MMA fighters are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for domestic violence than NFL players. But the UFC does not want to talk about the issue

This Saturday former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy — a man once convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend — will make his official UFC debut. To add to the controversy, Hardy is scheduled to compete on the same fight card as Rachel Ostovich, who suffered a broken orbital bone during an alleged attack by her husband. Her husband, Arnold Berdon, was arrested for attempted second-degree murder but was later charged with second degree assault.

The UFC’s decision to do business with Hardy and promote him on a fight card featuring an alleged victim of assault emphasizes the promotion’s tone-deaf approach to handling domestic violence and its apparent disregard for fighters’ violent pasts.

In 2014, Hardy was arrested for assault after he was accused of attacking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. The woman testified that Hardy threw her on a futon filled with guns and placed his hands on her throat. “He looked me in my eyes and he told me he was going to kill me,” she said. “I was so scared I wanted to die. When he loosened his grip slightly, I said just, ‘Do it. Kill me.’”

Hardy denied the accusations but was convicted on two counts of domestic violence and was sentenced to 18 months probation and a two-month suspended jail sentence. Hardy appealed the sentence and managed to get the charges expunged from his record in 2015 after his ex-girlfriend failed to appear at court to give testimony. It was later reported she had settled a civil suit with Hardy.

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Last year, Kim A Gandy, CEO and president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence spoke to the Guardian about Hardy’s case. Gandy acknowledged that the charges were ultimately dropped but said that’s “not the same as not having done it,” adding that abusers who do not reckon with what they’ve done are less likely to be rehabilitated in the long run. “Someone truly sorry who seeks to help and genuinely make amends is very different from a person who commits extraordinary violence and not only takes no responsibility for it but takes position that the person just deserved it.”

At the time of the incident, Hardy was playing for the Carolina Panthers. He later signed on with the Dallas Cowboys but was later given a 10-game suspension by the NFL in relation to the alleged assault. He returned later that year but found himself out of work when the Cowboys opted not to re-sign him. Seemingly shunned from football, Hardy turned his attention to MMA.

Starting in 2017, Hardy compiled a 3-0 amateur record in fights that lasted a combined two minutes and 22 seconds. He followed those wins with his first professional victory, and signed a developmental deal with the UFC to compete on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. After two consecutive knockout wins on the show, the UFC was ready to announce Hardy’s official debut.

The UFC’s willingness to promote Hardy on a variety of their platforms, including their highly anticipated debut on ESPN+, highlights the gaping inconsistencies in their domestic violence policies. In the wake of NFL running back Ray Rice assaulting his fiancée in 2014, UFC president Dana White took a strong stance against domestic violence: “There’s one thing that you never bounce back from and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Greg Hardy spent one season with the Dallas Cowboys before switching to MMA. Photograph: Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports

White maintained his stance for several months. Speaking at the 2014 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology Conference, White revealed that the UFC “screens people for The Ultimate Fighter, and if you’ve ever had a domestic violence, you can’t get on. Since this whole thing happened [with Ray Rice], we’re beefing up our policies with putting your hands on a woman. Of course, the way we always react is morally first then the business second.”

But the UFC’s actual actions tell an entirely different tale. Will Chope was released by the promotion after news surfaced regarding a 2009 domestic assault conviction. Thiago Silva, who threatened his estranged wife with a gun and violated a temporary protection order, was released from the promotion but re-signed again after the charges were dropped. He was once again released two weeks later after the UFC received audio and video evidence posted by Silva’s ex-wife. But many other have been kept on by the promotion, despite allegations of domestic or sexual violence. Most recently, Abdul Razak Alhassan was indicted for the alleged rape of two women in March 2018. The UFC is yet to comment on Alhassan’s case.

By December 2018, White’s stance on domestic violence had dramatically changed from his zero-tolerance approach. When asked about the UFC’s decision to place Hardy on the same fight card as Ostovich, White doubled down on the promotion’s baffling decision: “I called Rachael Ostovich and talked to her, walked her through the situation,” White said. “Her take was, ‘His story isn’t my story. Everybody’s story is different. I believe in second chances. I have no problem fighting on the same card as this guy.’ He didn’t have anything to do with Rachael Ostovich, so she was totally cool with it.”

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Ostovich has since shared her thoughts on Greg Hardy in an interview with ESPN, stating that believes in “second chances.”

“I’m glad he’s making a turnaround,” she said. “I hope the same can happen to my husband and anyone else who has made a wrong choice.”

While Ostovich is willing to excuse Hardy, he remains a public relations concern and a controversial figure for the UFC. Ostovich’s comments do not deter from the seriousness of Hardy’s alleged actions and should not be misconstrued as an exoneration.

And if White believes in second chances for Hardy, he doesn’t seem keen to talk about it in any depth. Despite the backlash over Hardy, the UFC added fuel to the fire when it told reporters at a press conference in December — which took place the same day that the Hardy fight news broke — that they were only allowed to ask questions about the fighters competing at the upcoming UFC 231. In response to the reports, the Mixed Martial Arts Journalist Association released a statement on its website confirming that several of its members felt as though they could not ask questions freely. When journalists finally came round to asking White about the UFC’s position on Hardy, the UFC boss blamed the media for stirring up controversy.

“I already covered this. I’m not playing this bullshit with you guys. [Hardy] is on the UFC roster. Period. End of story,” White said. “Listen, you guys want to be sensitive about shit? Anyone can be sensitive about anything. You can make an issue about everything.”

The problem with White’s statement is that domestic violence is a very real issue in mixed martial arts. According to a study of arrest records since 2003 by HBO Real Sports, MMA fighters have a domestic violence arrest rate (750 per 100,000) more than double the general US population (360 per 100,000) and far ahead of NFL players (210 per 100,000), who are often depicted as being at the heart of the problem.

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In an attempt to stifle journalists from asking further questions about Hardy, the promotion shielded the fighter from fight-week media obligations. The UFC took this decision despite Hardy’s place in the co-main event. When it comes to domestic violence, it appears that UFC thinks silence is golden.