At UFC on ESPN+ 8 on Saturday, former NFL All-Pro Greg Hardy competed in his second co-main event in as many UFC appearances, easily dispatching Dmitrii Smoliakov by first-round TKO at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
It was a nice rebound victory for Hardy, who was disqualified in his UFC debut back in January. At the UFC on ESPN+ 8 post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White – likely unintentionally – took away some of the shine from Hardy’s victory when he was highly critical of Smoliakov. That struck many observers as odd since the consensus opinion seems to be that the UFC wants Hardy to become a star, despite his checkered past, and therefore has started him off with easy fights intentionally.
Our question now: How should the UFC book Hardy moving forward? MMA Junkie’s Ben Fowlkes, Fernanda Prates and John Morgan sound off in this week’s edition of “Triple Take.”
Ben Fowlkes: Put him in a fight he might actually lose – and stop trying so hard to control the narrative
Regardless of what Dana White might say to the contrary, the UFC clearly has a plan it’s trying to execute with Greg Hardy. That plan goes a little something like this: feature him prominently on fight cards, give him fights he can win, and pump him up at every opportunity with an emphasis on his athleticism and raw potential.
On Saturday, we saw all those elements of the plan in action, and the result was utterly underwhelming. Hardy became probably the first guy in UFC history to co-headline a card after getting disqualified in his debut, then rolled over a former teammate who did absolutely nothing before celebrating to scattered boos.
Then he showed up at the post-fight press conference and compared himself to Michael Jordan. Seriously.
There’s a disconnect at work here. The UFC is telling us that Hardy is something special, but treating him like a fragile prize that must be protected, all while ignoring the fact that fans aren’t buying it. You want to fix that? It’s simple: put him in a real fight against a real UFC heavyweight. Let him sink or swim on his own. Stop trying so hard to control the narrative.
And I can already hear the objections. Hey, he’s still a novice! He’s just 4-1 as a professional! Who do you want him to fight, Stipe Miocic?!?
But see, you can’t have it both ways. He can’t be a special talent but also not ready for a tough opponent. He can’t keep fighting in the co-main event against people who would never come close to one otherwise. Is this guy a good fighter, or isn’t he? Because it seems like the UFC is actively resisting finding out.
Enough. Give him an opponent who stands a good chance of beating him. Admit that a sizable portion of your fan base, if they’re willing to watch him at all, would enjoy seeing him get beaten up. Let him earn some of this attention. You know, the way any other fighter would have to.
Next page – Fernanda Prates: Take him out of prominent spots while he clearly hasn’t earned them
Fernanda Prates: Take him out of prominent spots while he clearly hasn’t earned them
Those who know me, what I stand for and follow me on social media know exactly how I feel about Greg Hardy’s place in the UFC. Quite simply, I think he shouldn’t have one. Not when he’s shown so little both in his performances in the cage and in his efforts to at least own up to his well documented past with domestic violence outside of it.
But we’ve had this conversation already. And, as we know, that ship has sailed. Fact is, Hardy was signed and is now two fights and one win into his UFC career.
The UFC’s generosity toward Hardy’s career so far is not exactly surprising. They are a business after all, and if they chose to sign the former NFL star despite the backlash that they knew they would receive, it’s because they believed the investment would be worth it.
Right off the bat, they put him in a co-main event spot. And while that bit didn’t necessarily come as a shock, even the most skeptical of us were probably a taken aback by the tone deaf decision to put him on the same card as domestic violence survivor Rachael Ostovich. Despite the pushback, Hardy fought that night. He lost via disqualification, due to an illegal strike.
Seriously, you can’t make this (expletive) up.
But even faced with the perfect cue to at least dial back on the Hardy push, the UFC decided to … place him in yet another co-main event spot. I would imagine that even the “I don’t care about what fighters do in their personal lives” crew must have scratched their heads a bit at that one. Yet, that’s where we were on Saturday.
Hardy won this time with a first-round finish. But he did in a match so one-sided that even UFC president Dana White said of opponent Dmitrii Smoliakov: “I don’t know who the (expletive) that guy beat in nine fights, but I’d like to see the nine guys he beat.”
Now, I’m not stupid. I understand how the UFC works. Hardy is still a big name, helped by the fact that he’s in a division in desperate need of fresh blood. I’ve been at this long enough to know that they’re going to capitalize on the weight of his name, regardless of how much of it is negative. Whether we like it or not, we’re still going to see plenty of him.
But does it need to be done so aggressively? Even if they’re going for the immediate reward that comes with a big name, the UFC is, after all, still a brand. Wouldn’t it be in their best interest to try to at least protect it a little?
Even those who don’t care about Hardy’s actions or the negative message sent by the handling of his situation can probably acknowledge that MMA is still, in theory, a sport. And when you look at it that way, you’re faced with a 1-1 heavyweight who’s yet to show us why we’re seeing his face on posters and in co-main event spots that so many of his peers never get to land.
I live in the real world, and I understand that it’s not always pretty, empathetic or fair. I just think, perhaps naively, that if the UFC is going to keep pushing Hardy on us, they can at least try do it more gently. An actual competitive fight on the preliminary card would, at least, be a start.
Next page – John Morgan: Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working so far
John Morgan: Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working so far
Listen, I understand the argument that maybe Greg Hardy should never have been given the opportunity to step foot in the UFC because of his checkered past. But as Fernanda stated, that ship has sailed. Hardy is in the UFC, and arguing whether or not it violates a moral code the promotion should have in place is pointless.
But in terms of athletic development, I don’t understand what the UFC has done wrong here.
I don’t buy that the UFC has promoted Hardy as “something special” in terms of his fighting accomplishments. They’ve said he’s a special athlete, which isn’t exactly a revelation considering his history in the NFL – generally accepted as a league that features some of the most freakishly gifted athletes on the planet.
They’ve also promoted Hardy’s capability of especially destructive finishes, which again isn’t some type of organizational hyperbole. I sat in The Ultimate Fighter Gym and watched his knockouts of Austen Lane and Tebaris Gordon with my own two eyes and can tell you Hardy’s power is indeed terrifying.
But Hardy is still an MMA neophyte. He showed his inexperience against Allen Crowder, who was gaining some momentum before a quickly tiring Hardy launched the illegal knee that ultimately earned him a disqualification. Hardy could have very well lost that fight had it continued.
Smoliakov certainly is no world beater, but he had defeated a few guys with more experience than Hardy. His performance on Saturday was rather embarrassing, to be honest, but I didn’t find issue with the matchup – especially if Smoliakov was facing any other 3-1 fighter in the world not named Greg Hardy.
As for the prominent role Hardy receives, both the UFC and ESPN are simply doing what’s smart for business. I’ve seen the type of numbers Hardy generates for MMA Junkie, and I’ve heard a few UFC officials mention the type he generates for them, and this idea that the UFC “is trying to make Greg Hardy” a thing is false – he already is a thing. That’s why in both of his UFC appearances thus far, he’s appeared on ESPN+, the digital service ESPN is literally betting billions of dollars is the future of watching sports.
If featured slots on fight cards were given on merit alone, then 32-time UFC veteran Jim Miller should have been the co-main event. Or perhaps former UFC champion Carla Esparza. But Hardy does have real hype behind him, like it or not.
Does he need a tougher opponent next time out? Absolutely. Should he be fighting Derrick Lewis, the No. 4-ranked heavyweight who’s made it clear he’d take a fight with Hardy anywhere, anytime? Absolutely not.
Now, a 5-0 Juan Adams, who fights Arjan Bhullar at this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 9 event and has vehemently expressed his disdain for Hardy? Now you’re talking.
Bottom line, Hardy is in the UFC. His fights will get incrementally tougher along the way. There’s no way to avoid that on a roster full of killers. But stop trying to rush him just because you don’t like the guy. Hell, Conor McGregor fought Dennis Siver after he fought Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. Not every matchup is going to be against a top-ranked opponent, especially when you’re as new as Hardy is to the sport.
And as long as Hardy draws an audience – even if it’s just people hoping to watch him end up face down on the canvas – he’s going to be in featured bouts.
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
