After a 10-year absence, Dan Hardy is finally on the verge of making a comeback in a fight against fellow veteran Diego Sanchez, but it will be a boxing exhibition match rather than an MMA bout.
Hardy, who will turn 40 next month, was forced to step away from competing in the UFC back in 2012 after being diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a medical condition related to the heart, but in 2018 he revealed that he’d been cleared to fight again.
During his time away from the sport Hardy had found a role as a color commentator with the UFC and at one point it appeared that his eventual MMA comeback would take place in the Octagon, but behind-the-scenes issues led to ‘The Outlaw’ being removed from his commentary role and released from the promotion last year.
So, instead Hardy has switched his attention to the boxing ring for an eight-round fight with Sanchez on the undercard of an event in Manchester, England that will be headlined by an exhibition bout between Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera.
As for the 40-year-old Sanchez, he was also released from the UFC last year after repeated issues with the fighter and his former manager Josh Fabia led to the company opting to part ways with him.
Sanchez then had a rough time of it after testing positive for Covid late last year, leading to him being hospitalized and diagnosed with pneumonia and blood clots, but he has since recovered.
Sanchez then wasted no time in getting back to fighting, with his first fight outside of the UFC in well over 20 years taking place against Kevin Lee at Eagle FC 46 last month, and though he lost by unanimous decision he gave a better account of himself than many had predicted beforehand.
Watch Hardy talking about the upcoming match-up in the video below.
