We'd heard last year that Bellator's Heather Hardy had been recruited as a pro wrestler in her early days as a fighter, but now she's opened up a bit about it.
Hardy is a New York fighting staple, and puts in much of her work at Gleason's Gym. So does WWE Hall of Famer and trainer Johnny Rodz, who helped get Tazz, The Dudley Boyz, Big Cass and other notable wrestlers. Hardy spoke to Fightful about her relationship with the wrestling legend.
"I work at Gleason's (gym). On any given day I'm there for 8-9 hours working and training. Johnny's always there and I know what he does. For me, I didn't walk into Gleason's saying 'man I want to make some money!' I walked in there saying 'I want to fight!' It was always just a joke kind of thing, never a serious thing where he tried to rip me away. I know if I knocked on his door, we would have half a conversation and I'd get started working with him -- he's a great guy," said Hardy of Rodz's attempts.
Despite Rodz's playful overtures to get her involved in wrestling, she told us there haven't been other serious offers to get into pro wrestling. As things stand, she already has a full plate.
"Not at all. We've been so focused on boxing and MMA, and I have contracts in both. To even think of a third sport, I don't know that my management could stand another promoter!," laughed Hardy.
You can hear our full conversation with Hardy at the top of the page. She's set to take on Taylor Turner on June 14 at Bellator 222 on DAZN. Fightful will have full, live coverage of the show, as well as a post-show podcast recapping the event's happenings.
