Greg Hardy’s unanimous decision win over Ben Sosoli last night (Fri., Oct. 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN 6 from Boston, Mass., has been overturned to a no contest by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission due to Hardy’s illegal use of an inhaler in between rounds.
Hardy, who was given yet another crack at a UFC main card, went to battle with Sosoli for two hard rounds before sitting on his stool entering the third. When asked if an inhaler he had grabbed was approved for use, the former NFL star said, “USADA approved,” before taking a puff. Hardy would go out to finish the final five minutes of the fight and capture the decision victory.
Check out the footage of Hardy’s illegal inhaler use above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
After the fight, Hardy explained his side of the incident:
“I was in the ring. Me and my coach asked the commission if it would be OK to use my inhaler, and they said yes, so I took it. I’m still a new guy in this sport. I did what I do in every situation: I asked permission. I got permission, and I did what I was told.”
While the commission has already made its decision to overturn the win to a no contest, it’s still hard to imagine Hardy would cheat in such a blatant fashion. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, even UFC president Dana White believed the inhaler was approved by the commission.
Re Hardy’s inhaler per @JeffNovitzkyUFC: Inhaler likely contained Albuterol or Salbutamol. Those drugs are allowed at all times, not to exceed 800 micrograms per 12 hours (each puff is around 90 micrograms). Per @danawhite Mass commission approved use of inhaler
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) October 19, 2019
“Re Hardy’s inhaler per @JeffNovitzkyUFC: Inhaler likely contained Albuterol or Salbutamol. Those drugs are allowed at all times, not to exceed 800 micrograms per 12 hours (each puff is around 90 micrograms). Per @danawhite Mass commission approved use of inhaler”
Things really aren’t going well for Hardy early into his UFC career. Not only did the heavyweight knockout artist lose his Octagon debut when he landed an illegal knee on Allen Crowder, but the 31-year-old is consistently ridiculed for taking easy fights. While that wasn’t the case last night considering Sosoli showed up to test Hardy’s resolve the former NFL star still produced another blunder inside of the cage.
What will happen next?
For complete UFC Boston results and coverage click here.