Greg Hardy is a former NFL star turned UFC heavyweight, was brutally knocked out by Tai Tuivasa and wants to box Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

UFC 272 could be a make-or-break event for heavyweight Greg Hardy.

The former NFL star, turned mixed martial artist, is on the final fight of his current contract and there has been no indications that Dana White may want to extend.

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The 33-year-old has been pretty active in only three years in the promotion, with his fight against Sergey Spivak his 10th.

Hardy is coming off back-to-back defeats to Marcin Tybura and Tai Tuivasa, with the latter a brutal first round knockout in July last year.

Hardy has been a polarising figure both before and during his career in the UFC and it may be last-chance saloon to prove his worth to the promotion.

He was a sixth-round draft pick in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers in 2010, and made a team record 15 sacks in the 2013 season. That earned him Pro Bowl honours.

In 2014, Hardy was found guilty of assaulting a former girlfriend, although the case was later dismissed after he appealed and the victim failed to appear at court.

This did not stop punishment from the NFL, though, and he was suspended for ten games for violating the the NFL personal conduct policy.

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This was later dropped to four games on appeal, but his production for new team the Dallas Cowboys quickly dropped.

After one season, he was released and that was it for his time in the NFL.

In October 2016, Hardy announced that he was moving over to MMA despite little to no experience.

The heavyweight won his first three fights before Dana White, controversially, signed him for the UFC.

It was controversial because of the domestic violence allegations against him, despite the charges being expunged from his record.

His first fight ended in a disqualification defeat when he used an illegal knee while his opponent, Allen Crowder, was downed.

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That was not his only controversy in the octagon, as his victory over Ben Sosoli in October 2019 was overturned as a no contest due his use of an inhaler between rounds.

Hardy himself may be thinking about life after the UFC and MMA itself as he indicated a switch to boxing.

He even called out the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, although the pair have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

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When asked about a potential code switch at the UFC 272 media day, former defensive end Hardy said: “It’s happening, bro.

“After this fight, I’m definitely [going to] try to pursue some boxing.

“But still doing MMA because that gold is in my mind and in my heart.

“I’m not ready for Tyson Fury yet, but Anthony Joshua – I would love to get in there and slap them boys up.”