On Wednesday, UFC President Dana White left open the possibility that former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy could one day appear in the UFC during an interview on FS1’s Speak for Yourself, per MMA Fighting:
I’m one of those guys too who believes that we’re all human beings and we all make mistakes. And when you make a mistake, you pay your penance, whatever it might be, and you should be allowed to make a living and move on in your life. Is he good enough to come into the UFC and fight? I highly doubt it. I’ve been playing football for a couple weeks too, maybe I’ll try out for the (New England) Patriots? It takes a little bit longer than that, but he could fight at one of these small shows. We’ll see how he looks, and I don’t know.
Hardy, 28, announced this week he has decided to become an MMA fighter.
“I’m very focused and excited to start my MMA career,” Hardy said in a statement Tuesday, per . “I’m going to do this the right way, I can assure you of that.”
That decision perhaps came in the wake of Hardy failing to sign with an NFL team this offseason. He returned to the NFL in 2015 after being found guilty of domestic violence in July 2014 and was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list for most of the 2014 season—those charges were eventually dismissed after his accuser didn’t appear at the appeal hearing. He accumulated 35 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble and an interception in 12 games with the Dallas Cowboys.
But Hardy was a constant source of distraction and controversy during his time in Dallas, and the team decided against re-signing him. No other teams were willing to offer him a contract either, which perhaps caused the former defensive end to consider a career change.
But Hardy’s past actions led Jay Glazer of Fox Sports to encourage folks within the MMA world to shun Hardy, as he tweeted:
I would be incredibly disappointed in any of my fellow MMA coaches and any promoters if they took Greg Hardy in and taught him a shred of our incredible sport. Many of us train women in self defense specifically to help protect vs domestic violence. Me and all my coaches at @Unbreakable do and take great pride in that. Competing in any sport is a privilege, Greg Hardy should not be granted the privilege. There are many beautiful arts taught in our sport, none of which should be afforded to him.
White didn’t agree with that approach:
I’m not saying he should be welcomed here, but I’m saying I’m a guy who believes that if you make a mistake, your life isn’t over, go kill yourself or something. You made a mistake, you pay for it. When you make mistakes, it’s all about how you act from there on out. How do you handle yourself after that and what do you do to fix it.
In other words, Hardy’s path to the UFC isn’t completely closed off. The controversial figure will have to prove himself as an MMA fighter first, however.
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