With his National Football League (NFL) career in tatters, Greg Hardy has apparently decided to trade in his shoulder pads for a pair of four-ounce mixed martial arts (MMA) gloves. Indeed, the former Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman — who was recently arrested for cocaine possession — today announced his intentions to become a professional cage fighter.
“I’m very focused and excited to start my MMA career,” Hardy revealed to MMAFighting.com. “I’m going to do this the right way, I can assure you of that. I’m fully committed to being as successful as I can be in this sport,” he said.
Hardy, who is listed at 6’4″ and 278 pounds, would have to compete in the Heavyweight division. He has no prior professional fighting experience, but he has an ugly history beating up his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder. In fact, Hardy missed almost the entire 2014 NFL season and the first four games of the 2015 campaign because of the severity of the assault charges, which were later dismissed because Holder failed to cooperate with the investigation.