Who’s ready for Greg Hardy to take a step up in competition? Greg Hardy is apparently – and on short notice, in enemy territory.
Hardy, coming off a controversial no contest this past weekend, has decided to fill in on 18 days’ notice for the injured Junior Dos Santos. Hardy will fight Alexander Volkov on Nov. 9 in the UFC on ESPN+ 21 co-main event.
Dos Santos vs. Volkov previously had been booked as the headliner. Instead, the featherweight fight between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Calvin Kattar has been elevated as the headliner but will remain scheduled for three rounds.
A UFC official confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Tuesday following an initial report by ESPN.
Last Friday at UFC on ESPN 6, former NFL All-Pro Hardy put on perhaps his most impressive performance, going three rounds with Ben Sosoli. He initially earned a unanimous decision, only to have it changed to a no contest after the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission reviewed Hardy’s use of an inhaler in between Rounds 2 and 3.
A win over Russian contender Volkov, the No. 7 heavyweight in the official UFC rankings, no doubt would be the biggest win of Hardy’s early MMA career, especially considering the circumstances.
“This was Greg’s idea,” Hardy’s manager, Malki Kawa, told ESPN. “He trains with Junior Dos Santos at American Top Team and saw that he was sick. He called me up and asked what I thought about him fighting Volkov. I actually didn’t like the fight for him. I thought maybe it was too soon, but Greg wants to step up in competition. He thinks he can go to Moscow and knock him out, and he wanted to help the promotion, which is exactly what he did.”
Volkov, a former Bellator champion, hasn’t fought since October of last year, when he was knocked out by Derrick Lewis in dramatic fashion.
The opportunity for Hardy to step in came about after it was discovered earlier Tuesday that Dos Santos has been hospitalized with a bacterial infection in his leg.
Greg Hardy set to fight Alexander Volkov in UFC on ESPN+ 21 co-headliner on 18 days' notice
