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UFC fighter, domestic violence victim blasts Greg Hardy contract: 'There's no punishment'

Jessica-Rose Clark is a UFC fighter on the rise.

After competing since 2012 on various pro circuits, the 30-year-old is 2-0 since joining UFC and the world’s 13th-ranked flyweight.

She is also the survivor of a brutal attack at the hands of her former fiancé and fellow MMA fighter Julian Wallace.

Clark upset with Dana White’s decision to employ Greg Hardy

She is not happy with the UFC’s recent decision to grant a contract to Greg Hardy, who was effectively banished from the NFL for his history with domestic violence.

UFC president Dana White awarded Hardy a developmental contract on Tuesday after a 57-second KO victory over fellow former NFL player Austen Lane on Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series.”

Hardy was convicted of a violent 2014 incident in North Carolina in which his alleged victim said he threatened to kill her, beat her repeatedly and slammed her hand with a toilet seat before throwing her onto a bed covered with guns. Charges were dropped on appeal when his accuser declined to cooperate with prosecution for another trial.

The Pro Bowl-caliber defensive pass rusher eventually couldn’t find an NFL job despite being in his prime and began a fighting career that has led him to earning a UFC contract.

UFC fighter and domestic violence victim Jessica-Rose Clark sounded off on Dana White’s decision to award Greg Hardy a UFC contract. (Getty)
UFC fighter and domestic violence victim Jessica-Rose Clark sounded off on Dana White’s decision to award Greg Hardy a UFC contract. (Getty)

Clark sounded off on the decision Thursday in an interview with phoneboothfighting.

“Athletic ability seems to supersede any negative thing you do in your life,” Clark said. “You see it time and time again, like Kobe Bryant. It happens so often, and it (expletive) blows my mind that that’s where our society is at. That like, ‘Oh, he did all these really terrible things, but he’s an amazing athlete, so (expletive) it, let’s just let him keep going and keep making his millions and keep being on TV.’ There’s no punishment.”

Jessica-Rose Clark, left, is a survivor of a brutal domestic violence incident. (Getty)
Jessica-Rose Clark, left, is a survivor of a brutal domestic violence incident. (Getty)

Clark feared for her life during her own attack

Clark survived her 2016 attack at the hands of Wallace that resulted in him pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of intentionally choking with recklessness.

Clark said Wallace attacked her when she brought the wrong noodles for dinner to their home in Australia and began to kick her repeatedly in the head while he was wearing boots. Clark said he eventually put her in a choke hold and she feared for her life before being able to break free. She said she was then able to kick him in the head and knock him out before calling the police.

“I kept tapping him on the arm because I could feel that I was going to lose consciousness,” Clark told the Daily Mail. “He pulled tighter and I thought that would be the end. If I wasn’t in an industry where I do get hit every day and I can brace myself against impact, I’d hate to think what would have happened.”

Clark said on Thursday that she believes that Wallace has attacked other women and doesn’t thuink that someone like him or Hardy change their ways.

“I am very against Greg being signed, because I don’t believe people like that change,” Clark said. “What stops him from going and doing it to the next girlfriend? I promise you that wasn’t the first girlfriend that he did that to. But he didn’t get punished for that one, either. He didn’t get punished for the first ones, and he didn’t get punished for that one, and now he’s going to be televised on one of the largest broadcasts in the world, for one of the most popular sports in the world. What’s stopping him from doing it to every girl that comes into contact with him?”

White thinks Hardy deserves another chance

White, on Tuesday, said that he believed that Hardy deserves another chance.

“The reality is if this guy stays clean for the next 10 years, wins a world title and is one of the greatest mixed martial arts of all time, he’s always going to hear about his past,” White said. “It’s going to follow him for the rest of his life. He’s done everything right so far. He’s paid his dues, hit rock bottom, built himself back up and is trying to make a living.”

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