A few weeks ago, Heather Hardy was preparing for a bare-knuckle match against BKFC Champion Christine Ferrea. But now her career seems to be over.
The 42-year-old mixed martial arts veteran, who primarily competed in boxing before competing in four bouts with Bellator MMA, announced he would be retiring from combat sports due to brain damage sustained from repeated concussions. Hardy was originally scheduled to compete in a BKFC title match against Ferrea on May 11, but withdrew from the match days before the event.
Now, Hardy has broken her silence and explained the medical diagnosis that effectively ended her career.
“The fight for May 11th is over,” Hardy wrote on Instagram. “After my fight with Amanda last summer, [Serrano], my vision remained blurry for several days.While I was in the hospital, I went for an MRI and an eye test. [Texas] He was diagnosed with the aftereffects of a concussion. [In six to eight] A few months, I should be fine. So basically we needed a fight and things weren't going to get any better. My daughter is a college student. Everyone thinks I've made millions of dollars in my career, but that wasn't actually the case. I paid a salary so that my child could go to the best school and live in the best neighborhood. And so I had to put up a fight, and fast story, within a month of training with Christine, all my eyesight deteriorated.
“I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and was so weak that my weight dropped to 123 pounds. I didn't tell anyone, not my boyfriend, not my coach, how bad it was.” I thought I could survive a 10-minute fight, but after a very light sparring session I couldn't see shit for two days, and I didn't eat or sleep from Friday until Monday. I knew I was too weak to do something like this, and when I finally went to see a doctor, they told me I had too many concussions, which destroy parts of my brain that never grow back. Can't go back. Imagine the damage I've done to my brain over the past 10 years. Don't hit your head.”
Hardy never used the word “retirement,” but he ended his statement by captioning the video, “So I said it…you know what it means.” damage. “
Hardy had a slow start to his boxing career, debuting in 2012 at the age of 28. Despite this, she went on an impressive undefeated streak through her first 22 matches. Although she won several titles along the way, she suffered her first loss to Amanda Serrano in 2019.
In their rematch in August of this year, Hardy lost a lopsided decision to Serrano after landing 278 painful punches in 10 rounds.
Hardy has a 2-2 record in Bellator during his short MMA career, with his last appearance coming in 2019, when he lost by first-round TKO to Taylor Turner.
If her career is indeed over, Hardy will retire with a record of 24-3 (one no contest) in boxing, 2-2 in MMA, and has competed in kickboxing and Muay Thai over the years. That's what I did.