Lowlights! Former NFL Player Greg Hardy Lands 53 Second TKO

Greg Hardy continues to win as his unique UFC developmental deal rolls on.

The former NFL player landed a 53 second knockout of Rasheem Jones at an XFN event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday night. The event was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass with Hardy’s fight getting a push from the UFC app, just another sign that the UFC is extremely bullish on turning Hardy into a star.

Hardy won the fight off a bad takedown attempt from Jones that left him open to a devastating series of hammer strikes that ended the fight quick. With the win, Hardy moves to 3-0 as a pro with a 3-0 amateur career. All six fights have ended via first round TKO.

Unfortunately, the UFC’s new prospect has some serious baggage. Hardy was arrested for domestic violence in 2014, found guilty, then had the charges dropped on appeal when the alleged victim didn’t show up for the retrial. 2015 saw the charges expunged from his record, followed by a pretty damning feature from Deadspin that showed off photos of the injuries he was accused of inflicting on his victim.

Despite Dana White once saying “There’s one thing that you never bounce back from, and that’s putting your hands on a woman,” the UFC president has been instrumental in pushing Hardy’s MMA career forward. Hardy’s two previous pro fights have taken place under the Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, and he is now the owner of a rare developmental contract where the UFC is paying him to fight in the minor leagues rather than being thrown in with UFC heavyweights.

So Maniacs … let us know. What are your thoughts on the UFC pushing Hardy as a future heavyweight star?