Juan Adams savaged Greg Hardy for months before dozens of unanswered punches brought an emphatic end to his grudge match with the ex-NFLer.
Now, Hardy (5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is stepping in to defend Adams (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) against the trolls that inevitably surfaced after his loss.
“Let’s give #juanAdams a second chance,” Hardy wrote on Instagram. “I see people bashing him and reacting to his reaction. But let’s remember when we where (sic) asking for my second chance.”
The classy post quickly got the attention of Adams, who apologized to Hardy and wished him well.
“I know social media apologies mean nothing but i (sic) sincerely apologize for the headache I May have caused you,” Adams wrote. “I spoke to your uncle in the lobby and it opened my eyes to a lot. Have a good career.”
That’s quite the turnaround from Adams’ words leading up to the fight. He cast Hardy as an unrepentant domestic abuser that had been coddled by the UFC. He started a social media hashtag cursing the heavyweight prospect and aimed to end his career.
Hardy in turn said Adams didn’t measure up as a legitimate threat and said he was “too rich and too pretty” to be concerned about his opponent.
“When your talent can’t back up what you’re doing, you’ve got to resort to other methods,” Hardy said. “And I guess that’s what he has to do. But the world knows me. The crowd knows me. I’ve been getting bashed this whole time, and my response is the same. God bless ’em. I’m going to put him in the hospital and wish him the best.”
Hardy came pretty close to following through on his words. The two had barely started fighting before Adams dove for a low-single takedown, and Hardy capitalized by firing down punches that stopped the move in its tracks. Hardy landed shot after shot before the referee intervened just 45 seconds into the bout.
It was Hardy’s second consecutive UFC win after a disqualification loss to Allen Crowder marred his octagon debut. Adams has dropped two straight after a debut win over Chris de la Rocha.
A controversial figure for a prior domestic violence dispute and ugly exit from the NFL, Hardy is now remaking himself as an MMA fighter and wants to win the heavyweight title.
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