Greg Hardy

At 35 years old, Greg Hardy has this physical status:

Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist and former American football defensive end.

He played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Hardy was named to the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro following the 2013 NFL season in which he recorded a career high 15 sacks.

Hardy's 15 sacks in 2013 is currently the Carolina Panthers single season franchise record.

Hardy also played for the Dallas Cowboys. On July 15, 2014, Hardy was found guilty of assaulting an ex-girlfriend, and sentenced to 18 months probation as well as being suspended for 10 games by the NFL (the suspension was reduced to 4 games after arbitration).

Hardy appealed his conviction, and the case was dismissed after the victim failed to appear in court to testify, but Hardy's arrest and trial were the focus of considerable controversy.

Early years

Hardy attended Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was a three-sport letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, he helped lead his team to the state championship in 2004. As a senior, he was credited with 65 tackles, including 12 for loss and six sacks, while also receiving 48 passes for 268 yards. Hardy played with offensive tackle Michael Oher at both Briarcrest Christian School and Ole Miss. In basketball, he was an honorable mention all-state as a junior.

In track & field, Hardy earned a letter competing as a sprinter and shot putter. In sprints, he ran the 200-meter dash in 24.04 seconds as a sophomore. In the shot put, he got a top-throw of 14.47 meters (47 ft 6 in). In addition, he also recorded a 4.8-second 40-yard dash and had a 28-inch vertical jump.

Hardy was considered a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, and was ranked No. 30 among weakside defensive end prospects, No. 44 according to Scout.com. He was an all-state pick who was rated as the No. 5 player in Tennessee by Super Prep, No. 8 by Scout.com and No. 12 by Rivals.com. He was also named All-Metro by The Commercial Appeal.

Personal life

Hardy has a daughter and a son. Politically, Hardy is a supporter of the Republican Party.

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Football career

The University of Mississippi has given Hardy a football scholarship. He appeared in all 12 games as a freshman, with nine of them starting at the left defensive end. He had 49 tackles (fifth on the team), 3 sacks, 5 tackles for injury, 4 forcible fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. He spent time at wide receiver against Mississippi State University, a 23-yard touchdown reception.

He appeared in ten games out of 12 total, with four of them starting at defensive end. He had 64 tackles (fourth on the team), 10 sacks (led the conference), 18.5 tackles for loss (second in the league), 3 forced fumbles, and two touchdown receptions on offense.

He missed the first three games as a child after having foot surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot. He played in 9 out of 13 games due to injuries, 18 tackles, 8.5 sacks (third in the conference), 9.5 tackles for injury, 3 quarterback tackles, one tackle, and one pass defense. Hardy was considered one of the best pass rushers eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft, but he chose to return to Ole Miss for his senior season.

During the off-season, he underwent his second surgery to his right foot in January 2009. He and teammate Dexter McCluster were involved in a car accident on July 12, 2009, where he aggravated the foot injury and was put back in a walking cast.

After missing the final three regular-season games due to a fractured left wrist, he played in 9 out of 13 games (including the Cotton Bowl Classic). He had 16 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks (tied for third on the team), 4 quarterback pressures, 3 passes defensed, and one fumble recovery. Hardy finished his college career with 399.5 career tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks.

He appeared in 15 games (one start), but averaged less than two points and two rebounds per game in the 2006–07 basketball season. In the semifinals of the 2007 SEC tournament, where he had 6 points and 4 rebounds against the two-time national champion University of Florida.

Hardy was dubbed a top prospect for the 2010 NFL Draft in the April 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated. However, his draft stock plummeted due to injuries, poor quality, and an unimpressive combination.

In the sixth round (175th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, Hardy was selected by the Carolina Panthers. On June 17, 2010, he was committed to a six-year deal. In his rookie debut, Hardy was able to block a blocked punt for a safety as well as a fumble and record 4 tackles.

Although Hardy had played in 15 games in his rookie year, he had not started any. He did, however, finish the year with 30 tackles, 3 sacks, two forced fumbles, and the aforementioned safety.

Despite having a fractured thumb in September, Hardy lost 11 sacks in 2012.

In Week 9, Hardy was fined $15,750 for a roughing the passer foul against Robert Griffin III.

Hardy said he wanted sacks in the 2013 season to be 50 on June 11, 2013. "Why shoot low, right?" says Hardy despite such a high figure, more than double the previous record. I'm going to shoot at it with a.50 caliber. I'm going to shoot at a little bird with a.50-caliber rifle. That's the aim for this year, 50 sacks, and here's where I'm at. That's the aim, 50. It's been there first," the narrator said.

Hardy finished with four sacks in a road win over the Atlanta Falcons on a single game team record. He ended up scoring a team-record 15 sacks, winning his first trip to the 2014 Pro Bowl and being dubbed a second-team All Pro by the Associated Press, and earning his first trip to the 2014 Pro Bowl. In 2013, the Panthers defense finished second in points per game and third in DVOA team defense, finishing second in the league with 60 sacks, the second in third. He was ranked 53nd in the NFL Top 100 for his 2013 NFL debut.

During the 2014 season, Hardy was expected to be a free agent, but the Panthers announced on February 28, 2014, allowing him to return to the field for them. Hardy appeared in the first game of the 2014 season, but was pushed on the commissioner's exempt list while his domestic violence lawsuit was dismissed. He remained there for the remainder of the season.

The Panthers opted not to re-sign Hardy in March 2015. Jerry Richardson, the Panthers' owner, was able to break with Hardy. Despite calls from players and coaches to give Hardy another chance, Richardson said he made the decision not to do so because "we do the right stuff."

Hardy signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on March 18, 2015. As predicted, the Cowboys were hoping for him to be a difference maker at the right defensive end, and the public and media had chastised him for the signing.

Hardy was suspended for the first ten games of the 2015 season without compensation for breaching the NFL Personal Conduct Policy on April 22, 2019. In order to prevent a potential court trouble involving Hardy's name, the NFL suspended it to a 4-game suspension on July 10.

He played against the New England Patriots in his first game after being suspended. Tom Brady had two sacks and five hits on him. Russell Wilson tipped a pass against the Seattle Seahawks two games later, intercepting it.

Hardy's output dropped after a quick start to his new role. He led the team in quarterback pressures (32) and was second in sacks (6), but only three of those firings occurred in the last nine games. In addition, Hardy drew Jason Garrett's scorne, frequent tardiness, and being a bad influence on the younger players on the team, which included inappropriate tweets, which often led to inappropriate tweeting, and being a bad influence on the younger players on the team. Hardy did not re-sign Hardy after the season, so the Cowboys chose not to re-sign him.

In 2017, Hardy was a participant in the Spring League. In January 2018, he joined the Richmond Roughriders of the American Arena League.

Mixed martial arts career

Hardy said in October 2016 that he will begin a mixed martial arts career and had been training for many months, but that he had no previous experience in MMA.

In a 32-second match, Hardy made his amateur MMA debut on November 4, 2017, defeating Joe Hawkins by knocking out in a 32-second match. With another first-round TKO victory over debuting amateur Kenneth Woods, Hardy's amateur record rose to 2–0 on December 1, 2017. Hardy was victorious in his third amateur match on February 16, 2018, defeating Ryan Chester by 14 seconds in the first round.

Hardy will make his professional debut at Dana White's Contender Series 9 in April 2018. In the first round, he met Austen Lane, a former NFL defensive end, and defeated him by a landslide. He was then given a UFC contract.

Hardy met Tebaris Gordon in Dana White's Contender Series 16 of Dana White's Second Professional Battle in his second fight. In the fight's first minute, he defeated TKO by TKO. Following Gordon's victory over Gordon, Hardy said he was committed to his fight and that returning to the league would only be for the Dallas Cowboys or the Carolina Panthers.

Hardy defeated Rasheem Jones in his third fight of his professional career at Xtreme Fight Night 352 on September 29, 2018. In the first round, he won by a mere 53 seconds.

Hardy made his Ultimate Fighting Championship promotional debut against Allen Crowder on January 19, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw after achieving an undefeated professional record of 3–0. Hardy was disqualified from the competition due to disqualification. Crowder was struck with his knee while Crowder was unconscious on the ground, leaving Crowder unable to proceed.

Hardy faced Dmitry Smolyakov on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson for his second UFC match. In the first round, he won the tournament via TKO.

On July 20, 2019, on ESPN 4, Hardy met Juan Adams. In the first round, he secured the match via TKO.

At UFC Fight Night 162, Hardy was scheduled to face Jarjis Danho on October 26, 2019. However, Danho was barred from the event for undisclosed reasons. In turn, Hardy was rescheduled and met Ben Sosoli, a week earlier at UFC on ESPN 6, a week before. Hardy won the first round by unanimous consent; however, the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission ruled against the original decision in a no contest.

In a quick turnaround, Hardy recalled Junior dos Santos to face Alexander Volkov on November 9, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 163. Hardy lost the contest by a unanimous decision.

Hardy was supposed to meet Yorgan De Castro on March 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. The performance was eventually postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Dana White, the president of UFC, announced on April 9, that this event had been postponed, and that the fight will take place on May 9, 2020. Hardy won the contest by a unanimous vote.

On October 31, 2020, Hardy faced Maurice Greene at UFC Fight Night 181. In round two, he dominated the fight by a technical knockout.

On December 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183, Hardy met Marcin Tybura. In the first round, he knocked down Tybura, but the team lost the match in the second round due to a technical knockout.

On July 10, 2021, Hardy met Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264. In round one, he was disqualified by a knockout.

On January 22, 2022, Hardy was supposed to face Alexey Oleynik at UFC 270. However, Oleynik pulled out of the contest for undisclosed reasons, and Sergey Spivak took his place. In turn, just a week before the show, Hardy withdrew due to a finger injury and the bout was cancelled from the competition. On March 5, 2022, the pair was transferred to UFC 272 in UFC 272. In round one, Hardy lost the match due to a technical knockout.

Since being kicked out of his employment, Hardy became a free agent and was not fired by the company.

Bare-knuckle boxing career

News broke on June 15, 2022, that Hardy had signed a multi-fight deal with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, following his time in the UFC.

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