Ex-NFL star knocked out in MMA fight after coming into bout with weight advantage

Former NFL star Greg Hardy has faced his trials and tribulations in the cage as a fighter in mixed martial arts and he was on the receiving end of a knockout blow once again Saturday.

Hardy contended with Darko Stosic at Fight Nation Championship 31. It was supposed to be a heavyweight bout but Hardy reportedly missed weight by 25 pounds. He had a 52-pound weight advantage over Stosic, though it didn’t appear to matter as much.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Stosic started the third round with a brutal left hook that knocked Hardy backward. The former Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers defensive end didn’t see Stosic’s windmill punch and it sent him to the mat. Stosic delivered one giant hammer fist to Hardy’s jaw and the referee came in and stopped the bout.

Stosic was given the knockout win.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

It was Hardy’s fourth MMA loss in his last five bouts. Each of those losses came via technical knockout or knockout. He lost his last two fights in UFC in the first round – one on July 10, 2021, against Tai Tuivasa and the other to Serghei Spivac on March 5, 2022.

He appeared on the Peak Fighting 50 card in January and defeated Philip Latu via unanimous decision. However, he had no answers for Stosic.

The Serbian star improved to 23-8 all time with 17 knockouts. He’s won six out of his last eight fights and is on a two-bout winning streak. He last defeated Oli Thompson at Fight Nation Championship 27.