Greg Hardy has been making headlines ahead of his UFC return this weekend.
The controversial former NFL star will take on Juan Adams at this weekend’s (Sat., July 20, 2019) UFC on ESPN 4 from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. There’s been enough pre-fight banter for 10 bouts in the build-up. But Hardy has much, much bigger aspirations than just knocking off his current foe.
For example, he recently predicted he could become the greatest combat sports heavyweight of all-time earlier this week. Now, he’s building off that claim with a plan of how he’s going to get there. Speaking with TMZ Sports today (Thurs., July 18, 2019), Hardy outlined his dream fight of facing UFC legend Jon Jones:
“Oh yeah, man, that’s like saying you want to play Troy Aikman and the Cowboys dude. It’s impossible not to dream of Greg Hardy vs. Jon Jones for the heavyweight title after he’s just finished dominating the light heavyweight division man.”
A Great Honor
He then went on to claim he follows Jones’ example as a fighter. He views facing “Bones” as a great honor were he to make it to that lofty spot in the fight game:
“Full disclosure, you know, Jon Jones is someone that I emulate as a fighter. I think he’s one’s of the most complete fighters in the game, I think he’s one of the most dangerous men in this world, and that’s honestly who I’m trying to fight. It would be an honor and a pleasure to go to war with him if I made it that far.”
Take Out Jones?
Hardy was then presented with the dynamic of Jones’ brother Chandler, another NFL star, claiming he could knock his brother Jon out. Hardy echoed that he could do the same. He respects Jones to the fullest, but he’s here to be the best fight sports heavyweight ever:
“Oh yeah man, for sure, for sure dude. Like I said, he’s a great dude, great competitor, but at the end of the day man, I’m here to clean out the division and anybody who wants to join it. I’m here to be the greatest fight sports, combat sports heavyweight of all-time.
“And if that includes taking out Jon Jones, that’s what I gotta do, man. And I’m gonna do it with all due respect, like I would Stipe, like I would Daniel (Cormier), like I would anybody. You know, and I think my comments a lot of times get misconstrued as disrespectful and it’s not. It’s just that if I’m sitting here talking about, ‘I can’t beat somebody,’ should I really be here?”
A fair question from a man who is quickly becoming MMA’s most polarizing presence. He obviously has a long way to get to a fight with someone like Jones, however. Jones’ long-rumored move to heavyweight is no sure thing either. Some may wonder if looking that far into the future is overlooking Adams, who is a dangerous force in his own right.
We’re going to find out this Saturday night. If Hardy scores another easy first-round KO, he could be fast-tracked to the top of a somewhat barren heavyweight landscape.
Would Hardy truly be able to knock out the legendary ‘Bones?’
