hunt pulls back to his right and extends his left, hoping to dissuade Nelson from closing the gap.

3. It doesn't work. Incoming!

4. Nelson connects with an overhand right.

It can be a very touchy thing to avoid a right hand, particularly one like Roy Nelson's.

Like most fighters, Hunt is imperfect in his execution. While the perfect fighter would be capable of moving his head right or left as needed, Hunt favors one hip--the right one. His response to most threats is to slip or pull his head back to the right which, unfortunately for him, is most assuredly the wrong way to escape from a right hand, as he was reminded by Junior Dos Santos in May of last year (GIF). The diagram below explains why that is the case.

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1. Red and Blue stand in a neutral position.

2. Blue throws a right hand, and Red responds by slipping to his right, pulling his head away from the punch. . .

3. . . . but not out of its path. Blue commits himself forward, falling into his punch and letting it ride its natural course right into Red's temple.

To reapply the metaphor I used to describe Patricio Pitbull's left hook, pulling or slipping to the right to get away from a right hand can be very much like avoiding a train by running along the tracks. An overhand can be even more treacherous, as it punishes backward leaning the way an uppercut punishes a forward bend. The movement creates distance, but unless the train applies its brakes, it's still bound to catch you eventually. It is sometimes safe, therefore, to pull away from the right hand of an opponent wary of counters, but against an opponent willing to overextend to land a punch--like Roy Nelson--slipping left is the way to go.

Unfortunately, Mark does not slip to the left well, so that proved to not be an option for him when dodging Nelson's dangerous right hand. After eating one or two, however, he did adapt in another way. The specifics of direction in head movement are less important than simply having a variety of options. Archie Moore once said that he "builds bridges" with his movements. That is to say, he recognized that the key to defensive boxing was always being in position to adapt and do something else. Hunt may not slip left very well, but he is not exactly out of options once he has slipped to the right.

Case in point.

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1. Nelson approaches once again with another string of (unconvincing) left-handed feints.

2. As Nelson steps into the pocket and winds up his right hand, Mark lowers his head and pulls to the right . . .

3. . . . but then immediately swings his torso left to roll under the airborne right hand of Roy Nelson.

4. Hunt completes his movement and resets himself to Nelson's right.

Hunt's roll isn't perfect by any means. He continues his worrying habit of taking his eyes off his opponent and ducking his head straight down, but mitigates the risk of bending into a counter with his horizontal movement. Rather than moving his head either down or to the side, Hunt does both, moving along both planes and therefore making himself a very difficult target to time. The added bonus is that Hunt's takedown defense, already solid, is bolstered when he elects to move under a strike rather than standing up tall and backing away.

Hunt was forced to adapt to more than just Nelson's right hand. The big-bellied slugger showed a craftier-than-usual approach to striking this time out, and actually made good, if sparing, use of his left hook. Hunt, like Nelson, tends to commit heavily to his right hand, bringing his head forward and falling into the strike. His head moves from side-to-side during this maneuver, but he nonetheless ends up presenting the side of his head to his opponent--a textbook opening for the counter left hook.

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1. Hunt lines himself up . . .

2. . . . touches Nelson with his left hand to ensure that his distance is right . . .

3. . . . and then whallops him with a right hand.

4. But Nelson rolls with the punch and cracks Hunt with a hook as he leans to the left.

Funnily enough, this is actually one of Hunt's textbook maneuvers. Some of his career-best highlights have come as the result of his willingness to let the opponent connect only to roll with the punch and counter over the top with his left hook. It's how he knocked down Cheick Kongo (GIF), and how he knocked out Stefan Leko to win the K-1 Grand Prix way back in 2001.

Perhaps this gave Mark some insight into how to defuse the technique, because the hook pictured above was the last one that Nelson landed unpunished.

Hunt is a treat to watch because he is not only one of the most technical strikers in the UFC, but also totally willing to stand in the pocket and trade heaters with his opponent. Seemingly emotionless outside of the Octagon, Hunt's style belies an innate understanding of the mental aspects of fighting. Due to the nature of his right hand, Hunt would have found it difficult to avoid Nelson's counter hook altogether, but that didn't mean he couldn't convince Nelson not to throw it.

The last sequence took place just before the end of the first round. Hunt began the second round like so:

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1. Nelson changes levels, preparing a right hand.

2. Hunt immediately counters with a short right that bounces off the top of Nelson's head.

3. A follow-up left hook misses the mark, but Hunt does not exit range.

4. Instead, he stays right on top of Nelson, and spots the flaring of Nelson's left elbow.

5. Refusing him the chance to get back into the fight, Hunt sticks Nelson with a stiff jab as Nelson throws another one of his left hooks.

6. The hook partially connects, but Hunt immediately responds with a cross counter, looping his heavy right over the top and catching Nelson's temple.

7. Another jab allows Hunt to reset himself.

A fight is a collection of wordless conversations. One fighter asks his opponent a question with his attack, and his opponent's counter is the response. Every fight plays out this way, with both men exchanging probing inquiries and sharp replies, each trying to find a new language of attack which his opponent does not speak. In this instance, Nelson was asking Hunt whether he would be allowed to counter safely, and Hunt gave him a definitive answer: absolutely not.

Despite eating Nelson's left hook, Hunt's lighting fast and thunder strong combination punching sent the very clear message that he would not sit in range waiting to be countered. Instead, Hunt reminded Nelson with his right hand to the ear, he would keep throwing until Nelson either backed away, or went to sleep. Of course, it must be noted that Nelson succeeded in taking Hunt down immediately after this exchange, but that ended up playing right into the narrative that Hunt was attempting to create for the fight anyway, as Hunt quickly escaped from Nelson's back control and returned to casually outstriking him. Thus, in addition to allowing Big Country to believe that his only chance was to take him down, Hunt ended up convincing him that even that wouldn't work out so well.

Hunt also found success with his follow-up left hook, convincing Nelson that he was not an easy target even after falling into his right hand (GIF). After putting Roy almost entirely on the defensive, Hunt was free to set up the shot that would end Big Country's night.

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1. Hunt swings a soft left hook at Nelson's head, which the big man swats away.

2. Nelson thinks about a long left hook of his own, but Hunt convinces him otherwise with a jab to the nose.

3. Inching forward with these left-hand attacks, Hunt backs Nelson up into the fence--nowhere to run.

4. Knowing Nelson lacks the footwork to escape to center cage, Hunt baits him into a counter, blinding him with another probing jab.

5. Blinded by Hunt's left hand, Nelson winds up for a right hand, dipping his head as he is wont to do. Hunt retracts his left just in time to reveal . . .

6. . . . an uppercut perfectly designed to catch Nelson ducking.

Truly a masterful performance from the Super Samoan. Nelson, despite his many shortcomings, is spectacularly learned when it comes to finding a home for his explosive overhand right. Hunt managed to not only defuse this potent weapon but a left hook which Nelson has never shown before that should have made him a much more dangerous and varied opponent. Ultimately, it only made him a more satisfying win for the UFC's most unexpected top 10 heavyweight.

Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more analysis of heavyweight action. Tomorrow we'll be looking at the resurgence of The Pitbull, Andrei Arlovski, who just last week made his own unforeseen return to the UFC's top 10 by knocking out Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the first round.