Greg Hardy Is Right He Should Be Released From The UFC

or It's Time The UFC Takes A Stand Against Domestic Violence

I'd never thought this would happen, but I actually agreed with something Greg Hardy said in the lead up to tonight's UFC on ESPN 6 fight card.

Hardy, who was found guilty in 2014 by a North Carolina judge of assaulting a female and communicating threats, said he would leave the UFC if the promotion begins to enforce rules consistently. 

"If we're going to implement a rule that anybody who's had trouble with the law can't fight, I'm down. I'll quit," Hardy told MMA Junkie. "If we're going to implement a rule that anybody that's been in trouble can't fight, I'll quit. It's not the reality of things."

Hardy is right, the UFC has been inconsistent when it comes to enforcing rules, especially when it comes to cases of domestic violence. For instance, the promotion released Will Chope with the quickness in 2014 after it came to light that Chope had been cut loose from the Air Force after he had assaulted his wife. Meanwhile, someone like Anthony Johnson, who has several domestic violence accusations can not only remain on the UFC roster, but fight for the UFC title. 

Let's never forget UFC president Dana White's now infamous statement:

There's one thing that you never bounce back from and that's putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don't bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.

It should be noted that White made this statement after he allowed Thiago Silva back into the promotion.

From MMA Fighting:

Silva allegedly forced a revolver into his estranged wife's mouth and threatened to shoot others, he charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting an officer without violence. A Florida judge dropped all charges against Silva after his ex-wife reportedly fled the country to return to Brazil.

White's ludicrous justification for allowing Silva to return to the UFC? 

"They came, arrested him and he wasn't brought up on any charges." 

The thing about that, is that Silva was charged.  According to MMA Fighting, he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting an officer without violence.

The reality of the situation is the UFC's judgment seems to be based more on how much money the promotion can make off a fighter than anything else. That's why Hardy gets a pass, even though the details of the violence, which were published by Deadspin, are pretty disturbing. 

Hell, the UFC, Dana White and some media members are going so far as to pass Hardy off as a redemption story even though he's never shown any remorse for his actions. White went so far as to flat out lie about Hardy's past.

"And the guy was never charged with anything, he was never sentenced or anything like that," White said with a straight face at the UFC 225 press conference.

Hardy's charges were dismissed in 2015 after he appealed his conviction and requested a jury trial. Those charges were dismissed after prosecutors were unsuccessful in contacting the woman he was initially convicted of assaulting. That woman did testify at Hardy's first trial. (via Deadspin)

I was so scared, I wanted to die. When he loosened his grip slightly, I said, 'Just do it. Kill me.

The charges against Hardy were expunged in November 2015.

The results of that second trial do not mean Hardy is not guilty, not by a long shot. 

Remember this is what was written in the Charlotte Observer at the time an arrest warrant was written for Hardy.

The arrest warrants accuse the Panther lineman of throwing girlfriend Nicole Holder to the floor and into a bathtub, slamming her against a Futon and "strangling" during an argument at his home.

Hardy also said he would kill her, the warrant said, a threat "made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that the threat was likely to be carried out."

Holder filed for a restraining order against Hardy on Wednesday, according to public records. In her complaint, she accuses Hardy of throwing her on a couch covered "in assault weapons and/or shotguns."

She said he bragged that all of the assault weapons were loaded. As part of the assault, she said Hardy "threatened to shoot me if I went to the media or reported his assaults to anyone."

If the UFC wants to be seen as something other than a place where athletes with no other options go to make a living, it'll just keep on doing what it has been doing, turning a blind eye and creating false narratives about second chances. If the promotion wants to be seen as a professional organization, it'll adhere to its code of conduct and scrub its roster clean of competitors who have domestic violence charges in their past.