Greg Hardy‘s second professional mixed martial arts fight is very close to being set.
The controversial former NFL player is slated to face Tebaris Gordon (3-0) on the Aug. 7 as part of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contenders Series card in Las Vegas, multiple sources told ESPN.
Hardy won his MMA debut last month when he knocked out Austen Lane in 57 seconds. Moments later, Dana White offered him a UFC contract.
The fight against Gordon will be the first on Hardy’s new four-fight contract with Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, sources say, however, it won’t be considered official UFC fight.
Hardy’s foray into mixed martial arts has been met with heavy criticism, in large part due to the fact that the former member of the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys was convicted in 2014 of assaulting a woman and communicating threats. After appealing his conviction and asking for a jury trial, Hardy reportedly reached a civil settlement with the victim and the domestic violence charges were subsequently dismissed and expunged from Hardy’s record after the woman could not be located to testify.
Hardy has said that he would drop his MMA career if an NFL team offered him an opportunity to return to that league, where he has not played since 2015. He injured his leg in an American Arena League playoff game last month, though sources say the injury wasn’t serious.
The 29-year-old made his amateur MMA debut in 2017 and went 3-0 before turning pro last week.