Former Wisconsin high-school (and NFL) player to match up in Greg Hardy's MMA debut

A former Wisconsin high-school football standout who was drafted into the NFL and now competes in mixed martial arts will battle in a high-profile bout this summer.

Austen Lane, who played high-school football at Iola-Scandanavia and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010, will face controversial ex-NFL lineman Greg Hardy on June 12 in a heavyweight match as part of the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. The matchup was announced on the UFC 224 broadcast, and it will be Hardy's professional debut in MMA.

Lane, who played college football at Murray State, had stints in the NFL with the Jaguars, Lions and Bears before his career ended in 2014. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2010, the same year Hardy was taken in the sixth.

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Hardy hasn't played football since 2015. He was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in July 2014 while he was with the Carolina Panthers, only to have the charges dropped after the alleged victim refused to testify in his appeal. 

The Panthers deactivated the 2013 Pro Bowler thereafter and placed him on the exempt list. He signed with the Cowboys but received a 10-game suspension for violating the league's conduct policy, a punishment that was reduced to four games. He finished the season in Dallas but did not re-sign.

Lane, 30, is 4-0 in MMA, with his last bout in March. He's training in Jacksonville, Fla.