Hardy ‘in tears on the inside’ after UFC Moscow loss to Volkov

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An emotional Greg Hardy spoke to ESPN after his second UFC loss at the hands of Alexander Volkov. Greg Hardy stepped in on short notice to face Alexander Volkov as the co-headliner of UFC …

UFC Fight Night: Volkov v Hardy

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

An emotional Greg Hardy spoke to ESPN after his second UFC loss at the hands of Alexander Volkov.

Greg Hardy stepped in on short notice to face Alexander Volkov as the co-headliner of UFC Moscow on Saturday. Things didn’t go as planned for “The Prince of War,” who was dealt his second UFC loss via unanimous decision.

During a post-fight interview with ESPN, Hardy admitted to some hesitance on his part, resulting to Volkov getting the better of him on the feet.

“I kind of lost the use of my right hand after the first, so my mind was just, ‘Get comfortable,’” Hardy said of his performance (via MMA Fighting). “I kind of settled in front of him. I wanted to close distance a little bit more.

“I feel like I got back into the game plan later in the fight, but you can’t fight somebody like Alexander Volkov and start in the middle of the second round.”

Hardy was candid about how the loss devastated him, considering the expectations he set for himself. Nonetheless, he promises to bounce back stronger, treating it as a learning experience.

”The bar where I want to get to is astronomically high,” he said . “It’s so far away from me that I’m in tears on the inside.

”I have a lot to go, and I’m going to go get it. I’m going to sweat and bleed until it’s done. I will be the ‘King of War.’ But right now, I’m humbly bowing down as the ‘Prince of War’ in defeat to one of the best in the game right now.”

“I’ve got to check out the film, see what I did wrong, (and) analyze it professionally,” he added. “But right now, the only thing that matters is the ‘W,’ and I didn’t leave with the ‘W,’ so that means there’s work to be done, and I didn’t do exactly what I said I was going to do. And that makes me feel very bad.”

Hardy’s first UFC loss happened in January against Allen Crowder, where he was disqualified due to an illegal knee strike. After his fifth fight in a span of ten months, he now holds a professional record of 5-2 (with 1 NC and five wins by knockout).