Former WSOF lightweight standout Nick Newell’s dream has always been to fight in the UFC. Well, now the fighter with just one and a half arms is closer than ever to accomplishing that dream, as Newell will be fighting on season two of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series for a UFC contract.
Elsewhere on that card, disgraced former NFL star Greg Hardy, who’s 3-0 with three knockout victories as an amateur, will face fellow former NFL player Austen Lane. Lane will be the more experienced fighter, compiling a 4-0 record as a professional and as an amateur.
Hardy was originally scheduled to fight Brandon Sayles on the card, but Sayles was removed from the fight for undisclosed reasons. Hardy played for the Dallas Cowboys before a domestic assault and cocaine charge forced him out of the league.
Newell’s opponent has yet to be announced.
The former WSOF lightweight contender actually ended up retiring after the TKO loss to Gaethje, who was their lightweight champion at the time. Prior to that loss, Newell had rattled off 14 victories in a row. His retirement was short lived, however, and he returned to competition a year after losing to Gaethje. Now with a respectable 14-1 professional MMA record, Newell has clearly proved that he can hang with the division’s best despite having been born with a congenital deformity that caused his left arm cut off just below the elbow, meaning he has functional biceps and an elbow which he uses to wrestle his opponent down and work his adept submission game.
Season two Of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series begins June 12.
