Greg Hardy is apparently giving MMA a go now
Finding his NFL options all but at an end, former Cowboys/Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy is making a switch to MMA.
“I’m very focused and excited to start my MMA career,” Hardy said in a statement to MMAFighting.com. “I’m going to do this the right way, I can assure you of that.”
Hardy does not have an extensive MMA background, but according to his camp has been training for several months in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He has gone unsigned by an NFL team after several controversy-laden seasons and an arrest earlier this fall on charges of cocaine possession. Hardy, who spent his career with the Panthers and Cowboys, was suspended for most of the 2014 season and four games of 2015 stemming from a domestic violence incident. No team signed Hardy for the 2016 season.
Now, athletes switching sports to compete in MMA is the 21st-century version of athletes switching sports to play baseball or golf. Sure, Hardy’s fellow former Cowboy Herschel Walker competed well enough in MMA, going undefeated in his two bouts. But Jose Canseco lost just 1:17 into his first and only professional bout, and pro wrestler CM Punk lasted just a minute longer in his only fight to date. Hardy likely won’t fight until 2017, at which time we’ll see how well he takes a punch.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
