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Greg Hardy will try to capitalize on yet another prime spot later tonight (Sat., July 20, 2019) at UFC on ESPN 4 from inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, when he takes on fellow heavyweight prospect Juan Adams on the ESPN main card.
While Hardy has only logged two Octagon appearances to date he’s still able to command the spotlight leading into each and every one of his fights. For better or worse, the former NFL star puts himself out there in effort to further propel his newly-created run at MMA excellence.
This time around, Hardy put himself on display by stating he’s going to one day overtake Jon Jones to become the greatest combat heavyweight athlete of all time. Hardy’s punching power certainly demands some attention, but it’s nothing that has fight fans thinking “Prince of War” can surpass any legendary fighter of any kind.
Hardy’s proclamation immediately caught the attention of former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who wasn’t too sure if Hardy has what it takes to climb the heavyweight rankings. Instead, “Cupcake” believes the heavyweight prospect is simply talking out of his you know what.
“He’s got a lot of work to do before he even sniffs the greatest heavyweight of all time,” Tate recently told MMA Tonight on Sirius XM. “So these statements are just…he’s pulling them out of thin air. I don’t know where he gets any viable justification that he could be in that conversation of the greatest heavyweight of all time.
“Look, I appreciate that you’re enthusiastic about your career and what you have ahead of you, but I don’t think that’s possible. You look at Daniel Cormier who has been doing this the majority of his life, and he has accomplished so much in that time because it’s the single sport that he really has made his career out of. It’s a pretty asinine statement.”
This isn’t the first “asinine” comment that Hardy has blurted out since joining UFC. Back in April, the 30-year-old heavyweight declared himself the MMA version of Michael Jordan. Those words weren’t well received either as Adams called Hardy’s comments “stupid” and “delusional.”
Tate, who has been around this sport for a very long time, understands that Hardy’s punching power is something to fear. She just doesn’t know if Hardy’s success and potential will carry over into the upper echelon of heavyweights on the UFC roster.
“Even look at the quality of opponents who he has fought. I think they are fair to his skill set and his experience in the sport. But they are nowhere near the level of a Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou. They’re not on the same playing field. He’s got all this confidence because, yeah, he’s knocking people out, and great. But just pump the breaks a little, because I guarantee you when get into that upper echelon, you’re not gonna be putting people to sleep like that. Because it’s a different level in competition.
“So anyways, I know he has his next bout coming up, so it’s one bout at a time, and he’s got to focus on what’s the next step ahead, not being the greatest heavyweight of all time because, to me, that’s ridiculous.”
We’ll find out one way or another tonight at UFC San Antonio if Hardy will take another step closer to heavyweight greatness, or if he’ll take a big step back. Either way, the former NFL standout has a lot of work to do before impressing veteran fighters like Tate.