With his first-choice opponent Matt Brown now unavailable, Dan Hardy has turned his attention to one of the most popular names in the sport as he looks to set up his octagon return.
Hardy (25-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC), has been teasing a return to the octagon for a while now and appears closer than ever to making it happen. “The Outlaw” hasn’t competed since September 2012, when he defeated Amir Sadollah in his hometown of Nottingham, England.
The 38-year-old former welterweight title challenger was angling for a fight with Brown, who he was scheduled to face in April 2013 before being forced to withdraw after being diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, also known as “Wolf Heart.”
But, with Brown now booked to face Dhiego Lima on June 19, Hardy has a new hit list which is headed by Nick Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who has been teasing a return of his own.
“Nick Diaz is my priority,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “I mean, a Diaz brother would be great, just because I love their vibe, I love their trash talk and I think I could get inside their head the way they get inside other people’s heads. And I always think their game has been, you know, over-celebrated, shall we say? They’re good, but they’re not technically great. They’re kind of sloppy. They’ve got good jiu-jitsu, of course, but they don’t have any means of getting you to the ground without slapping the hell out of you like they did McGregor. I just think, you know, Diaz, the Diaz brothers have got such a name, and Nick’s been out for so long.
“And this is the thing that people forget. He’s been out in the bars in Vegas, and I’ve been sitting octagon-side studying the sport and watching it grow. I feel like I’ve been absorbing souls. Like what’s his name off Mortal Kombat. Every fight I’ve watched I’ve absorbed something from it. And I do it on a daily basis. I watched the Canelo fight against Yildirim 12 times yesterday and I got a lot from that. Like, the amount of information in my brain. If I can communicate 10 percent of that into any combat sport, I’m feeling confident I could beat every single name on that list.”
Included in Hardy’s list were the likes of the Diaz brothers, Brown, Carlos Condit, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, Diego Sanchez, Donald Cerrone, Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis. Though Brown is unavailable at the moment, Hardy is still interested.
“Well, I just saw today that he’s been matched with Lima,” Hardy said. “So, I don’t know what’s going on there. And they’ve kind of booked him as far back as they have either. I mean, he’s June 19. It’s the last fight card that the UFC have got on their schedule. It’s the only fight on the card at the moment. So, I don’t know what’s going on there. I’m trying to get in contact with the UFC and it’s proving very difficult at the moment. So, social media is the best way of going about it.
“I’ve got (shows a list of names), there you go. That’s my 15 names on my list. That’s my hit list. I’ve got a list there. But there’s a list there of 15 guys there that at any point in the next couple of years I’d be happy to fight. And that I’d be very much appreciative of their competition as well, cause they’re all formidable individuals and all people that feel like I could find a way to beat. Which very much excites me. So, I’ll work down the list. I mean, Matt Brown is the one I want, because he makes sense.”
Dan Hardy sets sights on new UFC comeback opponent, says ‘Nick Diaz is my priority’
