Kiwi UFC fighter Mark Hunt will feel like he is on holiday in Brisbane this week compared to the dramas he faced in the final days before his last fight in May.
As Hunt looks to his UFC Fight Night 33 main event bout with Brazilian Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva in Queensland on Saturday, his preparation has been poles apart from the frustrations of six and a half months ago.
Visa issues kept Hunt grounded in New Zealand as he tried to leave for Las Vegas to meet the world's second-best heavyweight Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 on May 25.
Hunt (9-8) and his camp refused to blame the travel troubles as the reason behind his third-round knockout loss to dos Santos but the final week before the fight was spent with fruitless phone calls and delays before he eventually arrived in the US a few days before the bout.
This time around, the 39-year-old Hunt and his team flew to Brisbane yesterday where they will enjoy a comfortable final week in a rented house ahead of Saturday's five-round brawl with Silva (18-5).