Former UFC heavyweight and NFL player, Greg Hardy, has made headlines once again after losing his debut in the Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC). Hardy, who is known for his controversial past, including multiple cases of domestic violence, faced Josh Watson at BKFC’s KnuckleMania 3 on February 17, 2023.
Hardy’s MMA career began in 2018 in Dana White’s Contender Series, where he had a 3-0 record before joining the UFC in 2019. He quickly gained a reputation as a knockout artist, facing Alexander Volkov and Yorgan De Castro. However, Hardy suffered three consecutive losses in his last UFC bouts, which resulted in the organization not renewing his contract.
In October 2022, Hardy made his professional boxing debut, winning his first two matches against Mike Cook and Hashim Rahman Jr. It’s worth noting that Hardy weighed almost 100lbs more than Rahman Jr.
Following his success, Hardy signed a contract with BKFC, which led to his highly anticipated bare-knuckle boxing debut against Josh Watson.
The bout was highly anticipated, with Hardy entering the ring as a favorite to win. However, Watson proved to be a worthy opponent, and the two battled fiercely in the first round. Unfortunately for Hardy, early in the second round, he was hit by a powerful counter-attack left hook from Watson, which knocked him out and left him lying flat on the canvas.
Greg Hardy just got sleptttttt🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/1WgNhWYZOD
— Ev (@JStalksfighting) February 18, 2023
Despite the disappointing result, Hardy has stated that he plans to continue with BKFC and aims to beat many top-class heavyweight boxers in the future. Only time will tell if he can bounce back from this loss and make a name for himself in the world of bare-knuckle boxing.