Dan Hardy has been saying he wants to come back, but after some talk with the UFC, he says he wants his release from the promotion.
Hardy was cut as an analyst role from the UFC and he says he also wants to be let go as a fighter. According to the fan-favorite, he doesn’t like who the promotion is offering him, so he wants his release.
“The only thing that’s happened is I’ve asked two different people for my release from the UFC,” Hardy said to Submission Radio. “Because obviously with one contract coming to an end, it would make sense for me to leave with my fight contract as well. So I’m currently trying to get my release from the UFC so then I can start looking at other places.
“I’ve got a few ideas and a few options that I’d like to consider,” Hardy continued. “But it’s just getting a hold of someone, I might have to recruit Joshua Fabia to get someone’s attention at some point.”
Dan Hardy says the UFC is not offering him veteran names like Carlos Condit, Matt Brown, Donald Cerrone, or Nick Diaz. Instead, they are offering young up-and-comers, so Hardy says he wants his release.
“I’d love to fight in Japan,” Hardy said. “I’ve always been a fan of Japan. RIZIN, ONE Championship is doing amazing things. I actually think that would be a great place for Diego to go. They’ve got Shinya Aoki floating around there that has, what, 47 wins on his record? I’d like to see Diego against Aoki, that would be an interesting one.
“But just as soon as that UFC door closed, so many other doors opened, and different options, not even just MMA. I’ve got other things I would consider as well,” Hardy concluded. “The world’s much bigger than I actually realized, I think, so now I’m starting to look at these other organizations, and different weight classes as well. I could jump into some of these at middleweight and light heavyweight and fancy my chances. We’ll see what happens.”
