Written by Derek Moody, October 11, 2016, at 10:01 p.m.
Once considered an elite pass rusher in the NFL, Greg Hardy, quickly diminished that stature for one of a criminal. Hardy played a total of 75 games over the course of six years totaling 40 career sacks. In 2013, he recorded his best season compiling 15 sacks with the Carolina Panthers and was selected to the Pro Bowl.
His career took a turn for the worse when accusations arose of him assaulting an ex-girlfriend. On May 14, 2014, he was arrested for assault and communicating threats. July 15, 2014, he was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months probation and a 60 day jail sentence. The charges were eventually dropped due to the victim failing to appear in court.
Hardy hasn’t disclosed having a background within any of the various forms of martial arts. Without putting the necessary time in, it’s hard to envision a successful MMA career. We’ve all witnessed the outcome of cross over athletes making an attempt at MMA with no formal training versus the ones with training.
He saw success in football but that’s due to a life long background playing and dedicating everything to football. Mixed martial arts may not come so easy but he may be a quick learner. Learning as much as possible is a necessity but we’ll see how his jaw holds up.
“I’m very focused and excited to start my MMA career, I’m going to do this the right way, I can assure you of that. I’m fully committed to being as successful as I can be in this sport,” said Hardy, as reported by MMAFighting.com.
Greg Hardy Makes the Crossover to MMA
Sometimes cross over athletes have a tendency of joining MMA as a form of alleviating aggression not realizing skills are involved. A simple class at a MMA gym hitting a heavy bag will fulfill the aggression needs. To enter a MMA ring or octagon requires several years of training and martial arts mastery to insure a fighter is prepared.
There’s plenty of appeal considering mixed martial arts is the fastest rising sport to date and no prior qualifications are needed to join. There have been other football players to cross over and try their hand at the sport as well. Some have succeeded and some have failed but history has shown the ones with a martial arts background are more likely to be successful.
If anything, people would pay to see Hardy enter a cage and get destroyed simply based on his track record. It would be entertaining if he proved everyone wrong and had a great run within the sport. His debut will be sometime in 2017 but he should extend it to at least 2018 to gain some experience.
It’s hard to picture him being successful without any formal training or martial arts background. Many organizations are trying to sign him due to his name in hope of sales similar to the CM Punk signing. Hardy’s name won’t register nearly the same amount of attention but many will tune in anyways.
Football Players Who Failed
- Johnnie Morton (no martial arts experience) was 0-1 getting knocked out in :38 and carried out on a stretcher. He also tested positive for steroids and never returned.
- Bob Sapp (11-19-1 MMA 12-17 Kickboxing) was on overnight star in Japan due to his size but it didn’t translate in the skills department. His bull rush technique only lasted so long before he was hit and either submitted or knocked out.
Football Players Who Succeeded
- Herschel Walker (5th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo) went 2-0 and is planning to return this year at age 54
- Matt Mitrione (kickboxing) currently 11-5 is closing in on Heavyweight Title Fight at Bellator MMA
- Brendan Schaub (Boxing & Jiu Jitsu) was 10-5 before retiring and made it to The Ultimate Fighter Finals