Heather Hardy picked up her second professional MMA win this past Friday Night at Bellator 194, defeating Ana Julaton by unanimous decision.
Prior to the event, a lot of confusion surrounded Hardy and her attempt at making weight for the fight. Hardy had assumed she had made weight for the event, which later turned out to be false and Mohegan Tribe Department Of Athletic Regulation president Mike Mazzulli says the boxer turned MMA fighter never hit the mark on the scale.
“It was never said she was good,” Mazzulli told MMA Junkie. “She got on the scale, (and) she was 126.25 … she was a quarter-pound over. At that point, I explained to her – after evaluating her and seeing how she was – that she was not going to lose anymore. The fight’s not going to happen (if she has to lose anymore) – I’ll cancel the fight. Fighter safety is the most important at Mohegan, and I make sure of it.”
Hardy was 0.25 pounds over the weight limit, but she thought she had made weight due to a small allowance for the bikini that was worn during the festivities.
Mazzulli even says that he spoke with Hardy while the fighter was on the scale about not making weight, but wouldn’t let her weigh in again after a lack of coherence.
“I explained to her (on the scale) that she did not (make weight) – that she was over a quarter-(pound), but I was not going to allow her to lose any more weight,” Mazzulli said. “… I explained to her, ‘I’m not even going to have you remove your clothes, because at this point you can’t even speak to me coherently. That concerns me.'”
The fight with Julaton would go on and Hardy would get fined a total of $2,400, which is 20% of her purse.
