The Heavyweight brawl between Greg Hardy and Yorgan De Castro kicked off the main card for the much anticipated UFC 249.

The duel of the giants lasted the entirety of all three rounds. The first round did not start off really well for the “Prince of War” Hardy. Yorgan managed to land some devastating kicks to Hardy’s leg, which definitely hindered the start for him.

However, the bizarre crowd less situation that the fight took place in actually worked in Hardy’s favor.

Apparently, due to an empty arena, the fighters are able to hear everything that the commentators say while fighting.

And with a veteran of the Octagon, Daniel Cormier on the commentating team, some expertise and experience inevitably creep into his comments. And as it turns out, his comments were the reason why Hardy was able to turn the tide.

Here’s what Hardy said to Joe Rogan immediately post-fight:

“Shout-out to DC! I heard him telling me to check it [the leg kicks]. he told me to figure out how to check it. So, U figured out how to check it. And the game changed.”

Greg Hardy wins via decision

grego Hardy went on to ride the high tide for the remainder of the fight. He landed a total of 66 strikes compared to Yorgan’s 24. Moreover, he landed 55 significant strikes compared to 24 of Yorgan’s.

However, this is not the only fighter at UFC 249 that credited his victory to DC’s ongoing commentary.

Carla Esparza, too, stated that it was DC who came to her rescue and gave her the advice she needed to win.

In her toe-to-toe bout with Michelle Waterson, she revealed that she heard DC talking about how she should mix her wrestling and striking.

She incorporated the experienced piece of advice and finally gained the edge over Waterson.

And while Daniel’s commentary is nothing new, it seems that an empty arena actually aids fighters to concentrate more and pay heed to what their corners are saying. Of course, the added benefit is being able to incorporate the former Heavyweight Champion’s advice in the guise of live commentary