Serghei Spivac had little trouble dispatching Greg Hardy at UFC 272, achieving what commentator Joe Rogan called an “easy” victory in the main-card opener.
Spivac (14-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) used his superior ground arsenal to take down former NFL standout Hardy (7-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) and pound his way to the TKO at the 2:16 mark of Round 1. The heavyweight bout took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hardy came out firing some hard leg kicks. They exchanged strikes, then they tied up in a clinch exchange that resulted in Spivac hip-tossing Hardy to the canvas. Hardy would get up, but Spivac kept control of the waist and picked Hardy up multiple times. One of his tosses went right into mount, and Spivac unloaded with a flurry of punches that forced the stoppage.
“I feel amazing. I know Greg Hardy is a very big opponent, and he has knockout power, but I’m ready for this,” Spivac said in his post-fight interview with Rogan. “I prepared six months for this fight.”
Spivac is now back on the winning track after losing his previous fight.
Hardy, meanwhile, has dropped three consecutive fights to close out what was previously reported to be the final fight on his UFC contract. It’s unclear what his future holds after a sub-.500 record in the promotion since his debut in January 2019.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 272 results include:
- Serghei Spivac def. Greg Hardy via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 2:16
- Jalin Turner def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:46
- Marina Rodriguez def. Yan Xiaonan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Nicolae Negumereanu def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via split decision (29-27, 27-29, 29-27)
- Maryna Moroz def. Mariya Agapova via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:27
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Brian Kelleher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:15
- Tim Elliott def. Tagir Ulanbekov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ludovit Klein def. Devonte Smith via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dustin Jacoby def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
