Let start right away by saying that I’m not a fan or advocate of Greg Hardy. I find him to be a despicable human being, but I also have to admit that at this time, he hasn’t been legally convicted of anything at this time. Yes, he was convicted of assaulting a female and communicating threats in July of 2014. However, he won his appeal after the victim never showed up in court as a civil settlement had allegedly been reached beforehand. In other words, he didn’t win his appeal using reliable evidence to prove his innocence. Later, he had the charges expunged from his record. Did I mention he was arrested of possession of cocaine last month too?
It came out earlier this week that Hardy, a person with a violent history, has decided to try his hand at a career in MMA. As the New York Post so eloquently put it: Greg Hardy gives up on NFL for a more violent career. Has he ever stopped to think how his potential career change might appear given his past?
However, this isn’t a piece about whether or not Hardy deserves an opportunity to pursue his new career. Nor is this about his crappy history, though I’ve already mentioned plenty of it in order to provide some context to the situation. Nope. This is about how we should all take Hardy’s chances to be a major player serious.
Yes, I’m aware that the 6'5" and 280 lb. Hardy has only been training in his new sport for a few months. Generally, it takes years of fighting experience for a fighter to approach UFC level and that is usually with a years of base training such as wrestling or BJJ. Hardy doesn’t have any of those credentials. What he does have is elite athletic abilities that the vast majority of heavyweights can’t hold a candle to.
The reason there is a major dearth of athletes at the heavier divisions is due to those larger athletes pursuing more lucrative careers in the likes of the NFL and NBA. Can’t blame them. Hardy made about $20 million his last two seasons and that is with the withholding of a quarter of his salary from last season due to his suspension. The list of fighters who have made $20 million over their career is minimal. So why is Hardy turning to MMA? He has burned too many bridges based on his legal history and locker room presence. His last team, the Dallas Cowboys, are notorious for taking chances on athletes with less than reputable reputations. Even they passed on bringing back the talented pass rusher despite a lack of credible bodies at the position.
Hardy’s route into the MMA world isn’t common, but neither is it unheard of. My basis of comparison is current Bellator heavyweight Matt Mitrione. Before beginning his MMA career, Mitrione had an NFL career from 2002-05. He didn’t have a particularly distinguished career with four tackles over nine games. He simply didn’t have the required level of athleticism to find success after a foot injury plagued him in the early years of his professional career.
After a few years out of athletics, Mitrione began training in mixed martial arts in 2008 with the likes of Chris Lytle and Jake O’Brien. He ended up on the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, competing against an eclectic cast with MMA veterans and other former football players raw to the sport of MMA. The UFC recognized his potential and took their time with him. He officially opened his career with a contest against another former NFL competitor in Marcus Jones and followed that with a PPV appearance against noted street fighter Kimbo Slice. Slowly but surely, Mitrione’s level of competition increased. Now he is an established heavyweight fighter worthy of being in the same cage with some of the best in the business.
Hardy had a much more successful NFL career than Mitrione had. He not only played longer on the big stage, he also picked up a number of accolades along the way as he was a 2nd-team All-Pro in 2013 after collecting 15 sacks. If his NFL career is truly over, he totaled 40 sacks over six seasons. Those numbers are even more impressive when taking into account that he missed all but one game in 2014 thanks to his legal issues and four more in 2015 due to suspension.
So what does Hardy’s NFL accolades have to do with his MMA career? Hardy’s success was largely attributed to his elite physical abilities as he was one of the top athletes at his position in the league. Mitrione, who has often been considered one of the top athletes in the heavyweight division, was considered to be a below average athlete at the NFL level while also playing on the defensive line. How much better athletically would Hardy be against the heavyweight field in terms of physical gifts than Mitrione?
With his physical skills, Hardy’s conversion to MMA will be much smoother for him than it would be for most. It will be hard to find an opponent with better natural tools for him to compete against in heavyweight MMA, making his success that much more likely. At 28, he’s not exceptionally young by any means, though heavyweight is the division where age matters the least. By comparison, Mitrione was about 30 when he started his MMA training. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Hardy not only makes it to the elite level, but that he finds success as well. In fact, he stands a very good chance of succeeding… so long as he is serious about his efforts.
I don’t know how serious Hardy is in his pursuit of an MMA career. If he is, I also don’t know what type of route he intends to take. Will he be willing to take fights on the regional scene? How long before the UFC, Bellator, or WSOF come calling? There are a lot of unknowns here, but I do know one thing for sure. Whether people like him or not, he is a bigger name on the national scene than 99% of fighters in the MMA. Keep in mind we saw CM Punk fight a month ago on a UFC PPV. Hardy will have eyes on him regardless of where he fights, even if fans only want to see him get his head kicked in. Expect the big promotions to come calling for his services eventually. Don’t be surprised if it happens sooner rather than later.
Miscellaneous skills such as toughness? You can’t be a pansy and find success in the NFL trenches. Hardy is plenty tough. He hasn’t missed much time due to injury either at a position that sees a lot wear and tear, indicating great durability. I would think it would be a given to say that he has the requisite mean streak needed to put a hurtin’ on his opponents too. I’m less worried about those intangibles than I am about his fight IQ and stamina. Then again, all of these are issues that we can’t speak for until we see him in the cage. Other things such as where he trains are other factors that have yet to be established, but I’m sure he can find a good camp that will take him in.
The last question is what type of opposition Hardy would be facing. Mitrione was handled with care so as not to stunt his development. Nowadays he has been competitive with legit top 10 talent. I’m sure there are plenty of established talents that would love to build their name off of the former NFL star. If Hardy has smart people around him – and considering some of the stupid things he has done and said, that isn’t a guarantee – he’ll hold off on facing anyone with a decent name for a while. Otherwise, his MMA career could be derailed before it truly had a chance to blossom. Then again, the UFC gave CM Punk a dude with two MMA fights on his resume. Bellator gave Kimbo Slice the likes of an ancient Ken Shamrock and Dada 5000 to close his career. I’m sure whoever picks him up will be gentle with him.
I’m not sure how I feel about Hardy’s attempt to break into the sport. Will this be something that feeds his violent tendencies or will it allow him to channel his energies into something more productive? Clearly I’d hope for the latter, but there is no way to know until time has passed. What I do know is that I’m very curious to see how his career plays out as he no doubt has the physical tools to succeed.