Serghei Spivac Beats Greg Hardy via 1st-Round TKO on UFC 272 Main Card

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Serghei Spivac became the latest man to take down former NFL star Greg Hardy in the UFC. The Polar Bear locked up a first-round TKO win on the main card of UFC 272 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

It didn't take long for Spivac to get the fight to the ground, which spelled the beginning of the end for Hardy. He finished the fight with ground strikes in short order.

Spivac showcased his technique early in the fight as he utilized an underhook to get the judo throw against the bigger Hardy. While Hardy was able to muscle his way back to the feet it just ended up with him back on the ground again. 

From there, Spivac worked his way into mount and began raining down the strikes until he forced the referee stoppage just after the two-minute mark. 

The loss is devastating for Hardy and had analysts questioning what could be next for the hulking heavyweight:

Perhaps even worse for Hardy was the lack of progress shown in the fight. He had no answers for Spivac on the ground and was unable to do anything on the feet before getting taken down:

The win is big for Spivac, as it allows him to bounce back from a first-round TKO loss to Tom Aspinall. He had put together an impressive string of finishes before that with decisions against Aleksei Oleinik and Carlos Felipe and a knockout win over Jared Vanderaa.

At 27 years old, the Moldovan has a long time to hone his craft. Heavyweights tend to fight well into their 30s, and he has shown enough to believe that he can work his way to the next tier of heavyweights.

The same can't be said for Hardy. This loss throws his future in the organization into question. The 33-year-old has now fought in the UFC 10 times and only has four wins to show for it.

To make things even more interesting, this was the final fight on his UFC contract. In talking about it with Cole Shelton of BJPenn.com, Hardy didn't necessarily insist that he wants to continue but instead talked about opening the door for other former NFL players to get in the fight game.

He even went so far as to suggest former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown should get in on the action.

"Man, I would like to see AB fight. Honestly, bro, Greg Hardy paved the way for all you boys, so you are welcome, for sure. Football players and their versatility have been underrated for a very long time," Hardy said.

When Hardy entered the UFC, it was with a lot of hype and tons of potential. As a former NFL athlete, he had physical tools that we've rarely seen in the cage, but his middling run is proof of the technique and skill that goes into fighting at the highest level.