The ink is barely dry on his UFC contract, and Greg Hardy might already have trouble.

On last week’s edition of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, Hardy had a sensational professional fighting debut, knocking out Austen Lane in just 57 seconds. His performance was so good it earned him a UFC contract, with White saying he wanted to see the ex-NFL All-Pro back in competition as soon as possible. That might not happen for a while though as Hardy apparently injured his knee over the weekend in an Arena Football League game.

In a report by ESPN, Hardy suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of his game with the Richmond Roughriders on Saturday night. He is expected to get the knee examined by doctor’s sometime this week to determine the severity of the injury.

The injury is a mixed bag for the UFC. Though White is ready to see Hardy fight again, and the former NFL star has the potential to be a star in MMA, the UFC has already taken backlash to signing Hardy given the fighter’s well-documented history with domestic violence. In 2014, Hardy was convicted of assaulting and threatening his girlfriend. The charges were overturned on appeal as the victim no longer wished to testify. Not long after that, Hardy washed out of the NFL. He took up fighting in 2016 but has said he would abandon MMA if given a chance to return to the NFL.

---

MUST-READ STORIES

Results. Check out all the results from the PFL’s sophomore event last night.

ESPY. Georges St-Pierre, Rose Namajunas earn ‘Fighter of the Year’ ESPY nominations.

Appeal. Thiago Tavares will appeal bizarre TKO loss at PFL 2.

GOAT debate. Jon Jones blasts UFC social media for Daniel Cormier ‘GOAT’ praise.

Pride. UFC to sponsor Outsports LGBTQ Pride March contingent in New York.

---

VIDEO STEW

Calvin Kattar befriending a bird. This got a lot of traction on non-MMA sites recently.

An excellent look at Ilima-Lei MacFarlane.

TTTHS is back in your life.

Kayla is already the best Women’s lightweight fighter on the planet.

Not a bad idea.

---

LISTEN UP

Fights Gone By. Jack Slack discussing the lackluster UFC Singapore card.

Submission Radio. Interviews with Stipe, Tuivasa, and Dave Meltzer.

---

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

He back.

Impressive.

Looking forward to it.

PFL has had two pretty good shows so far.

This is enjoyable.

A+.

B-.

Please do. The monotony of Reebok fight kits is soul-crushing.

Glad to hear Ray’s son is still doing okay.

---

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

John Moraga (19-6) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (14-0); UFC Lincoln; Aug. 25.

Gegard Mousasi (44-6-2) vs. Rory MacDonald (20-4); Bellator, Sept. 29.

---

TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2002: Chuck Liddell won a unanimous decision over Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5. This event featured the first time Joe Rogan took the booth as a color commentator for the UFC, having previously done behind-the-scenes interviews for the promotion.

2007: Frank Shamrock scored the last win of his career, submitting Phil Baroni to claim the Strikeforce middleweight title at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni.

---

FINAL THOUGHTS

Another week in the books and an odd MMA weekend ahead with the Singapore card happening extra-early in the morning tomorrow. It is on FightPass though so for those of you with the service, I suggest you sleep in, read our coverage, and then go back and watch the good fights. Maximum efficiency, that’s what we’re all about here.

Thanks for reading and see y’all on Monday for the beginning of the new era of MMAFighting.com.

---

EXIT POLL

---

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook.