Greg Hardy: 5 interesting things you need to know about the UFC Heavyweight

#1 Greg Hardy lost his first UFC bout via disqualification

Greg Hardy kneeing Allen Crowder on his UFC debut

Other than his fight against Alexander Volkov, the only other fight Greg Hardy has lost in UFC is his debut bout. Hardy was up against Allen Crowder for his first outing in UFC but ended up getting disqualified for kneeing his opponent right on the temple.

Oh man. Greg Hardy lands a monster illegal knee. Allen Crowder's knee was on the canvas. It was a hard hard shot. And a follow up right hand landed. I don't see any way they can restart that.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 20, 2019

Crowder was down on the ground on his knees when Hardy’s knees made contact with his head, which is an illegal strike in MMA. Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight for medical attention to Crowder.

Doctors announced him unfit to continue and the bout was ended, announcing Crowder as the default winner by disqualification.

Former NFL DE Greg Hardy was disqualified from his UFC debut tonight for delivering an illegal knee to the face. pic.twitter.com/wweVKGbJUf

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 20, 2019

The no-knee strike on an opponent who is down on the mat is a well-known rule in the sport. Debates sparked as to whether Greg Hardy was oblivious to it, being a newcomer to the Octagon.

However, in several interviews following the incident, Greg Hardy clarified that he was aware of the rules. It was an accident that happened in the heat of the moment.

"I was aware of the rule as it stands; I was not aware that that was what was going on. I got deep into the fight, was in the moment, was trying to time it -- and I mistimed it. For that to end my day, man, is a hard pill to swallow, man. And it's a hard way to go down, especially when I wanted to portray a lot of appreciation and show everyone that I'm here to do it the right way, man.”

"This is not how I wanted to do things. And I just hope everybody understands this is not who I am, that it's not something that I would do purposely." (H/t ESPN)