When it was first announced that the UFC would be returning to London, England for ‘UFC On Fuel TV 7’ on February 16th it was natural to assume that UK star Dan Hardy would be on the card, but apparently that’s not going to be the case.
Hardy did co-main event in the UFC’s last UK show, picking up a win over Amir Sadollah in his hometown of Nottingham in September, and rumors had been building that he was going to be fighting Siyar Bahadurzada.
“Sorry mate, I won’t be ready to fight in February,” Hardy informed Bahadurzada when asked by the fighter if he was going to be on the card. “Enjoy fighting in London though, the UK fans are always great.
It’ll be interesting to see who the UFC does wheel out for this one then as in the past they’ve been fond of leaving heavily on homegrown stars like Hardy to sell tickets for the UK shows.
Michael Bisping’s another fighter they often use in these situations, but he’s already lined up to fight Vitor Belfort in January.
Truth be told, outside of those two the UK doesn’t have any fighters who will really move the needle. I expect we’ll see the likes of Brad Pickett, John Hathaway, Tom ‘Kong’ Watson and Jimi Manuwa, but the main event may well be comprised of overseas talent.
