When we last checked in with Greg Hardy, he had just gotten the first loss of his MMA career after kneeing a downed opponent in the face. After that unceremonious defeat, he knocked out his next two hand-picked opponents in Dana White’s everlasting quest to make this guy likable. On Friday, Hardy once again made his way back into the sport’s spotlight for the wrong reasons.
The former Cowboys player won his bout against Ben Sosoli in a unanimous decision. However, there was one small problem with his victory: he used an inhaler in between rounds. In a clip released on the ESPN MMA Twitter account, Hardy is overheard telling some official that his inhaler was medically approved before taking two quick puffs and returning to action.
But, as many fans were quick to point out, such an action is usually considered illegal. Former heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier also got in on the social media action, tweeting what seemingly everyone watching the fight was simultaneously shouting—it’s worth noting that this was posted as Cormier was commentating on the match.
Hardy, unsurprisingly, was told that he could not, in fact, use his inhaler for the match and his win was changed to a no contest. As MMA Junkie reports, he wasn’t too pleased with the decision:
“(I’m) super sad,” Hardy told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 6. “It’s a ventolin albuterol inhaler for exercise-induced asthma. I used it my whole life. I sign the commission paperwork when I weighed in. It’s on the USADA paperwork when I take every single drug test so that y’all know that I’m not taking steroids. I’m just naturally a monster.”
In an attempt to make sure his golden boy did not receive too much of the blame, White did his best to place the fault onto Hardy’s corner after explaining that he understood where the confusion came from.
“I don’t even know what to say. First of all: Din Thomas … come on, Din. You’ve been in this game forever. His corner, they’ve got to know you can’t use an inhaler in the corner. They should know that. Shouldn’t even be a question. You can drink water. It’s pretty simple. Gatorade in some states.”
The question continues to be what it always has been: if it takes this much effort to promote a guy who’s been mediocre at best in his fights against hand-picked opponents, why continue to do it? Only White can truly answer that. Until then, Hardy will continue to intrude on these cards.