There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight slugger, Dan Hardy, was ranked No. 5 in the world and set to battle Georges St-Pierre for the 170-pound strap.
Then it all fell apart.
After winning seven straight with four finishes, Hardy (25-10, 1 NC) went just 2-4, though he managed to get back into the win column before walking away from mixed martial arts (MMA) roughly six years back.
Is it time for “The Outlaw” to return?
“I like Madison Square Garden,” Hardy told MMANYTT (via MMA Fighting). “I know there’s a November card coming up and there’s still time to get on that. If the offer is right, and everything moves in that direction, if not, maybe early next year. There’s a lot of guys in the lightweight division I would look at, there’s a lot of guys in the welterweight division I would look at.”
See what he's looking at here.
Not only would Hardy need to enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool, which requires several months of taint-free pee, the UFC color commentator would also have to get medical clearance for his suspect ticker.
“The Outlaw” was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (also known as “Wolf Heart”) back in 2013 and pulled from his Matt Brown fight at UFC on FOX 13. That led to a public dispute with promotion president Dana White and some hard times at the teller window.
A lot has changed between then and now, including his age (35), but it sounds like Hardy wants one more shot inside the Octagon.
Who would you, as a fan, pair him up with?