This past weekend at UFC Vegas 12, Greg Hardy (7-2, 1 NC) took on “The Crochet Boss” Maurice Greene (9-5). The fight was all Hardy from the very beginning. After dropping Greene a couple of times, Hardy closed the show in the second round.
It was the second UFC victory of 2020 for the former NFL All-Pro defensive lineman. Back in May, Hardy defeated Yorgan De Castro by Unanimous Decision at UFC 249. Hardy continued to show improvement this past Saturday evening.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans, has taken Hardy under his wing. You can tell that Hardy has really put all of his time and effort into becoming a better mixed martial artist. In the past, Hardy always seemed to leave the door open for an NFL return.
However, this past week, Hardy said that MMA has completely taken over his life. Hardy could be a very dangerous contender if he continues to tighten things up and progressing down the path that he’s currently on.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 12?
I personally think it’s time that the UFC steps up the competition for Greg Hardy. Outside of the Ben Sosoli No Contest, the only fight that Greg Hardy hasn’t won in the last year and a half was the last minute fight against Alexander Volkov.
If I was playing matchmaker after this last performance, I would give Hardy someone who’s either on the fringe of the top 15 or someone who’s on the backend. If you want to give him someone with a ranking, I would look at Marcin Tybura.
However, I think there’s a better option that will come out of this upcoming weekend. At UFC Vegas 13, Tanner Boser is scheduled to take on Andrei Arlovski. I think the winner of that fight would be a good next step for Hardy in the UFC‘s heavyweight division.