Ex-UFC fighter Greg Hardy enjoyed a massive 52-pound weight advantage going into his fight on Saturday but that didn’t matter much after he ate a brutal overhand right from Darko Stosic to end their fight in the FNC 31 co-main event.
After stepping on the scale 25 pounds over the heavyweight limit on Friday, Hardy faced off with another UFC veteran in Stosic, who made him pay dearly for that mistake on Saturday. Just midway through the third round, Stosic landed a nasty leg kick and then a vicious overhand right that twisted Hardy’s head around as he crashed to the canvas.
Stosic landed a huge hammer fist to put the nail in the coffin as the referee jumped in to save Hardy with the end coming at 2:42 in the third round. The knockout put Stosic on a two-fight win streak while Hardy fell to 1-1 in MMA after he left the UFC back in 2022.
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Hardy has mostly been boxing since his UFC career ended and he’s found mixed results before returning to MMA. While he scored a win back in January, Hardy suffered the knockout loss on Saturday against his stiffest competition to date since leaving the UFC.
Following the end of his NFL career, Hardy made the move into MMA and he earned a UFC contract after just three fights. He did manage to pick up a trio of wins in the octagon but then suffered three knockout losses in a row to Marcin Tybura, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Spivac before he was released from the promotion.
In a strange twist, the 37-year-old fighter already has another fight scheduled on July 18 at a Peak Fighting card in Texas but it remains to be seen if Hardy makes it after the knockout loss on Saturday. That decision may ultimately sit with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation after Hardy’s knockout loss.
