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USATSI

Controversy erupted between rounds 2 and 3 of Greg Hardy's UFC on ESPN 6 fight with Ben Sosoli. In his corner, Hardy used an inhaler, which seemed to be a violation of the rules of substances allowed to be used during a fight.

There was some confusion as Hardy's camp appeared to think the use of the inhaler was allowed per USADA, and they were given approval to use the device by a Massachusetts state inspector. However, the inspector did not have authority to approve use of the inhaler. As such, the fight has been overturned from a unanimous decision victory for Hardy to a no contest. The change of result was confirmed by the UFC following the conclusion of the event from Boston's TD Garden.

Hardy, a former NFL star who has a controversial past involving domestic violence allegations, has seen his UFC career plagued by controversy -- both for his past and in in-cage action. In his UFC debut, Hardy suffered a disqualification loss against Allen Crowder when he landed an illegal knee and now has had a win overturned to a no contest.

"I was in the ring, me and my coach asked the commission if it would be ok to use my inhaler and they said yes, so I took it," Hardy said in a statement. "I'm still new guy in this sport, I did what I do in every situation -- I asked permission, I got permission and I did what I was told.

"In this fight, I wanted to prove I was a fighter. I said before the fight that I wanted to go out and put on a showcase and show the leads and bounds that I've improved by. It was all about going the 15 minutes, showing some different weapons and not making so many rookie mistakes and just getting jabbed in the face. It was a Din Thomas showcase, I have a lot of weapons and a gas tank to use those consistently over all three rounds. Right now, we're going to go back to the gym, put it together and let my team make the next decision."

Hardy is now 5-1, 1 NC in his career while Sosoli (7-2, 2 NC) has seen his last two bouts end in no contest.