Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Ole Miss and was selected by the Panthers in the sixth round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. Hardy's most successful season was in 2013 when he set the Panthers' single-season record for sacks, earning him

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

and second-team All-Pro honors. During the following off-season, however, Hardy was found guilty of assaulting a former girlfriend. Although the case was dismissed after the victim failed to appear in court, the ensuing controversy led to him not being re-signed by the Panthers after playing one game with them in 2014. Hardy spent his final NFL season with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. After the conclusion of his football career, Hardy became a mixed martial artist. He was signed to the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) from 2019 to 2022, where he competed in the heavyweight division.

Early years

Hardy attended

Briarcrest Christian School Briarcrest Christian School is a private, coeducational, Christian school in Eads, an unincorporated area of Shelby County, Tennessee. The school was founded as a segregation academy during the racial integration of public schools in Memphis, Tenne ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he was a three-sport letterman in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. In football, he helped lead his team to the state championship in 2004. As a senior, he was credited with 65 tackles, including 12 for loss and six sacks, while also receiving 48 passes for 268 yards. Hardy played with offensive tackle Michael Oher at both Briarcrest Christian School and Ole Miss. In basketball, he was an honorable mention all-state as a junior. In track & field, Hardy earned a letter competing as a sprinter and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter. In sprints, he ran the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

in 24.04 seconds as a sophomore. In the shot put, he got a top-throw of . In addition, he also recorded a 4.8-second

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

and had a 28-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

. Hardy was considered a three-star prospect by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, and was ranked No. 30 among weakside defensive end prospects, No. 44 according to

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

. He was an all-state pick who was rated as the No. 5 player in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

by ''

Super Prep ''Super Prep'' is a sports magazine based in Laguna Beach, California, published in since 1985. It was founded and is published by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 19 ...

'', No. 8 by Scout.com and No. 12 by Rivals.com. He was also named All-Metro by ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

''.

Football career

College

Hardy accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. As a freshman, he played in all 12 games, with 9 starts at left defensive end. He posted 49 tackles (fifth on the team), 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. He spent time at wide receiver against

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, making a 23 yards

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

reception. As a sophomore, he played in 10 games out of 12 games with four starts at defensive end. He tallied 64 tackles (fourth on the team), 10 sacks (led the conference), 18.5 tackles for loss (second in the conference), 3 forced fumbles and 2 touchdown receptions on offense. As a junior, he missed the first three games after having foot surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot. He played in 9 out of 13 games because of injuries, recording 18 tackles, 8.5 sacks (third in the conference), 9.5 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback pressures, one interception and one pass defensed. Hardy was considered one of the best pass rushers eligible for the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

but he elected to return to Ole Miss for his senior season. In January 2009, he underwent a second surgery to his right foot during the off-season. On July 12, 2009, he was involved in a car accident along with teammate Dexter McCluster, where he aggravated the foot injury and was put back in a walking cast. As a senior, he appeared in 9 out of 13 games (including the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

), after missing the final three regular-season contests because of a surgery on his fractured left wrist. He registered 16 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks (tied for third on the team), 4 quarterback pressures, 3 passes defensed and one fumble recovery. Hardy finished his college career with 39.5 career tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks. In the 2006–07

season, he played in 15 games (one start), while averaging just under one point and two rebounds per contest. His best performance came against the two-time national champion

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the semifinals of the 2007 SEC tournament, where he had 6 points and 4 rebounds.

Professional career

Pre-draft

In the April 2009 edition of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', Hardy was named a top prospect for the

. However, injuries, poor production, and an unimpressive combine caused his draft stock to fall significantly.

Carolina Panthers

Hardy was selected by the

in the sixth round (175th overall) of the

. He was signed to a contract on June 17, 2010. Hardy managed to record a blocked punt for a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

as well as force a fumble and record 4 tackles in his rookie debut. Although Hardy had played in 15 games his rookie year, he had started none. He did, however, finish the year with 30 tackles, 3 sacks, two forced fumbles, and the aforementioned safety. Hardy recorded 11 sacks in 2012 in spite of sustaining a broken thumb in September. On November 9, 2012, Hardy was fined $15,750 for a roughing the passer penalty against Robert Griffin III versus the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in Week 9. On June 11, 2013, Hardy spoke to reporters during a summer minicamp claiming his goal for sacks in the 2013 season to be 50. Regarding such a lofty number, more than twice the current record, Hardy stated, "Why shoot low, right? If I'm going to shoot at it, I'm going to shoot at it with a .50 caliber. I'm going to shoot at a little bird with a .50-caliber bullet. That's the goal for this year, 50 sacks, that's where I'm at. That's the goal, 50. You heard it first." In a road victory against the Atlanta Falcons, Hardy finished with a single game team record four sacks. He ended up recording a team-record 15 sacks, earning his first trip to the

2014 Pro Bowl The 2014 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2013 season. It took place at 2:30 pm local time on January 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was televised nationally by NBC and was the final Pro ...

and being named a second-team All Pro by the Associated Press. The Panthers defense finished first in the NFL with 60 sacks in 2013, second in points per game, and third in DVOA team defense. He was ranked 53rd in the

NFL Top 100 The NFL Top 100 is an annual television series counting down the top one hundred players in the National Football League (NFL), as chosen by fellow NFL players. The rankings are based on an off-season poll organized by the NFL, where players vote ...

for his breakout performance in the 2013 NFL season. Hardy was set to become a free agent during the 2014 offseason, but it was announced on February 28, 2014 that the Panthers had placed the

franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...

on him, allowing him to return to the field for them during the 2014 season. Hardy played the first game of the 2014 season, but was placed on the commissioner's exempt list while his domestic violence case played out. He remained there for the rest of the season. In March 2015, the Panthers decided not to re-sign Hardy. Panthers owner

Jerry Richardson Jerome Johnson Richardson Sr. (born July 18, 1936) is an American businessman, former NFL player and former owner in the National Football League (NFL). He established the Carolina Panthers franchise, which he owned for 23 years. Early life and ...

made the decision to cut ties with Hardy. Despite requests from players and coaches to let Hardy have another chance, Richardson said that he made the decision not to do so because "we do the right things."

Dallas Cowboys

On March 18, 2015, Hardy signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

a one-year, $11.3 million contract with the

. The Cowboys were looking for him to be a difference-maker at right

and as expected, were criticized by the public and the media for the signing. On April 22, Hardy was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015 season without pay due to violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. On July 10, the NFL reduced it to a 4-game suspension, in order to avoid a possible legal action on Hardy's part. His first game after the suspension came against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He had two sacks and five hits on

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Tom Brady. Two games later, against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, he tipped a pass from

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

and intercepted it. After his quick start, Hardy's production dropped. He led the team in quarterback pressures (32) and was second in sacks (6), but only three of those sacks came in the last nine games. Hardy also drew the ire of coach Jason Garrett due to inappropriate tweets, frequent tardiness, and being a bad influence on the younger players on the team. The Cowboys chose not to re-sign Hardy after the season.

Spring League and indoor football

Hardy participated in

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

in 2017. He signed with the

Richmond Roughriders Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

of the American Arena League in January 2018.

Career stats

Domestic violence charges and suspension

On May 13, 2014, Hardy was arrested for assault and communicating threats, after he was alleged to have assaulted an ex-girlfriend by grabbing her, throwing her into furniture, strangling her, and threatening to kill her. On July 15, a judge found him guilty of assault and communicating threats, and sentenced him to 18 months' probation, suspending a 60-day jail sentence. When Hardy appealed the decision, requesting a jury trial, the victim failed to appear in court to testify. As a result, the prosecutor's office dropped the charges, citing their inability to locate the victim, and "reliable information" that the two parties had reached a civil settlement. Hardy's arrest and trial was the focus of considerable controversy, as news media drew comparisons to other NFL-related domestic violence cases, including those against other NFL players. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera initially told news media that he was comfortable having Hardy play, but on September 14, 2014, Hardy was deactivated. On September 17, 2014, he was placed on the exempt list by the league, which meant that he could continue to draw his salary but was prohibited in taking part in any team activities. He would never play another game for the Panthers. On April 22, 2015, NFL Commissioner

Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chosen ...

suspended Hardy for 10 games, after the league's two-month-long investigation found that there was "sufficient credible evidence" that Hardy had engaged in conduct which "violated NFL policies in multiple respects and with aggravating circumstances." The league's investigation had concluded that Hardy used physical force in at least four instances, including placing his hands around the victim's neck with enough pressure to leave visible marks, and that his actions were "a significant act of violence in violation of the Personal Conduct Policy." On July 10, 2015, an arbiter reduced Hardy's suspension from ten games to four games. On November 5, 2015, the domestic violence charges against Hardy were expunged from his record. The following day, Deadspin released police photographs of Hardy's ex-girlfriend's injuries. On September 26, 2016, Hardy was arrested for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

possession in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas.

Personal life

Hardy has a daughter and a son. Politically, Hardy is a supporter of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Mixed martial arts career

Amateur career

In October 2016, Hardy announced he would start a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

career and had been training for several months, although he had no previous experience in MMA. Hardy made his amateur MMA debut on November 4, 2017, in which he defeated Joe Hawkins by knockout in a 32-second match. Hardy's amateur MMA record improved to 2–0 on December 1, 2017 with another first-round TKO victory, this time over debuting amateur Kenneth Woods. On February 16, 2018, Hardy was victorious in his third amateur bout, defeating Ryan Chester via knockout 14 seconds into the first round.

Professional career

In April 2018, it was announced that Hardy would make his professional debut at Dana White's Contender Series 9 on June 12. He fought fellow former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

defensive end

Austen Lane Austen D. Lane (born November 9, 1987) is a former American football defensive end and current mixed martial artist. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Murray State. ...

and won by a knockout in the first round. Afterwards, he was awarded a contract by the UFC. For his second professional fight, Hardy faced Tebaris Gordon on the Dana White's Contender Series 16 of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series. He won by TKO in the fight's opening minute. Following the win over Gordon, Hardy said he was committed to his MMA career and would only consider a return to the NFL if it was with the Dallas Cowboys or the Carolina Panthers. For the third fight of his professional career, Hardy faced Rasheem Jones at Xtreme Fight Night 352 on September 29, 2018. He won by knockout at 53 seconds in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After obtaining an undefeated professional record of 3–0, with all 3 wins coming by way of knockout inside one minute, Hardy made his

promotional debut against

Allen Crowder Allen Crowder (born November 8, 1989) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Allen Crowder's nickname "Pretty Boy" comes from his amateur care ...

on January 19, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. Hardy lost the fight via disqualification. Hardy hit Crowder with his knee while Crowder was down on the ground, leaving Crowder unable to continue. For his second UFC fight, Hardy faced Dmitry Smolyakov on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Hardy faced

Juan Adams Juan Alejandro Arcienego-Adams (born January 16, 1992) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and currently competes in the heavyweight division of the PFL. Adams formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background ...

on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Hardy was scheduled to face

Jarjis Danho Jarjis Danho (born October 15, 1983) is a German professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Danho is an Orthodox Christian Assyrian. His family fled to Ge ...

on October 26, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 162 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 162'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2019 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in ...

. However, Danho was pulled from the event for undisclosed reasons. In turn, Hardy was rescheduled and faced promotional newcomer Ben Sosoli a week earlier at

UFC on ESPN 6 ''UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2019 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A light ...

. He originally won the fight via unanimous decision; however, Hardy's non-permitted use of an inhaler in between the second and third round caused the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission to overrule the original decision to a no contest. In a quick turnaround, Hardy took a major step up in competition and replaced Junior dos Santos to face Alexander Volkov on November 9, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 163 UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (also known as UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar, UFC Fight Night 163 and UFC on ESPN+ 21) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 9, 201 ...

. Hardy lost the fight via unanimous decision. Hardy was initially scheduled to face

Yorgan De Castro Yorgan De Castro (born December 19, 1987) is a Cape Verdean professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

on March 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event was eventually postponed . However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the bout eventually took place on May 9, 2020. Hardy won the fight via unanimous decision. Hardy faced Maurice Greene on October 31, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 181 ''UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 181'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 39'' and ''UFC Vegas 12'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 31, 2020 at the UFC Ap ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Hardy faced Marcin Tybura on December 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183. He knocked down Tybura in the first round but lost the fight in the second round via technical knockout. Hardy faced

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC heavyweight ...

on July 10, 2021 at

UFC 264 ''UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 10, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Hardy was scheduled to face

Alexey Oleynik Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and Sambo (martial art)#Styles, combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their ...

on January 22, 2022 at UFC 270. However, Oleynik withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by

Sergey Spivak Sergey Spivak (born January 24, 1995, as Serghei Spivac) is a Moldovan mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Wo ...

. In turn, just a week before the event Hardy withdrew due to a finger injury and the bout was removed from the event. The pair was moved to

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

on March 5, 2022. Hardy lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Having fought out his contract, Hardy became a free agent after he was not re-signed by the organization.

Bare-knuckle boxing career

After his tenure in the UFC, news surfaced on June 15, 2022, that Hardy had signed a multi-fight contract with the

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1 ...

Mixed martial arts record

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, TKO (punches) ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 (1) , Alexander Volkov , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Dmitry Smolyakov , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 ,

, DQ (illegal knee) , UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:28 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Rasheem Jones , KO (punches) , Xtreme Fight Night 352 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

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Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

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Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...

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Professional boxing record

Professional

References

External links

Greg Hardy at Pro Football Reference
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Greg 1988 births Living people People from Millington, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee American football defensive ends African-American players of American football Ole Miss Rebels football players Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball players Carolina Panthers players Dallas Cowboys players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players The Spring League players American male mixed martial artists American Arena League players Heavyweight mixed martial artists American men's basketball players Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Florida Republicans