This is the UFC 249 live blog for Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan de Castro, a heavyweight clash for Saturday’s fight card at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hardy is 2-2 with one no-contest in his five UFC fights, while de Castro is 5-0 in his pro career.
Check out the UFC 249 live blog below.
Round 1: Herb Dean is the third man in the octagon for this heavyweight. bout. Both men come out throwing heavy leather early. Hardy has a decided size advantage but De Castro may be a bit faster. Hard steps in and de Castro backs him up with some big hooks. Hardy is slowly walking de Castro down and de Castro is looking for opportunities to land the KO shot. Good low kick from de Castrio and Hardy answers with a head kick. Hardy is trying to get his jab going but de Castro stumbles him with a big right hand. De Castro is landing. a number of leg kicks that may be starting to take a toll on Hardy. Hardy doubles up on the jab, de Castro lands a strong low kick and now a firefight ensues and de Castro is backing up! De Castro separates and Hardy’s lead leg is definitely compromised. Hardy goes for a high kick that misses and the horn sounds.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 de Castro.
Round 2: De Castro comes out with a strong leg kick to start and Hardy lands his own in response. De Castro charges forward with wide hooks but Hardy does a good job of eluding him. The action has slowed down in round two as Hardy seems to be having trouble moving on his lead leg. Hardy lands a pair of low kicks. Hardy checks a leg kick that seems to hurt de Castro’s right foot. Hardy is still stalking forward and de Castro’s output has significantly dropped. Not a lot of effective offense from Hardy but practically none from de Castro. In the words of Mike Goldberg, “Yoel Romero-esque is Yorgan de Castro.” Good leg kick from Hardy and a jab. Hardy appears to be the fresher fighter as the round ends.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Hardy (19-19 overall).
Round 3: Hardy starts round three with a big right hand and de Castro seems much more interested in fighting this round. Good leg kick from de Castro and another which briefly makes Hardy change stance. Hardy lands his own inside kick and a big low kick that stops de Castro. Leg kicks are exchanged and the punches have all but stopped. Starting to look like the second round again with Hardy just outworking de Castro. De Castro slips and Hardy stands over him landing small shots to the legs from Ali-Inoki position. Hardy steps off and lets de Castro up. De Castro is in full retreat mode and this fight is slowing to a crawl filled with feints and not much else. Nothing happens to end the round. After the bell, de Castro and Hardy embrace and de Castro points to his foot.
MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Hardy (29-28 Hardy overall).
OFFICIAL DECISION: Greg Hardy defeats Yorgan de Castro by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)