UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight at UFC 270 after suffering a hand injury in camp.
Hardy was originally supposed to face Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 270 before Oleinik dropped out of the bout. Serghei Spivac stepped up to take the short-notice fight, but this time Hardy was on the unfortunate end of a fight-altering injury.
Hardy broke the news on his Instagram page, along with a graphic photo of the injury.
WARNING: The following photo is graphic.
“New date, who dis,” Hardy said. “Gotta keep it light even though I’m kinda sick about it. Putting on a show on the biggest card of the year was my 2022 dream and now I gotta wait. KOs coming soon, sorry.”
Greg Hardy Was Slated To Make His Return After Back To Back Knockout Losses
Hardy most recently fell via first-round knockout to Tai Tuivasa last summer at UFC 264. Before that, he fell by another knockout in the toughest test of his career against Marcin Tybura in late 2020.
Hardy, a former NFL star who transitioned to MMA after a tumultuous ending to his football career, had looked promising since his UFC debut in 2019. He’s earned big wins over the likes of Yorgan De Castro, Maurice Greene, and Juan Adams before his recent struggles in the cage.
It’s unclear how long Hardy will be sidelined from competition after suffering the brutal hand injury. It’s also unclear if the finger is completely broken or partially fractured, which could determine how long he’ll have to recover.
It’s unclear if the UFC will keep Spivac on the card, but it’s unlikely the promotion will do so after multiple switches with the fight. Hardy is anticipating a return sometime later this year.
Who do you want Greg Hardy to fight next?