Former Panthers and Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy is continuing to beat up smaller, weaker opposition in the mixed martial arts cage.
Hardy won his amateur fight on Friday night to improve to 3-0. His opponent was a much smaller man who was totally overmatched in the cage. The whole thing was over in 14 seconds as Hardy knocked his opponent down easily with a punch to the jaw and jumped on him and landed a few more punches before the referee could jump in.
Now 3-0 as an amateur MMA fighter, Hardy hasn’t faced anyone remotely competitive and has won all three of his fights by first-round knockout. His three fights have lasted a total of less than three minutes. Hardy said he’s purposely taking his time in the amateur ranks before his trainers think he’s ready to turn professional.
“I"m trying to take my time,” Hardy said. “I’m going to leave it to my coaches . . . I’m going to leave it in their hands and let them make the decision.”
Hardy was arrested in a domestic violence case during the 2014 offseason. Although the Panthers initially stood by him, after the Ray Rice domestic violence video shined a spotlight on the issue, Carolina sidelined Hardy for the rest of the season. The Cowboys signed him the next year, but no team has shown interest in him since. So if he wants to be a professional athlete, MMA is probably his best chance -- even if, eventually, he’s going to have to fight someone his own size.
