The UFC has another fight lined up for Greg Hardy.
The promotion recently confirmed that the former NFL Pro Bowler-turned-heavyweight prospect will fight Dmitrii Smoliakov (9-2) at UFC on ESPN 3, which is scheduled to take place at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., following an initial report by ESPN.
A previously reported main event rematch between middleweight contenders Yoel Romero and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was also made official.
This will be Hardy’s second UFC fight following a disastrous debut against Allen Crowder at UFC Brooklyn in January. That bout ended when Hardy landed an illegal knee on a downed Crowder in the second round, leading to him losing by disqualification. Prior to that setback, Hardy was 3-0 as a pro and 3-0 as an amateur, with five of those wins coming by way of knockout in under a minute. Two of those victories occurred on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.
The 30-year-old Hardy’s move to MMA generated much publicity due to his NFL background and a high-profile domestic violence incident in 2014 that played a part in his expulsion from the league.
Smoliakov, 34, returns to the UFC after winning his most recent bout at a show in Russia in January. He is 0-2 in his previous Octagon appearances, last competing for the UFC on Jan. 15, 2017 when he lost to Cyril Asker via first-round TKO.
Also official for UFC on ESPN 3, John Lineker (31-8) and Cory Sandhagen (10-1) will meet in a bantamweight bout that was originally scheduled for UFC Brooklyn, welterweights Alex Oliveira (20-6-1, 2 NC) and Li Jingliang (16-5) face off, and former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza fights former Invicta FC strawweight champion Livinha Souza,
See the updated card below (bout order to be determined):
Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Souza
Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba
Carla Esparza vs. Livinha Souza
John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen
Andrei Arlovski vs. Augusto Sakai
Greg Hardy vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov
Alex Oliveira vs. Li Jingliang
Jim Miller vs. Jason Gonzalez
Court McGee vs. Dhiego Lima
Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel
Source: MMAfighting.com
