Gregory McKarl Hardy is an American mixed martial artist and former football defensive end currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competes in the heavyweight division.
He played in the National Football League for six seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers.
Hardy, the former NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman who was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend, lost his third straight bout on Saturday, and his contract is up.
Ahead of UFC 272, many fans questioned controversial former NFL player Greg Hardy on yet another main card despite a two-fight losing skid and repeated failures against UFC-level competition.
That bad run continued on Saturday night as Hardy was quickly taken down and dominated positionally by Serghei Spivac before being pounded out for a first-round TKO loss at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hardy, whose NFL career ended amid domestic violence allegations, opened the fight with heavy leg kicks. He was unable to manage distance, however, and Spivac could initiate a clinch. That was the beginning of the end for Hardy as Spivac executed a hip toss to put the fight on the floor.
Hardy released a statement via Instagram following the fight.
“I’m ok first of all for those who wanna know,” Hardy wrote. “No excuses, gotta get better. I don’t know what to do but say sorry. More coming for the prince of War just gotta get my s–t together. Thank you to the @ufc and @danawhite for being in my corner. Thank you coaches and training partners and agents @firstroundmgmt. Everyone did their job [except] for me. This one is on me and there are no excuses for me lacking. I refuse to die but I have to reevaluate for sure.”
Hardy managed to battle back to his feet only to have his back taken, and the fight end up right back on the floor. After that takedown, Spivac wasted little time advancing to mount and dropping heavy punches until the referee was forced to halt the bout at just the 2:16 mark of the first round.
Spivac is now 4-1 in his five most recent fights, the lone loss coming to rising heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall this past September.
For Hardy, the loss could mark the end of his UFC tenure. While many fans have pushed back at the UFC’s continuing to feature him despite evident technical shortcomings and his controversial past, the bout with Spivac was the last on his current UFC contract. The experiment may have reached its conclusion with a 4-5 UFC record and no wins over men with any meaningful UFC success.
Hardy, 33, also has experience at lower levels of MMA. He turned to the sport after his football career fizzled out, as he became a persona non grata in the NFL after Deadspin released photos of his girlfriend’s injuries from his alleged assault in 2015.
Hardy appealed after he was found guilty of assault, and the case was tossed after his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder stopped speaking to prosecutors.
Greg Hardy: UFC Career
Hardy is one amongst very few names to make their professional MMA debut under the banner of UFC. His first fight in the UFC was at the Dana White’s Contender Series on June 12, 2018. Ironically, he faced a former NFL player turned MMA athlete in Austen Lane, who was undefeated (4-0) in his professional MMA career. He defeated Lane via first-round T/KO in just 57 seconds.
The ‘Prince Of War’ has faced multiple elite UFC athletes such as Alexander Volkov, Maurice Greene, Marcin Tybura, and more. In his last fight against Tybura at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Neal, he suffered a second-round TKO loss. Now, Hardy will step inside the octagon against Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264.
He has a splendid UFC record of 6-3-0 (1 NC).
Greg Hardy Fighting Style
Hardy is a great defensive fighter, and he has an 80% takedown defense rate and 56% significant strike defense. Furthermore, despite being a defensive fighter, Hardy is a great knockout artist, winning over 50% of his fights in that manner.
Greg Hardy: Achievements
The ‘Prince Of War’ has a spectacular professional MMA 7-3-0 (1 NC) record. He has claimed 6 T/KOs, out of which five have come in the first round. Moreover, all of his amateur victories have come via first-round knockouts.
Greg Hardy Net Worth
As of 2022, Hardy has a net worth of $5 million, according to some authentic internet sources. He has total UFC career earnings of $1,083,500. As per The Sports Daily, Hardy’s highest paycheck came for his fight against Maurice Greene at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva in 2020. The ‘Prince Of War’ earned a large sum of $195,000 for the bout.
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