NFL Veteran Greg Hardy Training at American Top Team in Preparation for MMA Debut
Former Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy has begun training at
American Top Team in preparation for a future MMA debut, according
to a report from TMZ
Sports.
Last month, Hardy revealed that he was planning on pursuing a career in the cage and hoped to fight sometime in 2017. The ex-Carolina Panther and Dallas Cowboy had previously been training for several months in the Dallas Fort-Worth area.
"He seems to have the drive and desire," Mike
Thomas
Brown told TMZ. "He took boxing last night, jiu-jitsu
today. He was training with Steve
Mocco, our wrestling coach, who was in the Olympics.”
According to Brown, who trained the late Kimbo Slice at ATT, Hardy has been living in the dorms at the Coconut Creek, Fla.-based camp. Brown confirmed that the plan remains for Hardy to make his debut sometime next year, either in a low-level pro fight or as an amateur.
Hardy was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He earned second-team All Pro honors in 2013 after finishing with 15 sacks. However, in July 2014 Hardy was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and missed the majority of the season after being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, but charges from the case were later dropped, and Hardy’s record was expunged.
Hardy was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015 season as well, but that was later reduced to four games by an arbitrator, and Hardy finished the campaign with the Dallas Cowboys, although he remained a controversial figure throughout the season. Hardy went unsigned as a free agent this past NFL offseason.
The star pass rusher’s troubles continued recently, as Hardy was arrested on Sept. 26 in Texas on a cocaine possession charge. He was released on $5,000 bond the next day.
Last month, Hardy revealed that he was planning on pursuing a career in the cage and hoped to fight sometime in 2017. The ex-Carolina Panther and Dallas Cowboy had previously been training for several months in the Dallas Fort-Worth area.
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According to Brown, who trained the late Kimbo Slice at ATT, Hardy has been living in the dorms at the Coconut Creek, Fla.-based camp. Brown confirmed that the plan remains for Hardy to make his debut sometime next year, either in a low-level pro fight or as an amateur.
Hardy was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He earned second-team All Pro honors in 2013 after finishing with 15 sacks. However, in July 2014 Hardy was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and missed the majority of the season after being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, but charges from the case were later dropped, and Hardy’s record was expunged.
Hardy was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015 season as well, but that was later reduced to four games by an arbitrator, and Hardy finished the campaign with the Dallas Cowboys, although he remained a controversial figure throughout the season. Hardy went unsigned as a free agent this past NFL offseason.
The star pass rusher’s troubles continued recently, as Hardy was arrested on Sept. 26 in Texas on a cocaine possession charge. He was released on $5,000 bond the next day.
