Greg Hardy books first bare-knuckle fight against Josh Watson at BKFC KnuckleMania 3

A date has been determined for Greg Hardy's bare-knuckle boxing introduction.

On February 17, Hardy, a former heavyweight fighter in the UFC and a star on the defensive line in the NFL, will compete at BKFC's marquee event "KnuckleMania 3" in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Josh Watson, a two-time BKFC champion, will be positioned across the ring.

BKFC president Dave Feldman announced Hardy's acquisition on Thursday during a press conference before "KnuckleMania 3." Afterwards, the social media advertisement revealed Watson as his rival.

Despite having inked a contract with BKFC in June 2022, Hardy, 34, ended up choosing to launch his boxing career once before entering bare-knuckle fighting. After defeating Mike Cook, Hardy won a unanimous decision against Hasim Rahman Jr. this last November after filling in for Vitor Belfort on a tight deadline.

After leaving the UFC in early 2022, the clash will be Hardy's third combat sports contest. In his last outing with UFC, Greg Hardy faced a humiliating defeat versus Sergey Spivak in the very first round via TKO. He had a three-fight winless run when he departed the promotion.

Hardy will square off against Watson, who has a professional record of 1-1 in BKFC battles after defeating Kyle McElroy in Albuquerque last August.

Hardy vs. Watson enters a BKFC KnuckleMania 3 itinerary which already features the title match involving Lorenzo Hunt and Mike Richman in the main event and the showdown among boxing champion Austin Trout and UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez in the co-main event.