Greg Hardy may be one of the most athletic heavyweights in MMA today, but does he really have the potential to be the sport’s version of Michael Jordan?
According to heavyweight prospect Juan Adams, who meets Hardy at UFC on ESPN 4 this July in San Antonio, Texas, not even close.
Adams, who is coming off a loss in his UFC debut to Arjan Bhullar earlier this month, is not a fan of Greg Hardy. That’s actually putting it pretty easy. There are many reasons why the 27-year-old prospect doesn’t respect the former NFL star, but we’ll let Adams tell you why.
“There are plenty of components to it,” Adams told Luke Thomas when discussing why he wanted to fight Hardy. “The domestic violence thing, yeah that’s a really big issue for me. My two issues on that are one, even if he wasn’t convicted of it – technically he’s innocent – he’s done nothing to make up for it. He’s paid no dues for that. His PR team, whatever, he’s going around talking like he’s a changed man [but] he’s done no work with women’s services, none of that. He hasn’t done anything with charities for victims of domestic violence or domestic abuse, none of that. So he’s talking the talk or trying to act like he’s changed but his actions aren’t proving that. His words say one thing, his actions say another. So that’s one issue.”
Hardy, who has produced a 4-1 (1-1 UFC) record since making his professional debut back in 2018, has yet to really defeat anyone of significance. Sure Hardy’s punching power has proved deadly at every turn, but “Prince of War” hasn’t taken the MMA world by storm with his in-cage skills, especially when you look at his disqualification against Allen Crowder back in January.
This is another reason why Adams doesn’t like what Hardy represents. He feels as if the former NFL star is getting billed as a heavyweight killer despite taking fights that he knew he could win.
“The other issue I have with him is, you have to understand, he washed out of one sport because of his off the field issues,” Adams said. “He comes into another sport and he doesn’t follow the correct path. Look at his amateur career. He fought a guy that was 44, then he fought a guy that was 42, then he fought a guy that was 37, and then for his pro debut, yeah that guy has a 4-0 or 4-1 record but the guy walked around at 240. So he beats that guy, that guy hasn’t won a fight since then, he then fights a guy that looks like Jabba the Hut, I don’t think that guy has won a fight since then, and his third opponent was another guy that was 6 foot tall and walked around at 240. That’s not a real heavyweight. His opponents have gotten worse until Allen Crowder. Then he fights Allen Crowder and gets disqualified. Then he goes and fights a guy that’s 0-2 in the UFC that they re-signed just so he could beat him. Then he starts talking like he’s Michael Jordan? That’s so dumb.”
Pair all of that with Hardy’s recent comments about being the MMA version of what Michael Jordan could have been and it’s easy to see why Adams might feel the way he does.
“So on top of all those reasons, he’s just stupid on top of all of it,” Adams said. “And the stupidity aspect is really what bothered me more than anything. It really blows my mind and it’s almost incomprehensible how someone can be that delusional and that dumb.”
While Hardy has a lot of hype behind him entering his third Octagon appearance this July, Adams is just as talented. The promising heavyweight prospect has finished all five of his professional wins by way of knockout and will certainly give Hardy a run for his money when the two collide at UFC San Antonio.
Stick with Mania for more UFC on ESPN 4 fight card news.