UFC newcomer Greg Hardy's promotional debut didn't go the way as planned on Saturday night when he was disqualified in the second round for an illegal knee to the head of a downed Allen Crowder.
Speaking to the media after the disappointing finish to the UFC Fight Night 143 co-main event, Hardy was apologetic for his actions. He blamed the incident on a lack of experience in the Octagon. Calling it a "mistimed" knee, Hardy assured the media and fans that he had not intended to cheat.
“He was getting up, it was inexperience in mistiming it, man,” said Hardy (3-1), who had been undefeated in his three previous pro fights, none of which lasted past two minutes. “But I trying to time it like I had just watched Donald Cowboy Cerrone do, like I saw everybody else do, and I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. And it was not. I messed up.”
Hardy had acknowledged that he let people down and expressed dissatisfaction with the way things ended.
“I was built to do this. I was made to do this, man, and I let people down today. I let my gym down. I let my team down, and you know it? it sucks man. I didn’t want him to go out like that. That sucks for Allen Crowder man, for him to go out like that, no matter how he feels about me that’s not okay you know. I take full responsibility for this. It’s not something I’d do on purpose. Anybody that’s ever met me, or been around me, knows it’s not something I would do. I wish we could go back and go into the third round, man.”
Hardy left the Octagon to a rain of boos and chants of "A--h---, a--h---" from the crowd. The controversial fighter didn't address the crowd's reaction, instead focusing only on those who had supported him on his rise to the UFC.
“It would be real selfish for me to sit around and talk about the boos when I’ve got all these people who traveled halfway across the world to be here with me, man. All I can think about is like I said is how I let these people down for these people who put their name on the line for me. It might not mean a lot to regular people, but it means a lot to me man.”
While Hardy was definitely disappointed in his performance, he was adamant that he had not intentionally cheated and even became a bit defiant when asked about those who viewed him as a cheater after the illegal knee.
“Show me one time I’ve ever cheated in my life. Show me one of their favorite quarterbacks in history that I ever cheated against. Go ask Tom Brady if I ever cheated when I sacked him. I’m not a cheater. That’s not on my record, that’s not on my resume. Thirty years of life. Not one time. Not one time have you ever asked me a questions and I lied to you. Not one time have I ever stood up here and you asked a question and I said ‘it wasn’t my fault.’ I was there. I did it. It was my responsibility. I’m a grown man. That’s my character.”
Despite beliefs that Hardy won't step into the Octagon again after the disqualification, UFC president Dana White has indicated that the controversial fighter will return. Hardy said he'll return to the gym in a week, promising to fix his fighting weaknesses, and hopes he will get a chance to face Crowder once again.
“Allen Crowder, please come back and do this again, if he wants to,” Hardy said. “If not? I understand.”