Things only got worse for Greg Hardy in Belgrade as Darko Stosic finished him off with a stoppage in the third round.
Hardy came into the fight after missing weight, coming in at 292.3lb, well above the 265lb heavyweight limit. Despite that, Stosic decided to go ahead with the bout and made sure Hardy felt it once they stepped inside the cage.
Stosic held a clear edge in experience, coming into this one with a record of 22-8. But Hardy didn’t seem too worried about how things might go. He’d already lined up another fight back home for Peak Fighting on July 18.
Hardy was knocked out by Stosic after missing the heavyweight limit
While boxing doesn’t set a maximum weight for the division, MMA does, and Hardy was no stranger to it before this fight. Still, he came in over 27 pounds above the limit, something he’d been struggling with during his time in combat sports.
Stosic weighed in at 239.6 pounds, putting him over 52 pounds lighter than Hardy. While Hardy also had a notable height advantage, that didn’t matter much once the fight got going.
In recent years, questions have grown about Hardy’s ability to take a punch. That issue resurfaced again as Stosic landed a heavy right hand that ended the fight.
This latest defeat marks Hardy’s sixth knockout loss across his combat sports career. With another bout scheduled for July back in Texas, there’s now doubt over whether he’ll be cleared to compete.
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