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Recently signed UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy injures knee in American Arena League game

By Weston DeWitt

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 12: Greg Hardy warms up backstage prior to his heavyweight bout against Austen Lane during Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series at the TUF Gym on June 12, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/DWTNCS LLC)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 12: Greg Hardy warms up backstage prior to his heavyweight bout against Austen Lane during Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series at the TUF Gym on June 12, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/DWTNCS LLC) /
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After Greg Hardy knocked out Austen Lane in 57-seconds to earn a UFC contract last Tuesday, he injured his knee in an Arena Football playoff game on Saturday.

Week one of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series brought many fireworks with four knockouts. One of the stoppages came from the fist of former NFL defensive end, Greg Hardy.

He landed a right hook that dropped Austen Lane and scored a 57-second knockout, giving him a UFC contract, which caught the attention of the MMA world.

But Hardy might have suffered a big blow on Saturday, as he injured his knee during an Arena Football playoff game. Hardy, who plays for the Richmond Roughriders of the American Arena League, went down with the injury during the first quarter in an eventual win for the Roughriders, 57-43.

It is unclear at this point of how severe the injury is. But according to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Hardy is expected to have the knee examined by doctors in “the coming days”.

Even though the 29-year old heavyweight earned a UFC contract, promotional president Dana White made it clear that he wants to see Hardy gain more experience before taking on the rigors of the heavyweight division. He added that Hardy will be starting out in the “developmental stage”. And Hardy has appeared to show he is all in on his UFC career. But he has openly stated that he is willing to drop his MMA career if he was offered a contract in the NFL.

Hardy is currently 3-0 under the amateur circuit, with his three wins coming within a 2:22 span, while training at the world renowned American Top Team, in Coconut Creek, FL.

Hardy’s track record has been well chronicled and heavily scrutinized over his NFL career, as he spent six seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys. He is well-known for being convicted for assaulting his now ex-girlfriend in July 2014. The charges against Hardy were later dropped after the victim refused to come to court and testify in his appeal.

“He’s doing the right things,” UFC President Dana White told the media after his KO last Tuesday. “He’s off drugs, he’s off alcohol, and he’s trying to change his life.

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