Dana White Gives Timetable For Greg Hardy’s Return

Following his first professional victory, a vicious first-round knockout over Austen Lane, this past Tuesday (June 12, 2018) on the season two premiere of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, troubled former NFL star Greg Hardy was given a UFC contract, although White implied that it would be more of a developmental deal given Hardy’s lack of experience inside of the cage.

As far as what exactly that means, White recently said that he would like to see the 29-year-old return later this summer on another edition of his Contender Series:

“Obviously, he’s got a lot of raw talent, and he’s very powerful, and he looked damn good in his showing at the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series,” White told TMZ Sports. “So, we signed him to a different type of deal, deals we’ve done with other people where you see some promise, and you give the athletes the opportunity to build themselves up, get better.

“In a perfect world, what I’d love to do is turn him around and (have him fight) again in the last fight of the Contender Series, the last fight of the season (in July),” he added.

Despite his early success in MMA, Hardy continuously receives a ton of criticism due to his dark past that involves legal issues pertaining to domestic violence. White, however, has argued that it’s very possible that Hardy has changed:

“This guy can become Mother Teresa and start healing the sick and doing all kinds of things, this is how he’s always gonna be looked at,” White said. “What I respect about the guy is he did something really bad and horrible. He went through everything you need to go though after you do something disgusting like that. Then he hit rock bottom, picked himself back up, started to work his way up to become not only a better human being but a better athlete.

“Everything that I see in the guy … he’s changed.”

Do you share White’s sentiment?