Controversial UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy has reflected on the DQ loss he suffered in his UFC debut.
UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy has been left frustrated by the loss in his UFC debut to Allen Crowder earlier this year, but he has described the experience as ‘humbling’.
The controversial Hardy (3-1) racked up three consecutive knockout wins in his amateur career before turning pro in June of last year. The former NFL star started his pro career in similiar fashion, winning his first three fights by knockout in all under a minute, two of which was for Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.
Hardy reflected on the illegal knee that led to his loss to Crowder in January when he spoke to MMA Fighting.
“It’s frustrating,” Hardy said. “It’s not difficult [to watch] but very frustrating. I’ve watched it a lot, and believe it or not, the knee is not what frustrates me. The mistakes I made while I was on the ground, my [transitions] on the ground, my underhooks and overhooks weren’t right — just the little basic things that went out the window once it got hot [are what frustrate me]. Once I didn’t get the knockout and the first 40 seconds went by, it’s just like, what do you do then? Those are the things that haunt me.”
Hardy is unfazed about the attention around him, and he wants his actions in the octagon to do the talking for him, which he hopes to do this weekend when he fights Dmitry Smoliakov in the co-main even of UFC Fort Lauderdale
“Losers don’t get to talk, man,” Hardy said. “I don’t care how it happened. If I would’ve won, that would’ve been a different story, I would’ve had a story to tell. I probably would’ve still come back and been humbled [by my performance], but I’m a loser now, man.
“Until I can prove differently, until I can go back up my words, that means nothing. You’ve got to get back to the drawing board and pay the price, so that’s what I’m doing right now.”
UFC on ESPN 3 takes place this Saturday, April 27th, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. A middleweight fight between Jacare Souza and Jack Hermansson will headline the card.