Tag: greg hardy

Despite entering just the second fight of his UFC career this weekend – his debut being a loss – former NFL star Greg Hardy is extremely confident that he is levels ahead of his fellow heavyweights both athletically and physically.

Speaking to MMA Junkie during a recent media day, Hardy admitted that he has a ways to go in regards to fight IQ and training experience. However, physically, nobody matches up with the former Carolina Panther:

“I don’t think I matchup with anybody,” Hardy said. “I think I might be the biggest person in the UFC. Hopefully I’m the fastest, one of the most athletic. I think the only difference between me and everybody else is my intelligence in the game and my training experience.

“I’ve been working every day tirelessly trying to catch up on that, but athletically and physically, there’s no comparison.”

Hardy made strides in his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut, stopping all three of his first opponents early in the first round by way of knockout. He co-main evented the UFC’s debut on ESPN in January, facing off against Allen Crowder. Hardy looked like he might have been on his way to losing a decision on the scorecards had the fight played out the way it was going at the time.

However, an illegal knee from Hardy stopped the fight, resulting in a disqualification loss for the 30-year-old. Now, he’s hoping to bounce back against Dmitrii Smoliakov on April 27 at UFC on ESPN 3, where he’ll again be featured in the co-headliner.

Given his history with domestic abuse, the mixed martial arts (MMA) community has welcomed Hardy as a heel – to steal from professional wrestling terminology. Given his recent comments, Hardy seems to welcome the role, and relish in it.

The post Greg Hardy: No One In UFC Compares To Me Athletically & Physically appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Greg Hardy responds to some people thinking that he shouldn’t be fighting inside of the Octagon under the UFC banner.

Ever since he got offered a UFC deal and started to compete on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, fight fans have been against it. Before making his UFC debut, he was on a rare developmental contract where the UFC was paying him to fight in the minor leagues.

The former NFL star will step back in the Octagon for his second UFC fight against Dmitrii Smoliakov. This heavyweight showdown will serve as the co-headliner of this weekend’s UFC Fort Lauderdale event.

While doing a recent interview, Hardy made it known that he thinks anyone who isn’t a fan of his fighting style or him personally will have a change of heart after this upcoming fight.

“I’ve done what 99 percent of the world will never do, become a professional athlete, and now doing it again,” Hardy told FanSided. “Two professional sports the one percent of the one percent can’t do that. I’m one of the most entertaining athletes in the world and most people enjoy watching Greg Hardy and for those who don’t tune in Saturday, I’ll make you a fan.”

“I’ve seen the bloggers, the people who think I don’t belong here that’s an opinion thing. I’m a world class athlete, I’ve earned every second of this. I’ve paid my dues in this sport, I continue to pay my dues and I haven’t asked for anything.”

UFC Fort Lauderdale is set to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The main card will air on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET. The preliminary card will be split broadcasted on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET and ESPN 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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Greg Hardy admits that he was humbled by the way that his UFC debut turned out.

The former NFL star will step back in the Octagon for his second UFC fight as he is expected to fight Dmitrii Smoliakov. This heavyweight showdown will serve as the co-headliner of the upcoming UFC Fort Lauderdale event.

Hardy’s promotional debut ended in controversy when he blasted Allen Crowder with an illegal knee strike to the head at UFC on ESPN+ 1. In the second round, referee Dan Miragliotta called it immediately after Crowder went down from the illegal knee to end the fight.

While doing a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Hardy opened up on the backlash of the fight and how it humbled him due to the cocky nature of his fighting style.

“It’s very true, man,” Hardy admitted. “It helps you look more. I wasn’t looking for my flaws when I was winning. Like, I couldn’t see them, I didn’t want to see them. And since I got the loss, I’m a little more humble than I was, which is always a good thing. And you start looking and you start seeing the things where you really messed up. … I’ve had a lot of years of football so I’ve been in control of power for a very long time. Even though you can hit a quarterback, it’s not always in your best interest. Sometimes [being penalized] 15 yards will f*ck your team more than a hit. And it’s just those kind of decisions I’m finding, just because I can knock someone out doesn’t mean I should go for it.”

Hardy mentioned that power is a drug and in MMA that is dangerous as it will gas you out. He felt that he wanted to get the finish so bad that he got tired quickly.

“You’ve got to control these things because there are no timeouts, there are no breaks. You’re in a cage, nobody can save you, man, and you’ve got to make these decisions. That’s the kind of things I’m finding out, and you’ve got to have a humble mind for that because power’s a drug, man. Power is a drug. In this sport, it’s dangerous. It’ll gas you. You saw me. I was bloodthirsty. The man said he was going to kill me — I wanted to separate him from his consciousness so bad that I energy-dumped everything after I told myself not to energy dump. And you’ve just gotta deal with those kind of things because you’ve got to be honest. Like honestly, it’s not, ‘Oh, I made a mistake.’ I was cocky. Gotta humble myself.”

UFC Fort Lauderdale is set to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The main card will air on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET. The preliminary card will be split broadcasted on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET and ESPN 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The post Greg Hardy Admits He Got ‘Humbled’ By Failed UFC Debut appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The official UFC Fort Lauderdale poster has been released by the Las Vegas-based promotion. And it’s a good one to keep this new era rolling.

Former NFL star Greg Hardy will step back in the Octagon for his second UFC fight as he is expected to fight Dmitrii Smoliakov at the event. Based on this poster and the current bout order through the ESPN website, it appears that Hardy will fight in the co-main event spot.

The promotion recently unveiled the poster for the show, which you can check out here:

UFC Fort Lauderdale is set to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at BB&T Center in Florida. The main card will air on ESPN. The preliminary card will be split broadcasted on ESPN and the TV network’s streaming service, ESPN +. Here’s the updated card for the show:

Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Souza

Greg Hardy vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov

Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cu?elaba

Carla Esparza vs. Lívia Renata Souza

Andrei Arlovski vs. Augusto Sakai

John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen

Jim Miller vs. Jason Gonzalez

Court McGee vs. Dhiego Lima

Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel

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