5 Things You Might Not Know About Heather Hardy

Heather Hardy was one of the top female boxers in the world before opting to sign with Bellator MMA. Because of the low pay present in women’s boxing, Bellator added an excellent piece to its growing roster, and whether in victory or defeat, Hardy has delivered on the excitement front thus far.

The Brooklyn, New York, native will carry a 1-1 record into her women’s flyweight battle with fellow boxer and former WBO champion Ana Julaton in a Bellator 194 feature on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

As Hardy prepares for her clash with Julaton, here are five things you might not know about her:

1. She was a two-division boxing champion.

Hardy’s accomplishments in the squared circle include a perfect 20-0 mark with one no-contest. Even more impressive, she captured WBC championships in two weight classes. Hardy won the WBC international female featherweight title and the WBC international female super bantamweight crown.

2. All of her boxing matches have been held in her native New York.

The fight against Julaton will come in familiar territory for Hardy -- on the East Coast. All 22 of her bouts as a professional boxer were contested in New York, seven of them at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Hardy also made her MMA debut in New York, as she stopped Alice Yauger with punches in the third round of their Bellator 180 encounter at Madison Square Garden.

3. She has not shied away from rematches.

Four boxers earned rematches with Hardy, and all four failed to make the adjustments necessary to knock her from the ranks of the unbeaten. Edina Kiss, Noemi Bosques, Renata Domsodi and Mikayla Nebel fell short in their second go-around with “The Heat.”

4. Her boxing resume is not blemish-free.

While Hardy has yet to lose as a boxer, there is one no-contest on her ledger. Her first fight with the aforementioned Domsodi was called in the third round due to an accidental head butt on April 11, 2015. Hardy won the rematch between the two women a little less than four months later, forcing a sixth-round doctor’s stoppage against the Hungarian.

5. Neither of her MMA bouts has gone the distance.

Despite just four knockout wins as a boxer, Hardy’s two Bellator appearances have resulted in TKOs. Following her stoppage of Yauger in June, Hardy was victimized by Kristina Williams at Bellator 185 on Oct. 20. Williams broke her nose with a kick before closing it out 2:00 into the second round.