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Ultimate Fighting Championship
Martial ArtsMixed Martial Arts

UFC 249: asthmatic Greg Hardy ‘terrified’ of fighting amid coronavirus but shows ‘loyalty’ to Dana White

  • UFC heavyweight Hardy says preparing for his fight with De Castro has been a ‘whirlwind’
  • Former NFL star praises UFC president White for taking care of the fighters during makeshift event

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UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy low kicks Ben Sosoli during their heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night last year. Photo: USA Today Sports
Andrew McNicol

UFC heavyweight and former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy said he is “terrified” of fighting at UFC 249 because of his asthma but is doing so out of “loyalty” to president Dana White.

Hardy (5-2, 1 no contest) takes on Yorgan de Castro (6-0) in Florida on Sunday – a card that has been rescheduled multiple times due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic. The fight was cancelled twice before.

“Oh I’m terrified, man, but that’s not going to stop me from making sure my boss gets the most entertaining fight on TV out of all sports. It’s the biggest event, you need the biggest athletes,” Hardy said at a virtual media event on Thursday when asked about the contagious respiratory disease. His comments came a day before Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for coronavirus, with the Brazilian’s bout against Uriah Hall scrapped from the card.
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“The UFC is a team sport – a big team. How do you think I got here? These guys take care of me to make sure everything is done right … that’s something that’s worth some loyalty,” added Hardy, who lost to Alexander Volkov (30-7) via unanimous decision in November last year.

The 31-year-old American has one no contest on his professional MMA record which came after the controversial “inhaler-gate” incident against Ben Sosoli last October. Hardy used an inhaler in between rounds – which is against UFC rules – causing his win to be retroactively overturned.
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While he is aware that he cannot use his inhaler during fights again, Hardy described the differences in this particular fight week compared to previous cards. Some last-minute changes in coaching staff also influenced his fight training. Hardy said his coach Din Thomas separated from his gym, while the coronavirus caused difficulties in getting other coaches and training partners in.

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