Greg Hardy’s next fight is official with the news that he’ll face Yorgan de Castro at UFC On ESPN 8 in Colombus, Ohio on March 28th.
After fighting a number of relatively unheralded opponents in his UFC run to date, Hardy took a huge step up in competition last time out by agreeing to fight Alexander Volkov in Russia at UFC Fight Night 163 in November.
As expected, that bold move led to a unanimous decision loss – the first of his career, though he does also have a disqualification loss on his 5-2 record dating back to his UFC debut against Allen Crowder early last year.
Now he’ll go back to more familiar territory against another up-and-coming heavyweight in De Castro who is trying to establish himself in the UFC ranks.
De Castro first emerged in the UFC via the Contender Series ranks and he’s since extended his unbeaten career run to 6-0 with a knockout victory in his promotional debut against Justin Tafa in October.
Hardy vs. Castro joins a UFC On ESPN 8 card that’s expected to feature a headliner between two more heavyweights, Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.