Shawne Merriman vs. Greg Hardy almost booked for UFC occasion
In a latest interview on The Anik & Florian Podcast, Merriman defined how he almost fought within the UFC Octagon.
“About 5 – 6 years in the past, nobody was gonna inform me I wasn’t gonna battle anyone,” Merriman stated. “In reality, I talked to Dana [White] about it, he wished to e-book a battle with me and Greg Hardy a number of years in the past. I do know he wished it to occur, I wished it to occur, and it was a timing factor…
“Why I ended up not doing it’s as a result of Greg went on a dropping streak…and [the appeal] wasn’t the identical, nevertheless it virtually occurred.”
Hardy went 4-5-1 in his UFC tenure with wins over Yorgan De Castro and Maurice Greene. He parted methods with the UFC in 2022 after a loss to Serghei Spivac at UFC 272.
Hardy has transitioned from MMA to boxing in latest months. He most just lately suffered a brutal knockout loss in his return to the ring in Might.
Merriman’s Lights Out Xtreme Preventing promotion has surged in reputation lately. The promotion’s upcoming June fifteenth occasion options former UFC heavyweight Jared Vanderaa and a light-weight championship foremost occasion.
If Merriman’s claims are true, White virtually added an all-NFL matchup to one of many UFC’s earlier occasion slates. Whereas the battle didn’t come to fruition, the focused matchup reveals that White remains to be prepared to go exterior the field in matchmaking.