UFC 249 Stats Preview: Head-To-Head Look At Greg Hardy Vs. Yorgan De Castro

Saturday’s UFC 249 pay-per-view fight card opens with a pair of heavyweight sluggers who have combined for 10 knockout victories in their brief MMA careers.

Former NFL player, Greg Hardy, looks to bounce back from the second defeat of his career against the unbeaten Yorgan De Castro.

Hardy is coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkov in November. Before that setback, Hardy had a decision win overturned to a no contest when the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission ruled the inhaler Hardy used prior to the start of the third round of his October bout opposite Ben Sosoli was not pre-approved by the athletic commission. Hardy’s most recent win was a July 2019 knockout of Juan Adams. Hardy’s career record is 5-1-0-1.

De Castro, who is 6-0 with five knockout victories, scored a first-round knockout win of Justin Tafa in October. The stoppage came in De Castro’s UFC debut. De Castro earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts on the UFC 243 pay-per-view card. 

Expect this bout to take place on the feet as neither of these men have shot for a takedown during their UFC careers. 

De Castro told MMA Junkie that he wanted to face Hardy for his second trip to the octagon.

“I specifically asked for this fight,” De Castro said. “This is the fight I wanted. I wanted to fight Greg Hardy. Not because of all the bad stuff around him, or the hate or the negative things, but because he’s got a name. A lot of people hate him, a lot of people like him, but he does have a name, and he just fought a top guy and he did good. If I want to fight someone who has got a name and a lot of people want to watch and is not ranked, what else is better than Greg Hardy? I specifically asked for him.”

Hardy expects a win over De Castro to put him in line for a top-15 opponent.

“I think we start with 15 and go down the line,” Hardy told TMZ. “Fifteen fights later, I knock out the guy who’s holding the belt – whoever that is. You get the best show like that. Go down the whole line so everybody can just shush, calm down, wait their turn, and get knocked the crap out. I think it would be one, give me more time to get more experience with the best, which is what I need.

Before Hardy and De Castro face off, here is a look at how their UFC career stats compare. 

UFC 249 takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.