19 times the Dallas Cowboys took risks on troubled players

The Dallas Cowboys signed Aldon Smith on April 1, another chapter in the book of risky signings by the franchise.

There the word trouble and you can spell it with a capital T when it comes to Texas and the Dallas Cowboys. America’s team has been a magnet for players with questionable resumes. Signing Aldon Smith is the latest risk Jerry Jones is taking in hopes of a huge reward.

Josh Brent

On Dec. 8, 2012, Josh Brent flipped his car on the Texas State Highway 114 at 2:21 a.m. while driving under the influence, killing his passenger, college and Cowboys teammate Jerry Brown. Brent announced his retirement on July 18, 2013, to focus on his off-the-field issues pertaining to the charges of intoxicated manslaughter. After serving his punishment in prison and going through a rehabilitation process, he was reinstated by the NFL following a 10-game suspension. On Nov. 11, 2014, he was activated from the team’s reserve/suspended list. His troubles with the law have continued long after his NFL career.

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Off Guard: Yorgan De Castro happy to let Greg Hardy take the spotlight at UFC on ESPN 8

Yorgan de Castro breaks down his fight against Greg Hardy at UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus and his progression so far in his career.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] may only be one fight into his UFC career, but he’s already planning big things in the promotion’s heavyweight division.

De Castro (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned his spot on the UFC roster with a first-round knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series in June 2019, then made a big impression in his official promotional debut four months later at UFC 243 when he took out Justin Tafa at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

Now the Cape Verde-born fighter faces another high-profile assignment when he takes on [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 8 on March 28 in Columbus, Ohio. He said he’s happy for his opponent to receive all the attention heading into the bout.

“I’m going to enjoy every moment of this fight and let him be in the spotlight,” De Castro told MMA Junkie from his training camp in Las Vegas. “Everybody’s going to tune in to see him fight, but at the end of the night, everybody’s going to be talking about me.”

De Castro has been enhancing his preparation with training sessions at Xtreme Couture, and said being at a gym with a host of top-drawer heavyweights has only helped his game ahead of his upcoming bout.

“I love the work ethic here – I love (that) everybody works so hard,” he said. “I get to share the room with Francis Ngannou and a bunch of other different heavyweight guys. It’s been good to me. It’s been big.”

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With just six fights to his name, and only one inside the UFC, De Castro knows he’s still very much in the “proving himself” stage of his fighting career. But he said he’s excited to get back into the cage and showcase his improvements.

“I think to me, all the fights are going to be the same: to prove that I belong in the UFC,” he said. “Because I’m 6-0, a lot people will say that I’m green. So I’m always going to be excited. I take every fight like it’s my last fight.”

That “green” tag has also been applied to his upcoming opponent. Hardy (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) exploded into the UFC and has impressed with his athleticism. But like De Castro, he is still in the learning phase of his career. De Castro said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from Hardy’s progression so far.

“I think he’s improved a lot,” he said. “If you see his first fight, he was walking in very aggressive, trying to finish the fight. Now he’s improved a lot, he’s taking his time. He knows his reach. He went three rounds with No. 7 in the world (Alexander Volkov), so I think he’s very good right now. He’s super athletic, his timing is getting better, his striking’s good – but I’m still gonna get it done.”

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Yorgan De Castro won’t feed off ‘hateful emotions’ for Greg Hardy fight at UFC on ESPN 8

Yorgan De Castro has no intention of making things personal with Greg Hardy ahead of UFC on ESPN 8.

[autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] has no intention of making things personal with [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] ahead of their scheduled matchup at UFC on ESPN 8 in March.

De Castro (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) said the controversial former NFL standout Hardy (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was someone he was extremely keen to fight, but not because of his checkered past. Rather, it was because he actually has respect for what his upcoming foe has done in the cage.

Hardy is coming off a short-notice loss to heavyweight title contender Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN+ 21 in November, and while he was decisively beaten in that fight, De Castro said it only further elevated his eagerness to book the matchup.

“I specifically asked for this fight,” De Castro told MMA Junkie. “This is the fight I wanted. I wanted to fight Greg Hardy. Not because of all the bad stuff around him, or the hate or the negative things, but because he’s got a name. A lot of people hate him, a lot of people like him, but he does have a name, and he just fought a top guy and he did good. If I want to fight someone who has got a name and a lot of people want to watch and is not ranked, what else is better than Greg Hardy? I specifically asked for him.”

Hardy’s troubled past makes him an easy target for anyone who choses to go the direction of trash talk. Some of his opponents have gone down that road and brought up his past, while others have refused.

De Castro said he is taking the latter approach.

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“If you come with bad, negative, hateful emotions, that will set me up for failure and take the focus off what really matters,” De Castro said. “I can’t feed off that. This is about me; this is not about him. This is about me getting the chance to go in there, put my name out there and fight someone who just fought a top-seven.”

What De Castro will speak more boldly about, though, is how he sees the fight with Hardy playing out. The heavyweight matchup is part of the still-growing lineup at UFC on ESPN 8, which takes place March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

De Castro said he knows Hardy is dangerous, but he thinks the highly aggressive style his opponent has shown in previous octagon appearances is exactly what will bring out his best.

“We’ve got a great gameplan, we got a good start of the fight camp right now,” De Castro said. “We’re not really worried about his grappling or his wrestling. He may try to take me down, but he’s not going to be able to keep me down. He’s very athletic, explosive and he’s going to come out very aggressive in the first round. But when people get aggressive – you saw what happened last time (in my UFC debut). When I get cornered and when people come to me, I’m not going nowhere. This is a good fight for me. I think he’s beatable, and I’ll beat him.”

For De Castro, the fact the UFC obliged to his request for Hardy shows good faith. He got a spectacular first-round knockout against Justin Tafa in front of a record crowd in his octagon debut at UFC 243 in October, and now he’s ready to deliver a memorable encore.

“I’m only 6-0, and people are going to ask a lot of questions and say, ‘He’s not ready, I want to see him against this guy,'” De Castro said. “But it’s the heavyweight division. Everyone has got power and everyone can knock everyone out. But the goal is to put on a show against Greg Hardy. The UFC thinks he can be a star and a lot of people think that, but when I win, people will start to look at me differently.”

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Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro, more bouts announced for UFC Columbus

Three new bouts have been added to UFC Columbus in March, including the return of controversial heavyweight Greg Hardy.

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] has a date and opponent for his next UFC bout.

The controversial former NFL All-Pro will take on [autotag]Yorgan De Castro [/autotag]at UFC on ESPN+ 30 in Columbus, Ohio on March 28. The news was announced by the promotion Friday.

Hardy (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) last fought in Novembe,r where he suffered a decision loss to Alexander Volkov in the co-main event of UFC Moscow. Hardy took the fight on short notice. A few weeks prior, he had a unanimous-decision victory over Ben Sosoli changed to a no-contest due to unapproved use of an inhaler during the fight. Hardy won his previous two bouts before the Sosoli mishap.

On the other hand, De Castro (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) last competed in October where he defeated Justin Tafa via knockout in his UFC debut. The 32-year-old fighter is unbeaten in his professional MMA career.

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Additionally, two more bouts were added to the card. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will be taking on [autotag]Louis Smolka [/autotag](16-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in a bantamweight bout and [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] (8-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) will face [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag] (33-13 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in a light heavyweight contest.

UFC Columbus is headlined by heavyweight bout pitting Francis Ngannou against rising contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

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Greg Hardy, four others face lengthy medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 21

Greg Hardy is potentially out up to 180 days after injuring his hand at UFC Moscow.

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] is one of five fighters facing lengthy medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 21.

The event took place Nov. 9 at CSKA Arena in Moscow and streamed on ESPN+.

One half of the co-main event, Hardy (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) dropped a three-round, unanimous decision to heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]. As speculated on the broadcast, Hardy injured his right hand/wrist and faces a 180-day medical suspension as a result.

Additionally, four other fighters have been handed out six-month suspensions. [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag], [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag], and [autotag]Grigorii Popov[/autotag] were also handed 180-day suspensions for injuries sustained in their respective losses.

Check out the entire UFC on ESPN+ 21 medical suspension list below (acquired via MixedMartialArts.com):

[autotag]Grigorii Popov[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until nasal x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by ENT physician; also suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days
[autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Alexander Yakovlev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until left elbow x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 14 days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Karl Roberson[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right eyelid laceration with 21 days no contact
[autotag]Rustam Khabilov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Sergey Khandozhko[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by OMF physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Shamil Gamzatov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Klidson Abreu[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Anthony Rocco Martin[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for nasal laceration with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Ed Herman[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for hard bout with 21 days no contact
[autotag]Zelim Imadaev[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right temple laceration with 21 days no contact
Alexander Volkov: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
Greg Hardy: Suspended 180 days or until right hand/wrist x-ray is cleared by physician; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days
[autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest
[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for hard bout with 21 days no contact

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Spinning Back Clique: What do we think of Greg Hardy now?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 2 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, Gorgeous George and Goze touch on the biggest storylines from UFC on ESPN+ 21 and around the world of MMA.

Show rundown:

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] traveled all the way to Moscow on short notice for the biggest test of his early career and came away with a three-round unanimous decision loss to former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 21. What did this performance tell us about the controversial former NFL standout? Did it tell us anything significant about his MMA outlook moving forward?
[autotag]Zabit Magomedsharipov[/autotag] remained undefeated in the UFC at 6-0 with a three-round unanimous decision win over [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN+ 21 headliner. Afterward, Magomedsharipov called for a title shot. Was this the performance that sealed the deal? Or does Magomedsharipov need a more signature victory to stake his claim?
At first, [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] said he wanted an immediate rematch with Jorge Masvidal. Then he was like, “peace out fight game.” Now he’s clarified he isn’t actually leaving the fight game, after all. What does all of this mean for Diaz’s future?
UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made it clear that [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is his next title defense of choice over Corey Anderson. Is that the right next move? What about heavyweight?
[autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] is off to Bellator and has detailed the reasons why he left the UFC to jump ship. What do we make of this move and his outlook with Bellator?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 2 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above.

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