Josh Watson doubts Greg Hardy will fight in BKFC again, expects to face Ben Rothwell after KO win

Josh Watson figured Greg Hardy would overlook him at KnuckleMania 3.

Hardy was making his BKFC debut against Watson who was 1-1 in the sans gloves promotion. When Watson was offered Hardy he was surprised, but was excited about the matchup. Yet, he knew he was likely picked because BKFC thought he would lose to Hardy.

“Realistically I was a replacement. From my understanding, he was supposed to fight next month but held his ground that he needed to be on KnuckleMania, Watson said to BJPENN.com. “But, from what I heard the plan was for Greg to steamroll through me and him to fight Ben Rothwell in a super fight. I don’t know if they were bringing me into lose, but I do believe they were rooting for him to win. He brings eyeballs whenever he fights and when he lost all the major news outlets covered it. They didn’t cover the fact that I won, they covered that Greg got knocked out in his debut.”

In the fight, Watson and Hardy traded shots but in the final 30 seconds, Watson landed a big shot that dropped Hardy. Yet, with the time running out, the 40-year-old rushed in to try and get the KO.

However, Greg Hardy was able to recover and in between rounds, Josh Watson admitted he was worried the cut above his eye would stop the fight. Yet, the commission let him go and just seconds into the second round, he caught Hardy and knocked him out cold, which he believes will be Hardy’s first and only BKFC fight.

“When I knocked him down, I heard my corner yell 13 seconds. I just wanted him to get him up so I could have one more shot because I knew his bell was rung,” Watson said. “Then, I also knew I had the cut and I didn’t know how bad it was and maybe they stop it in between rounds. After it wasn’t stopped, I kind of knew one good shot could open up that cut even more so I had to be aggressive to begin the second round. He also came out aggressive and then I caught him with that counter and knocked him out. I also think after that Greg will never fight in BKFC again. He’s had some success in boxing and after that KO, I think he’s done in BKFC.”

With Josh Watson getting the KO win, he has been told he likely will face Ben Rothwell next in April. But, he says his goal is to have his retirement fight in the New England-area later this year.

“I’m not chasing no belts. I still work full-time, this is just fun for me. I was told they want me for something big in April, everyone can kind of guess what that will be. The plan was to have Greg Hardy fight Ben Rothwell on April 29 and I beat Greg,” Watson concluded. “So, you can kind of put two and two together, but I have to get healthy first. What I want though, is to have a retirement fight in Vegas or New England. I want to prefer to end my career somewhere in New England where I started and am from and ride off into the sunset.”

Were you surprised to see Josh Watson KO Greg Hardy?