Gono then took on Dan Hardy at UFC 89, but suffered defeat via split decision. Gono was left swollen and bloodied by several of Hardy's left hooks. Gono rocked Hardy on more than one occasion. In the third round Gono pushed Hardy to the canvas, and subsequently landed an illegal knee to the face of the downed fighter. This caused the fight to be stopped for a short period. Hardy recovered and went on to win the split decision. The judges saw the bout 29-28 (twice) for Hardy, and 29-28 for Gono.