Greg Hardy is not short on confidence.
Not long after comparing himself to basketball great Michael Jordan, while simultaneously trampling the accomplishments of two-sport deity Bo Jackson, the former NFL troublemaker is back in the headlines to share his longterm goals.
Which include heavyweight showdowns against Derrick Lewis and Stipe Miocic.
“They’re not in my mind, they’re in my sights,” Hardy told TMZ. “They’re locked in. With all due time. I want to earn this, for one. So that these loudmouths that run their mouth talking about ‘Oh, Greg doesn’t deserve like blah, blah, blah.’ Yeah, I do. Because I earned it. I worked my way up to here.”
After a 3-0 start on the regional circuit, which included three violent knockouts, Hardy (4-1) was disqualified in his UFC debut against Allen Crowder (details). Last weekend’s return to the cage helped erase that embarrassing misstep, thanks to the collapsible defense of international folding chair Dmitrii Smoliakov.
“I’m not ready,” Hardy cautioned. “It’s like throwing a cub in there with some lions, man. It just doesn’t make sense. So when I go there, when I do fight these guys, hopefully, soon enough when I do elevate and graduate, it’s gonna be Goliath vs. Goliath. A war to be witnessed and loved and cherished forever and on through time.”
Lewis, ranked No. 5, is probably a more realistic goal at this stage of Hardy’s career, depending on when “The Black Beast” can return from his injury layoff. Miocic (No. 1) is just one fight removed from his record-breaking title reign and is too far up the 265-pound ladder.
What say you?