Greg Hardy Says He Overheard Daniel Cormier's Advice in Empty UFC 249 Arena

John Raoux/Associated Press

Greg Hardy proved how coachable he is during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday night.

In his preliminary fight against Yorgan De Castro, the heavyweight was able to listen to all the commentary going on around him with no fans in attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The best advice he received during his unanimous-decision victory didn't come from anyone in his corner, either.

Hardy said it was being able to hear Daniel Cormier's analysis as part of the event's broadcast on ESPN+. That allowed Hardy to adjust his game plan on the fly to come out with his first win in three bouts.

"Thank God for not having the crowd," Hardy told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview (via TMZ). "Shout out to D.C. I heard him tell me to check him, that I needed to figure out how to check it. So I started trying to check him. Game-changer."

There may not be many more opportunities for that type of coaching for Hardy. UFC President Dana White and the organization's stakeholders will want to get fans back in stadiums as soon as possible.

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