Greg Hardy reflects on UFC DQ loss
On the first-ever ESPN+ card, highly controversial fighter, Greg Hardy was making his UFC debut. Although he was only 3-0, the UFC put him in the co-main event spot where he was taking on Allen Crowder.
Ultimately, the fight could not have gone worse for Hardy. He threw an illegal knee that landed to Crowder’s head, and the fight had to be stopped. Meaning Hardy would lose his first professional fight and UFC debut by DQ. Now, however, Hardy is set to return at UFC Fort Lauderdale and has finally come to terms with how the fight ended.
“In a game where it all lies on what you do in that cage, it’s hard to walk out a loser,” Hardy on Monday told MMA Junkie. “I’m not one – anybody can check out my history – I’ve dealt with it terribly in the past, and I’ve dealt with it great before, but it’s all the same outcome. I hate losing. I’m not a loser, I’m not a cheater. I said when I first came into this business: I earned everything that I have right now.
“I’ve taken every opportunity. Anybody that wanted to stop me could’ve jumped in my way and knocked me out and took care of business. That’s how I do things. It kind of shook me to my core when I came out the ring and everybody’s standpoint was, ‘He’s a cheater.’ It kind of threw me off a bit.”
And, as mentioned, Hardy will once again be competing in the co-main event, but for him, that is where he wants to be. High up on the card.
“The chaos, the co-main event, that makes me feel comfortable,” Hardy said. “That’s what I’ve known since I was 16 years old playing in the SEC, big-time football colleges. It never stops. You’re playing Alabama every week, you’re playing the biggest team in the NFL every week, so that’s where I feel more comfortable.”
