Report: Greg Hardy vs. Khalil Rountree fight targeted for UFC 252

Greg Hardy is reportedly set to return to the Octagon at UFC 252 on August 15, where he’ll take on former light heavyweight Khalil Rountree.

News of this Hardy vs. Rountree bout, which is not yet official, was first reported by Raphael Marinho of Combate.

Greg Hardy last fought at UFC 249 in May, when he weathered some early adversity to pick up a unanimous decision win over Yorgan de Castro. Prior to that, the former NFL player was was defeated in a short-notice fight with former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov, who was the first ranked opponent of his still relatively young MMA career. Hardy will be welcoming Rountree, who has fought as light as 185 pounds in the past, to the heavyweight division.

Rountree has not fought since he suffered a brutal, first-round loss to Ion Cuțelaba in Copenhagen in September 2018. After that loss, Rountree suggested that his next fight would be the last of his career. While he was briefly linked to a fight with Sam Alvey, that fight was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and he has not fought since. Time will tell if he still intends to retire after his fight with Hardy.

Speaking of retirements, UFC 252 will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between reigning champion Stipe Miocic and former champion Daniel Cormier. The bout will be the last of Cormier’s legendary career.

See the new UFC 252 fight card, with the addition of this Hardy vs. Rountree fight below.

UFC 252 Fight Card

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier
265 lbs.: Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
265 lbs.: Khalil Rountree vs. Greg Hardy
115 lbs.: Livinha Souza vs. Ashley Yoder
205 lbs.: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
115 lbs.: Felice Herrig vs. Virna Jandiroba
135 lbs.: Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
170 lbs.: Zelim Imadaev vs. Laureano Staropoli

Who do you think will come out on top if Greg Hardy and Khalil Rountree collide as planned at UFC 252 on August 15?