Johnny Walker has taken issue with Dan Hardy’s claim that he taunted Corey Anderson before their UFC 244 bout.
Walker shared the Octagon with Anderson this past Saturday night (Nov. 2). The light heavyweight tilt was the featured preliminary bout of UFC 244. Anderson scored a massive first-round TKO victory.
Johnny Walker Calls Out Dan Hardy Over Taunting Claim
Speaking to BT Sport following UFC 244, Hardy claimed that Walker was taunting Anderson backstage before their bout for five or ten minutes. Walker took to his Instagram account to deny the claim.
“Hey @danhardymma, get your facts checked before saying stuff that is not true. I did not taunt Corey Anderson at all in the backstage before the fight and would NEVER do such thing. I know that moments like those, specially before the fight, are for focus and concentration. I really expected that a guy like you, who has been a fighter for many years, would ask me if this is true instead of just talking shit about me and painting a picture of me of a person that I am not. @coreya_mma @ricardoalmeidabjj you can come here confirm to Dan and the whole world how we were quiet and focused while waiting for our battle. Congrats and I will be cheering for you in the future.”
Anderson replied to Walker and confirmed that he wasn’t being taunted.
“Johnny didn’t say anything to me in the tunnel. It was a fan behind him on the other side of the curtain screaming that for 5-10 [minutes]. Thank you again for the battle warrior.”
Hardy hopped on Twitter to give his take on the matter and appeared reluctant in his apology.
“I know you sent me a private message, but since you made this so public and social media got involved, I’ll have my say. When a respected team tell me something, why should I not believe them? I don’t care either way, I’m just analyzing a situation.”
“The fact that you do taunt people, as you did when Corey pinged you with that first punch, makes it all the more believable. If you didn’t, then I apologize for sharing false information. I had no reason to believe it wasn’t true at the time though.”
