Greg Hardy and Tai Tuivasa will look to add to the excitement of the main card of UFC 264. These are two unranked men, each thirsty for further recognition in their division, so expect an all-out fight between these big boys on July 10. Check out our preview of this fight below.
Tuivasa has seemingly gotten back on track after suffering three losses in a row friom 2018 to 2019. Since his submission loss to Serghei Spivac, Tuivasa has scored two masterful knockouts over Stefan Struve in October 2020 and Harry Hunsucker back in March 2021. Tuivasa will be giving up five inches in reach to Hardy, but taking care of business against the UFC’s tallest fighter in Struve should have sent a strong message to other fighters in the division that’s taller and longer than him. Plus, Tuivasa just needs to land a clean shot to turn the tide in his favor. He has 11 wins by knockouts against just a knockout loss. The 28-year-old striker started his pro MMA career like a house on fire, winning all of his first 10 fights, including nine straight by way of KO/TKO. So far in his UFC career, Tuivasa is averaging 4.38 significant strikes landed per minute.
Many people still associate Hardy with his football career, but he’s been doing fairly well in his new sport. That’s even though he lost his last fight via knockout to Marcin Tybura back in December 2020. Before that, he scored a KO win over Maurice Green in October 2020 and a unanimous decision victory over Yorgan De Castro in May 2020. Hardy doesn’t attempt to bring opponents to the ground a lot, but he could have success in that against Tuivasa, who only has a 46% takedown defense. In Tuivasa’s loss to Spivac, he got thrown to the ground six times. Hardy is an explosive athlete who could use burst of speeds to surprise Tuivasa for clean shots or takedowns. The 32-year-old Hardy, who played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, is averaging 4.83 significant strikes landed per minute and has a 33% accuracy on takedown attempts.
