Heather Hardy (born January 25, 1982) is an American former professional boxer and mixed martial artist.
Within three weeks of training, Hardy, a 28 year old rookie, had her first fight in front of an average sized audience in Long Island, and won.
[11] Her determination and passion were soon noticed when she caught the eye of a professional trainer who offered to let her train at Gleason's Gym.
Despite her newfound popularity, Hardy remains humble; she can still be found selling tickets before her fights and training clients at Gleason's.
[11] In 2016, Hardy made major strides for women's boxing by landing a televised gig on NBCSN against Shelly Vincent.
[12] Hardy challenged Amanda Serrano for the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring female featherweight world titles in the co-main event of Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz on August 5, 2023.
[14] Hardy made her professional MMA debut at Bellator 180 in a flyweight bout against Alice Yauger on June 24, 2017, at the Madison Square Garden.
[17] She lost the bout via TKO due to a doctor stoppage in the second round after a head kick from Williams shattered her nose.
[24] Via an Instagram post in May 2024, Hardy revealed that she pulled out of the scheduled bout because she had "too much brain damage" implying that her career was likely over.