Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro announced for UFC Columbus

Greg Hardy’s first fight of 2020 is booked.

The former pro football player—who made five Octagon appearances in 2019—will face Yorgan De Castro in a heavyweight bout at UFC on ESPN 8 on March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Officials announced the bout Friday.

Hardy (5-2, 1 NC) had an eventful first year with the UFC, going 2-2 with one no contest. The 31-year-old debuted with a DQ loss to Allen Crowder, scored back-to-back wins over Dmitrii Smoliakov and Juan Adams, had a win over Ben Sosoli changed to a no contest due to his prohibited use of an inhaler between rounds, and then lost as a short-notice replacement to Alexander Volkov in his most recent outing in November.

Prior to making the move to MMA, Hardy was an NFL Pro Bowler whose exit from the league came under a shroud of controversy after his involvement in a high-profile domestic violence incident in 2014.

De Castro (6-0) is also a Contender Series contract winner. Cape Verde’s first UFC representative, De Castro made a successful debut in October with a first-round knockout of Justin Tafa at UFC 243.

Officials also announced a light heavyweight bout between Khalil Rountree (8-4, 1 NC) and Sam Alvey (33-13, 1 NC), and a bantamweight bout between Louis Smolka (16-6) and Davey Grant (9-4).