Dan Hardy wants out of the UFC.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hardy said that he has asked two different people for his release from the UFC. Since his contract working as a UFC commentator came to an abrupt end and the fact he has been unable to agree to a bout with the promotion, Hardy is looking at other options to fight outside the UFC. In recent years, Hardy has teased a return to fighting despite not having fought since 2012.
“I’ve asked two different people for my release from the UFC because obviously with one contract coming to an end it makes sense for me to leave with my fight contract as well,” Hardy said. “I’m currently trying to get my release from the UFC so then I can start looking at other places. I’ve got a few ideas, a few options that I’d like to consider. It’s just getting hold of someone. I might have to recruit Joshua Fabia to get someone’s attention at some point.”
Whilst he has been away from the fight game, “The Outlaw” has gone on to become one of the most respected analyst and commentator of MMA. His knowledge of the fight game has shined through which has made the MMA community appreciate his eye for analysing fights through working for the UFC, BT Sport and on the Full Reptile Youtube Channel.
Dan Hardy Ready For Opportunities The UFC Won’t Provide
Earlier this year, Hardy was unexpectedly fired from the UFC after being involved in an issue with a female UFC employee in the production team during a UFC event in Abu Dhabi in 2020. Since he is no longer working for the UFC, Hardy wants out of his fight contract with the UFC and even if he was to get a deal done with the promotion, “The Outlaw” does not seem keen on the type of fight he’ll be given by the UFC.
“I think even if it got to the stage where I could get UFC to give me an opponent. It’s not going to be one of the ones that I want,” Hardy said. “They’re not matching veterans with veterans anymore. They’re matching veterans with the new guys coming up so they can build the next name. I’m not interested in fighting someone that nobody knows. You know (I want) Cowboy, Matt Brown. They would never in a million years give me the Nick Diaz fight. They’ll use Nick Diaz to build somebody else up. I just don’t want to be in that situation. Plus, my fight contract is eight years old so you can imagine the numbers on it.”
Hardy expressed interest in fighting in Japan but is keeping options open at this current time especially stating an interest in the major MMA promotions in Asia such as RIZIN or ONE championship. Hardy is keeping his options open as much as possible expressing interest in fighting middleweight and light heavyweight despite fighting as a welterweight throughout his career.
“As soon as that UFC door closed so many other doors opened and different options, not even just MMA,” Hardy added. “I’ve got other things I would consider as well. The world’s much bigger than I actually realized I think. So now I’ve started looking at these other organizations and different weight classes as well. I could jump into some of these at middleweight and light-heavyweight and fancy my chances. We’ll see what happens.”
Which promotion would you want to see Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy fight at? And who against?
