Former NFL star Greg Hardy is set to make his Octagon return next month. Hardy faces off against Dmitrii Smoliakov at UFC on ESPN 3 on April 27, 2019. The action goes down from the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Hardy comes off the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. He was defeated by Allen Crowder after being disqualified for throwing an illegal knee. Prior to that contest, Hardy had finished all of his other fights via
Now, he hopes to pick up his first UFC win against Smoliakov, a veteran of the sport since 2013. The match-up is certainly a fun one, as Smoliakov has never had a fight go to the judges’ score cards in his career. He took home a
Speaking to MMA Junkie recently, Hardy discussed what spectators can expect to see when he returns to the cage. The 30-year-old says he’s a fast learner, and will show a much improved skillset inside the cage. He also promised to put on an entertaining fight no matter when the contest goes:
“That’s the cool thing about me, I advance fast,” Hardy said. “I worked my whole life to be an athlete, to be physically capable of whatever a coach needs me to be capable of. I adapt very fast.
“In this couple of months we’ve trained hard, we’ve focused on the fighter instead of advancing just the individual skills like we always do. You guys could hope to see a calm Greg Hardy, a Greg Hardy that’s here to fight. There’s no more searching for a knockout.
“I’m claiming to be ‘The Prince of War.’ We’re going to be here for war. Let’s fight it out. Whatever he wants, wherever he wants to go we’re going to make it pretty, we’re going to entertain.”
What are you expecting from Hardy’s return to the Octagon next month?
