June 13 (UPI) — UFC president Dana White offered Greg Hardy a developmental contract following his 57-second knockout of fellow former NFL player Austen Lane.
Hardy hit Lane onto the mat in the first round of his bout Tuesday in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Serie at the Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas. He hit the former NFL defensive end with a right hook, before finishing him off with his left fist.
The 29-year-old was a sixth round pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played five seasons for the Panthers before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2015. Hardy was suspended for 10 games in 2015 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. That suspension was later reduced to four games.
Lane, 30, was a fifth round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2010 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.
Alonzo Menifield also earned a contract from White for his first round win against UFC veteran Daniel Jolly.
“When you look at a guy like Hardy, Hardy has no experience,” White said in an interview with UFC after the fight. “Tonight was his first professional fight. But, man, he can punch and obviously there’s a lot more to that guy.”
“So what we’re gonna do is we’re actually going to bring Hardy in and give him a [contract]. This guy needs to get some more experience and we’ll figure out how to do that. We’ve done this before.”
Lane (2-1) is listed at 6-foot-7, 245-pounds, while Hardy stands at 6-foot-5, 265-pounds.
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