Dan Hardy has confirmed recent reports that he is no longer working directly for the UFC And BT Sport, bringing his role as an occasional color commentator and analyst for the promotion to an end.
The first news of this development came from The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, who reported that the 38-year-old Hardy had been fired, “over an issue in Abu Dhabi where he got into an argument with a female employee.”
Hardy later responded to an article from another website who had been reporting on the matter.
“Rather misleading headline there, @bjpenndotcom,” Hardy wrote on Twitter. “Not entirely accurate either. I am no longer working directly with the UFC. The ‘female’ part is irrelevant. It was a disagreement over an opportunity missed, or withheld, and I’d love some answers but can’t get any.
And he also reassured fans that he’s still going to be on screen in one way or another.
“Thank you for the kind words and support. I’m doing just fine, and am not going anywhere. I’ll still be breaking fights down on my channel, and elsewhere…
I’m here in service of MMA, and sometimes that puts you on the other side of the line. I’m fine with that.”
Hardy has already began putting more focus on his Full Reptile youtube channel, while in the past week he’s taken to calling out fighters on social media, though his first target Matt Brown has since been given another fight, while his second call-out to Nick Diaz has gone unaswered.
The fighter has also suggested on a recent podcast that he’s been having difficulty speaking to the UFC directly recently about a comeback fight, which casts further doubt as to whether he’s ever going to step back into the Octagon.
It’s now been over eight years since Hardy was diagnosed with a heart defect known as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, and he has yet to have another fight booked since, but he’s always been adamant that he’d like to compete again, even if the promotion have been wary about it.
The recent disagreement with a UFC employee isn’t the first time that Hardy has had a run-in with an official as last year he was involved in a heated argument with referee Herb Dean after a fight that he was providing color commentary for on Fight Island.
