Will he or won't he?
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight number one contender Dan Hardy needs to get a second opinion on the heart condition that has kept him from returning to the Octagon.
"The Outlaw" was recently diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, also known as "Wolf Heart," prior to his UFC on FOX 7 fight against Matt Brown, who now fights Jordan Mein this Saturday night (April 20, 2013) in his place.
Before the British brawler can make his way back into the cage, he must first prove he's medically fit to compete, or that he was, in fact, misdiagnosed the first time around.
UFC President Dana White explains:
"Lorenzo and I called Dan Hardy a couple weeks ago and got him set up with the best cardiologist in the country. He didn't want to go. He's in serious denial right now. Either denial or just afraid to hear from somebody that that's the truth and that's what's going on. So after he turned it down, I called him back and said, 'Dude, are you crazy? We're offering you a chance to go see the best guy. Just get this second opinion. You're literally insane if you don't go do this.' He said, 'You know what Dana, I'm going through a lot of stuff personally right now. I'm getting married, I have a lot of family coming into town and just dealing with this whole thing at the same time. It's driving me crazy so I just want to put this on the backburner until I'm done with my family stuff and then we'll talk.' Once he gets this done, hopefully we can get him out there to see this doctor. Hopefully he was misdiagnosed."
"Wolf Heart" is a heart condition in which there is an abnormal extra electrical pathway of the ticker, leading to episodes of rapid heart rate. Complications include heart failure and low blood pressure, two things that could be problematic when you're in a fistfight.
Surgery often corrects the problem, but it doesn't sound like Hardy is in a big hurry to go under the knife.
Until he makes a decision, or a decision is made for him, "The Outlaw" will keep his career on hold. The good news is, if this is his last hurrah, he can at least go out with a win, having decisioned Amir Sadollah in front of a Nottingham crowd back in late 2012.
Stay tuned.