Greg Hardy continues to find success in his career as a professional fighter.
The former NFL star picked up his sixth career victory at UFC 249, as he outpointed Yorgan De Castro in a unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 30-27 across the board.
The bout started dicey for Hardy (6-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), as De Castro (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made sure Hardy felt his power early on with powerful punches and big leg kicks. The first round was close, as De Castro looked good early and damaged Hardy’s legs with kicks, but then began to fade late in the round.
In the second round, Hardy began to press forward, dictate the pace and land the better shots. That momentum ended up carrying into round three, making Hardy the dominant force throughout the majority of the fight.
With this result, Hardy bounced back from a loss to Alexander Volkov back in November. Hardy has been fighting professionally since June 2018.
Meanwhile, De Castro lost his undefeated label. This defeat snapped a six-fight winning streak which spanned his entire career as a professional MMA fighter.
The heavyweight bout opened up the UFC 249 main card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 249 results include:
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Greg Hardy def. Yorgan De Castro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27)
- Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 3:37
- Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
- Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
