Don’t look now, but Greg Hardy is heading to Russia, where he’ll step in against Alexander Volkov at UFC Moscow.
Love him or hate him, you can’t seem to get rid of him. The controversial Greg Hardy, just days removed from an embarrassing no contest at UFC Boston, is stepping in to take on Alexander Volkov at UFC Moscow. ESPN was first to report Hardy’s addition to the card.
The move comes after Junior Dos Santos was forced out of the main event against Russia’s Volkov. That’s due to a bacterial infection that has landed him in hospital.
Hardy steps into the biggest fight of his short career with the memory of a bone-headed decision still fresh in everyone’s mind. Hardy called for an inhaler between the second and third rounds of his fight against ‘Combat Wombat’ Ben Sosoli at UFC Boston just days ago. Hardy, at the time, was overheard saying the inhaler was “USADA approved,” and while the substance in question, Ventolin (Salbutamol) is permissible under certain thresholds, the inhaler was never allowed in the cage to begin with.
Somehow, a commission rep, Hardy’s corner, and Hardy himself all missed that, resulting in a decision win being almost instantly overturned to a no contest.
Hardy, however, has failed upwards into a co-main event scrap with Volkov. JDS vs. Volkov had been the main event, but that’s off the table. Because five rounds against a contender, and the inhaler might be back in play.
Instead, it’s a three-round affair, while Zabit Magomedsharipov and Calvin Kattar, a promising featherweight tilt, has been promoted to the main event.
UFC Moscow (UFC Fight Night 163) takes place November 9, 2019 at the CSKA Arena in Moscow, Russia.
