WATCH: Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy suffers a VICIOUS knockout in his bare-knuckle fight debut
Former Panther linebacker Greg Hardy was brutally knocked out by Josh Watson in Knucklemania 3.
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Former Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy‘s post-NFL career isn’t working out well for the big guy. The 6-5’ DE made his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut on Friday, but it didn’t turn out the way Hardy would’ve hoped.
The former second-team All-Pro rusher entered his fight against Josh Watson in Knucklemania 3 as a huge favorite, but it all went south for the former NFL player as soon as the fight began. During the final seconds of the first round, Watson’s vicious left hook sent Hardy right to the mat in a knockdown. However, Watson couldn’t capitalize on it and the bell saved Greg Hardy.
But Watson didn’t waste any more time since he got into action straightaway and brutally knocked out the Pro Bowl rusher with a vicious left hook within 10 seconds of the start of the second round. This is Watson’s second BKFC victory. He now has a 2-1 record in bare-knuckle boxing. Even though this was Hardy’s first bare-knuckle fight, the 34-year-old previously had fighting experience as he dabbled in the world of MMA after domestic violence allegations ended his promising football career.
The former Cowboys DE earned a contract with UFC after securing two first-round knockout victories in Dana White‘s contender series. He made his UFC debut as an overwhelming favorite (-500) in 2019 against Allen Crowder but lost the fight by disqualification from an illegal knee.
Former DE Greg Hardy’s fighting career hasn’t been kind to him
Greg Hardy was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Panthers found a talented DE in the late rounds as Hardy developed to be one of the good defensive players in the league registering back-to-back double digits sacks seasons, but the domestic violence case against him ended his NFL career.
After an unexpectedly early end to his football career, Hardy decided to test his strength in combat sports and earned a contract with the major MMA promotion UFC. However, Hardy never really flashed in his fighting career.
The heavyweight infamously got knocked out in the first round by Sergey Spivak and Tai Tuivasa in UFC and left the promotion in March 2022. And with an MMA record of 7-5, Hardy signed a multi-fight deal with BKFC in June 2022 to try to revive his combat sports career, which hasn’t been to a good start.
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