George Hardwick is an 11-1 lightweight currently holding gold in Cage Warriors, while brother is a 9-3-1 featherweight also finding success under British promotion’s banner. And there are some very good reasons for Dana White and the UFC to give the Hardwick brothers a call.
Both Hardwick brothers started their MMA journey as young men building their way up in the amateur scene. Harry went 4-1 as an amateur and was the defending Made 4 The Cage featherweight champion. As an amateur, George didn’t win a title like his brother but did get one more win accumulating a 5-1 record.
The brothers train at a small team in Middleborough, England called Middleborough Fight Academy. They have been there for a long time now and both coach there as well. Both have been grinding in Europe for Cage Warriors the last year in separate divisions carving separate paths.
First, we’ll look into Harry Hardwick who is the older and more experienced brother. Through seven years as a pro, Harry has managed a 9-3-1 pro record. He’s undefeated in his last five fights, with four wins and a draw, which has been the biggest unbeaten streak of his career. Let’s break down his career a little bit more.
Harry Hardwick’s Pro Debut
Harry Hardwick made his pro debut in April of 2015. He fought Chris Telford who had little to no information out there, as he had a 1-0 record. In his first fight as a pro Hardwick fought five minutes around for the first time and got an important three-round fight early in his career. Hardwick did go the distance but there was a few spots he could’ve finished. Hardwick scored multiple takedowns in the fight and had the back in rounds one and two. In the third round, he did get taken down and was on his back at the final bell. In that third Hardwick was chewing up the lead leg of Telford forcing him to frequently switch stances. As a young green pro fighter, he had a lot of bright moments and did win the fight.
First setback as a Pro
Harry wasn’t new to defeat as he did lose once as an amateur. With that said, his first loss as a pro came on a big stage for BAMMA, which was a big regional promotion at that time. The foe was Blaine O’Driscoll who is well respected out of Europe and is still a credible fighter to this day. Going into this fight Hardwick was only 2-0 so this was a big step up in competition. I don’t think Hardwick was ready for that type of volume and aggression O’Driscoll brought. Eventually it all added up and Hardwick shot a bad takedown and O’Driscoll took the back and finished with the RNC.
Back on track
Five months from Hardwick’s loss to O’Driscoll he rebounded with a win. He bested veteran Declan Williams to collect his first submission win as a pro. Williams was taking Hardwick down at will but Hardwick kept attacking off his back. He used submission attempts to sweep. In round two off his back he locked in a triangle. He rolled Williams to his back and then to his side and Williams eventually tapped.
After that, Harry lost his very next fight but it was to a split decision to a talented Lork Ord. He rebounded off that with his biggest win yet. Harry won the Made 4 the Cage featherweight title which was the same title he won as an amateur.
Bellator debut
November 2019 Harry Hardwick fought in his biggest fight to date. It was his first fight in Bellator and was 4-2 leading into this fight with a talented Nathan Rose. At the end of the fight, it didn’t look like Harry won being a bloody mess. In fact, he dominated rounds two and three. Rose took round one but slowed significantly and Harry took over. Harry landed some nasty hooks to the body and it was mainly the takedowns and ground and pound that sealed it for him.
It wasn’t a long run in Bellator just fighting once more after his fight with Rose. He did end up losing to Richie Smullen. It wasn’t a bad loss just like his other two losses. The only difference is after the one to Smullen, Harry hasn’t lost since. After that fight, Harry fought in Croatia and submitted Karlo Caput in the first round one.
Current Cage Warriors run
Cage Warriors saw the value in Harry Hardwick signing him to an exclusive deal. In June of 2021, he made his promotional debut against Jean O’Doye. The fight was read as a split decision but it was clear Hardwick had won. He did get dropped briefly in round one but it basically woke him up. After that happened, Hardwick tore O’Doye apart. Harry was landing low calf kicks, ripping the body, and constantly throwing in combinations mixing it up. He took some good shots in the fight but his pace and ability to mix it up were unparalleled.
Hardwick would then go on to outwork veteran Konmon Dey to a unanimous decision. Hardwick worked the jab frequently and kept throwing in different patterns. He mixed in a few takedowns but it was just the amount of work he did on the feet that kept Dey a few steps behind.
Riding a lot of momentum Harry had a big fight against the undefeated Italian Federico Pasquali. The fight was ruled a draw but Hardwick clearly won. With that said, this was a great fight between the two. In round one Hardwick was doing well until he got dropped and beat up with some ground and pound. Pasquali didn’t get the finish and Hardwick picked it up from there like he usually does. He walked Pasquali down and landed knees and hooks to the body and threw elbows. Hardwick had Pasquali curled up against the cage on many occasions. Hardwick mixed in a few takedowns as well doing a ton in this fight.
In his most recent fight, he went to his fourth straight decision against the always-tough Steve Aimable. Some would say this was a must-win for Hardwick coming off a draw prior to this fight. This was a typical fight from Hardwick with pressure, volume, and blood. Hardwick didn’t finish the fight but many times he was close to it. In round two he almost got the RNC. Other than that short moment it was the striking of Hardwick. He had no issues letting his hands go attacking from everywhere. He also constantly ripped the body with knees and combinations. If it wasn’t for the fence holding up Aimable I believe Hardwick would’ve finished.
