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Hardy admits he 'messed up,' calls illegal knee unintentional

Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC / UFC / Getty

Greg Hardy insists that his illegal knee to the head of opponent Allen Crowder at UFC Brooklyn on Saturday night was not intentional.

"I take full responsibility. It's not something I did on purpose. Anybody that's ever heard me talk, met me, or been around me knows it's not something I would do. Just wish we could go back and go into the third round," Hardy said in the post-fight press conference.

In his UFC debut - and in the card's co-main event - Hardy was disqualified in the second round for hitting his downed opponent with a knee to the head.

Hardy believed Crowder's knee was coming off the mat. He said he mistimed his knee and had hoped to land it as he had watched his peers do successfully.

"I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. It was not. I messed up," he said.

Despite the mistake, UFC president Dana White said it won't be Hardy's last appearance in the Octagon.

"He'll get another fight. He made a really big rookie mistake and it cost him an L tonight. It ruined his perfect record," White said.

"One thing that I did learn about Hardy tonight, he can fight. He can fight. He's an athlete. Not only can he punch hard but he can take a big punch."

Hardy entered the bout with a professional record of 3-0.

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