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Dana White critical of Greg Hardy’s opponent Dmitrii Smoliakov: ‘That was weird’

At a glance, it looked like Dmitrii Smoliakov wanted nothing to do with Greg Hardy. And Dana White saw the same thing that everyone else saw.

The UFC president was asked bout Saturday’s co-headliner in Sunrise, Florida, a heavyweight bout between controversial ex-NFLer Greg Hardy and the lightly regarded Smoliakov. Hardy dispatched of Smoliakov with ease, winning by TKO in the first round, but afterwards much of the talk was centered on Smoliakov’s timid performance as opposed to Hardy’s quick finish.

White agreed that Smoliakov and his 9-2 record (which included a pair of UFC bouts from a few years ago) had no business being inside the Octagon, though he refuted the notion that this was an opponent handpicked to make Hardy look good.