5 reasons why UFC 272 should mark the end of Greg Hardy's time in the octagon

This weekend sees UFC 272 go down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and on the main card, former NFL star Greg Hardy faces Sergey Spivak in a heavyweight bout.

Greg Hardy’s fight with Sergey Spivak at UFC 272 is set to be the final bout on his current contract, so should the promotion ink him to a new one?

As of the time of writing, there have been no reports of the UFC looking to offer Hardy an extension – so should they finally cut ties with ‘The Prince of War’?

The answer is yes. With that in mind, here are five reasons why UFC 272 should mark the end of Hardy's time in the octagon.

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#5. Greg Hardy is still widely disliked by the fans

Hardy has never become popular with fans of the UFC

The signing of Greg Hardy by the UFC was always going to be a controversial one. After all, the former defensive end was essentially forced out of the NFL following a domestic violence charge in 2014, despite having a guilty verdict quashed when his victim failed to show up in court.

The fact, then, that he was signed by the UFC in 2018 despite Dana White always stating that there was “no bouncing back” from hitting a woman, instantly garnered some bad publicity for the promotion.

Evidently, the UFC hoped that Hardy’s performances inside the octagon would help erase the memories of his checkered past and that the fans would get behind him if he produced some entertaining fights.

However, the opposite has instead been the case. Hardy was widely booed during his octagon debut in January 2019. Despite giving off a relatively humble image during his tenure with the promotion, the fans have simply not bought in.

‘The Prince of War’ remains a villain in the eyes of fans and it seems that nothing he can do inside the octagon will change that. More importantly, unlike the likes of Conor McGregor and Colby Covington, he doesn’t appear to be a villain that fans will pay to see.

With that considered, it’s probably best for the UFC to simply write his signing off as a mistake and let him go regardless of whether he wins or loses against Sergey Spivak this weekend.

#4. Greg Hardy has failed to stay away from controversy inside the octagon

Greg Hardy has failed to avoid controversy since arriving in the octagon

Greg Hardy’s checkered past outside of the octagon may well have been easier to forget about had he been able to stay controversy-free during his fights. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.

Hardy’s octagon debut against Allen Crowder saw him start strongly. However, he began to fade as the fight went into the second round. When he used an illegal knee to essentially knock him out, forcing the referee to call a disqualification, it was easy to jump to the conclusion that he’d thrown the strike out of frustration.

‘The Prince of War’ did win his next two bouts following that, but his fourth visit to the octagon was another controversy-filled one. He edged out Ben Sosoli in a dull, slow-paced fight, only for the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission to overturn the result later that night.

The reason? Hardy used an inhaler between rounds, despite not declaring that he would be required to use it prior to the fight. Sure, it wasn’t like he’d used anabolic steroids, but this was perhaps the most flagrant use of a banned substance in UFC history.

Hardy has since stayed away from any controversy during his fights, but these two incidents still make it difficult to fully trust him as a professional fighter. That means it’d be best for the UFC to let him go after this weekend.

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#3. At the age of 33, Greg Hardy is no longer a prospect

At the age of 33, Greg Hardy can no longer be considered a prospect as such

Part of the reason why it must be tempting for the UFC to simply let Greg Hardy depart the promotion after this weekend is the fact that he’s lost his last two bouts, both by TKO.

In fact, ‘The Prince of War’ hardly has a strong record overall, with his ledger inside the octagon currently standing at 4-4-1.

This would obviously be more palatable if Hardy was a highly-touted prospect, but the fact is that at the age of 33, it’s hard to consider the former NFL defensive end a prospect at this point.

In fact, if anything, it could be argued that he’s either reaching the end of his athletic prime, or is just about there now.

Sure, the UFC’s heavyweight division does tend to house older fighters than its other weight classes. Reigning heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou is almost two years older than Hardy, for instance. However, he’s been at the top of his game for a number of years now.

Simply put, to reach the top of the division, Hardy needs to make some massive improvements. The chances of him doing that at this point seem very low, meaning the UFC would probably be better off just moving on from him.

#2. Greg Hardy is on a relatively expensive deal by the UFC’s standards

Greg Hardy made over $100k for his fight with Tai Tuivasa, an highly paid deal by UFC standards

While it’s a huge point of contention with both the fans and a number of fighters, the fact is that while the UFC pays its top stars well, the promotion still likes to keep a tight belt when it comes to salaries.

This usually means that if the older fighters on bigger deals begin to fall out of contention or begin to lose their drawing power with the fans, the UFC is much more likely to cut them loose than if they were a younger fighter on a cheaper deal.

With that in mind, it seems to make plenty of sense for the promotion to allow their relationship with Greg Hardy to come to a conclusion after this weekend’s event.

Considering his lack of experience and his relatively poor octagon record, Hardy is on a surprisingly hefty deal with the UFC. That's probably due to his big name status from his days with the NFL.

It’s hard to find much information about how much money Hardy made for some of his earlier bouts in the octagon. However, a report from The Sports Daily in 2021 claimed that ‘The Prince of War’ was paid $106,000 for his loss to Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264.

When you consider the fact that most of the UFC’s fighters are on a show/win contract, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that with a win, Hardy could’ve made upwards of $200k. That would’ve made him that event’s third-highest paid fighter, behind only Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Put simply, when you consider his actual achievements, that’s crazy and it’s highly unlikely that the UFC will want to continue spending that much money on him. In this case, their only option is to cut him loose.

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#1. Greg Hardy has failed to live up to the hype

Greg Hardy has largely failed to live up to expectations during his UFC run

When the UFC inked Greg Hardy to what was initially a “developmental deal” in 2018 despite the former NFL star having zero MMA experience, the idea was that the promotion was capitalizing on his potential.

While Hardy lacked experience and actual fighting skill back then, what he did seem to possess was raw power, size and explosive athleticism; basically, the raw ingredients that could make him a title contender in the future.

However, in the years that have followed, he simply hasn’t lived up to the expectations around him at all. Sure, he hits hard, but he doesn’t appear to carry the one-shot knockout power that his physical ability would suggest. Despite his vaunted athleticism, his cardio and speed haven’t held up at all against the UFC’s other heavyweights.

Essentially, the struggles that Hardy has faced in the octagon have made a mockery of the idea that the NFL houses the world’s best athletes. Despite winning four fights, his four losses mean that he’s still as far away from title contention as he was when he first arrived in the promotion.

So, is there any point in the UFC persisting with him in the hopes that he’ll suddenly live up to his potential?

The truth is no, as it’s unlikely that the potential they saw was truly ever there in the first place. He’s simply a big, strong guy who hits relatively hard, making him no different to the other various heavyweights who’ve come and gone from the promotion over the years.