If you were Dana White, president of the UFC, putting Greg Hardy, who was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend, on the same fight lineup as Rachael Ostovich, a domestic violence survivor, would be incredibly tone-deaf. But to the dismay of fans and critics alike, White upheld his decision to keep Hardy on the lineup.  

Let me offer Dana White and the UFC a simple solution.

Starting on Feb. 2, the UFC has nine straight weeks of fights that offer at least 12 fights per card. That offered the UFC 108 chances to put Hardy on a separate card from Ostovich. Not only that, but they had 49 scheduled cards for 2019, all the more opportunity for them to have put Hardy somewhere else.

Apparently, White and the UFC felt bringing in more viewers was more valuable than upholding the morality of the organization.  

As UFC Fight Night 143 debuted on ESPN for the first time at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, so did Greg Hardy. Hardy is a former defensive end in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. He found his way into the UFC through “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.”

Hardy not only premiered for the first time, but was also the co-main event of the night, which is normally reserved for highly talented contenders or fighters who bring in more viewers. Hardy’s first UFC walkout was drowned out by all the boos from the audience.
After an atrocious round-and-a-half of a fight, it ended in a DQ. Hardy blasted his opponent, Allen Crowder, with an illegal knee to the face and ended the fight. This DQ supports the notion that Hardy doesn’t belong in the UFC, especially as a co-main event fighter.

Despite all of the backlash and many calling for Hardy to be barred from fighting again, White, the only man who has a real say, continued to back Hardy.  

White came out for the post-fight press conference and expressed his opinion: “One thing I did learn about Hardy tonight is that he can fight. He can fight; he’s an athlete,” White said. “He’ll get another fight.”

Regardless of whether or not Hardy can possibly fight again, White and the UFC should have moved him to a different card than Ostovich, who was a victim of domestic violence on Nov. 18. Ostovich was originally taken off the card due to a broken orbital bone and other injuries, but she told KHON2 in Hawaii that she needed to do this. “I felt that it was extremely important to me to follow through with it and not only for me, but for my daughter and other people that might be going through similar situations,” Ostovich said.

Despite this tone-deaf decision by the UFC, Ostovich sought out Hardy to talk and address the situation that was surrounding them.

“I felt it was important for me to reach out to him,” Ostovich told ESPN. “I basically told him, ‘Hey, I have no negative feelings towards you. I hope that we can use both our situations, you on your side and me on my side, and work together and show everybody can come back and take a negative situation and turn it around for a positive one.”

The UFC, instead of putting her in an uncomfortable situation, should turn Ostovich’s situation into a platform for victims of domestic violence because her fight is bigger than the one inside the octagon.