4 Reasons why Greg Hardy possibly threw the illegal knee

UFC Fight Night 143: Cejudo vs Dillashaw did not see the sort of debut that Greg Hardy had been hoping for because the win that he was looking to get upon his debut in the UFC never came.

Greg Hardy's involvement on the UFC on ESPN+ 1 card was something that had drawn the ire of the fans as a whole. Elsewhere on the same card was Rachel Ostovich, who had been the victim of domestic violence in the recent past. Given Hardy's past with domestic violence, it was appalling to the fans that Greg Hardy was co-main eventing the card which featured Ostovich.

However, thanks to Ostovich saying that she did not mind, the fight went ahead. Greg Hardy took on Allen Crowder, in what should have been an enormous night for him. Instead, in the second round of their fight, Hardy threw an illegal knee which hit Crowder squarely on the temple, when both of Crowder's knees were touching the ground.

Crowder could not continue, and the referee called the fight immediately, disqualifying Greg Hardy, handing him the first-ever loss of his career.

There has been a lot of speculation as to why Greg Hardy hit the knee which took out Crowder and disqualified him. In this article, we will take a look at 4 possible reasons he threw the knee.

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#1 Inexperience

Greg Hardy might have been outclassed by his own inexperience

The first thought that went through the minds of everyone present was more or less the same, really.

Hardy has had three amateur fights in Mixed Martial Arts, and three professional fights. Before that, for the majority of his career, Greg Hardy was a professional football player and that is what defined him.

He was an excellent player in football, but in the field of MMA, he is still very much a rookie. There is a huge chance that in his debut fight for the UFC, he let his inexperience get the best of him, and forgot the rules enough to hit the knee which proved to be catastrophic for him in the end.

#2 Genuinely thought the knee was coming up

Greg Hardy might have actually believed his knees were up

In the post-fight interview after UFC Fight Night 143, Greg Hardy seemed genuinely apologetic, and although he seemed adamant about that fact that he had never cheated in the past, he said that he had thought that the knees of Allen Crowder were coming up.

Crowder had shifted the moment before Hardy hit the knee, but at no point was he not on his knees there at that moment. Greg Hardy, in the middle of the Octagon, looking to finish his opponent in the heat of the moment might not have understood that his opponent was on both knees.

For this reason, Hardy went for the knee, and it was a vicious one at that. A punch to the temple has proved enough to knock out people in the past, and a knee to the temple is that much worse. The entire thing, doubtful though it appears, might have been nothing more than a misunderstanding.

#3 Tiredness

It might have been a case of a lack of stamina

Let's not forget something when talking about Greg Hardy's fight. He has never before been in a fight that has lasted more than 1 minute in his professional career, and more than 2 minutes in his entire career.

In fact, Greg Hardy had seemed so good in his previous three fights including the two in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, by knocking out his opponents, the fans had never seen what sort of stamina he had. The answer was evident 2 minutes into the 1st round of this fight.

He was breathing heavy and fighting submission attempts from Allen Crowder. He seemed unable to contend with him, and by the time the second round came around, he resembled a steam engine in the way he was letting out huge breaths. His lack of stamina meant that he was extremely tired by the time that Crowder was down on his knees.

People make bad mistakes when they are tired, and perhaps Hardy was no different and ended up hitting him with the knee across the temple in a bad shot thinking that it was an opportunity. Perhaps if he had not been so exhausted, he might have done better.

#4 Frustration

Allen Crowder did not shrink away from Greg Hardy

Greg Hardy is not used to not knocking out his opponents in a matter of seconds. It even looked like he might achieve that in this fight as well when he took on Allen Crowder, but it was not to be. Crowder survived and made it to the second round.

Crowder then proceeded to taunt Greg Hardy in front of the crowd with his hands down and came out swinging in the second round. This would be enough to make anyone angry, and Hardy seemed no different. He was looking to take out Crowder in the second round, even catching him with an elbow.

When Crowder was on his knees, perhaps Hardy just saw red. He is not known for being the most level headed individual in the world, and maybe his temper got the best of him. He went to take out Crowder with the knee because he wanted to knock him out, and only later realised that this would mean he would lose the fight.

There is a huge chance this happened, although this is just speculation. Given that Hardy had been taunted by Crowder, this might just have happened.

Of course, what he said about it being an accident could also be perfectly true, and it could be a mistake in his judgment.

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What do you think happened at UFC Fight Night 143 with Greg Hardy? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!