Greg Hardy ready to ‘crush’ ranked opponent to prove he is ‘something the world has never seen’

Former NFL star and MMA prospect Greg Hardy is confident he is the next big thing for the UFC, and that he will “crush” any opponents that stand in his way.

The controversial fighter (5-1) made his UFC debut this year at UFC Brooklyn. It didn’t go the way he anticipated as he lost via disqualification. However, he has successfully rebounded with two first-round KO wins and recently told MMA Junkie that he is on track to become the next UFC champion.

“This is my time basically to just work on everything that is Greg Hardy,” he said. “Grappling, punching, there are no specifics. There’s not a guy to worry about taking me down. This is where I become a martial artist and take the next step… Just encompassing everything that is a fighter and build my game to be an actual world champion instead of some fluke showcase movie-deal fight guy.”

Hardy is often criticized for the domestic violence accusations in his past. However, he is throwing criticism to the side and keeping his eyes on the prize: a fight against a top-15 ranked contender.

“We’re looking with somebody with numbers behind their name,” said Hardy.  “(I’m) going to bring a whole lot of pain, stretch this fight game out and see if we can go three rounds, maybe. See what that looks like.”

Hardy is currently training out of American Top Team and believes the gym has been instrumental in his development.

“These guys push me to become something the world has never seen,” he said. “We’re going to be the most complete, most dangerous, most vicious fighter of all time. We are literally stone-by-stone, brick-by-brick building everything I need.”

Greg Hardy has high hopes for his UFC career, but do you think he has the skills to rise through the ranks? Let us know in the comments below!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/23/2019.