Former British UFC challenger Dan Hardy’s last time inside the octagon was Sep. 2012 against Amir Sadollah, and has no desire to make any potential return against Mickey Gall.
Hardy will not be rushing into a return unless it is for “the right opponent”.
Speaking on the Heel Hook Show with Ashley Lamprey and Nick Strickland on Thursday, Hardy spoke about Mickey Gall’s call out following his dispatching of “Super” Sage Northcutt. The Nottingham native had no ill feeling towards the young Gall, but has all but confirmed that he will not be squaring off with the 2-0 UFC, recent arrival.
“Mickey Gall called me out the other week and I would just have no motivation to fight him. He’s a good kid. I’m gonna enjoy watching him grow into a great mixed martial artist because I think he has loads of potential. Obviously his ground game’s very good, and the UFC have picked him up early so they’re breaking him in easily. He’s not getting any killers early on and I think that’s smart to build the kid up because he’s got a lot of potential.
I would have no motivation to train to fight him because I don’t really wanna mess with his career. I would like to step back and watch it. The guys I’d like to fight are the ones that are established in the game.
Hardy kept names of potential opponents close to his chest but was clear about his motivations at this point. The fighter joined the UFC’s growing announce team in 2014 and has flourished in the role.
Hardy has been considering a return to action, but has ruled out any aspirations to chase a title:
“I have no interest in rankings or belts and I don’t foresee me holding a UFC title in the future. I had a very interesting mushroom experience a while ago, when I saw a timeline of sport generally and saw how things repeat over and over and over again. As great as a champion will be now, and for as many times as they can defend their belt, there’s always gonna be another champion.
My goal was always to be the best, but that was always an illusion. There is no such thing as being the best fighter in the world. Not on any given day. You can be Demetrious Johnson and be the best guy in your division and you still can’t call yourself the best fighter in the world. It’s an unattainable achievement.
In this time off and partly in the time between my Chris Lytle fight and the (Duane) Ludwig fight as well, in that time I took to re-establish my mindset for competition. I realised I was more interested in the actual process of learning. In the journey of being tested in competition.”
You can listen to Hardy’s full interview, here.
