Dan Hardy interested in Anthony Pettis for comeback fight

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy is interested in taking on Anthony Pettis in his return to the Octagon.

The coach of Pettis, Duke Roufus, recently told MMAFighting.com’s Alexander K. Lee in an interview that he had heard Hardy is interested in Pettis as his opponent in his comeback fight. Hardy has not fought inside the Octagon since a 2012 win over Amir Sadollah due to the medical condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. However, he has always held out hope of a return to the cage.

“I’ve heard through the grapevine that Dan Hardy in his comeback wants to fight Anthony, that’s a good fight. Not in any way putting Dan down, I think that stylistically it’s a great fight for both fighters, for the fans, and that’s what we’re trying to do is find good fights that are interesting in our aspects,” Roufus said.

“Obviously, fitting for both guys, but at the same time it’s good for Anthony’s brand to fight the people he wants to fight, and his legacy.”

On Friday, Hardy took to his Twitter to seemingly confirm what Roufus said about him wanting to fight Pettis in his comeback. Here’s what Hardy shared on his social media.

https://twitter.com/danhardymma/status/1200453562746179584

If Hardy does want to fight Pettis, there are two roadblocks to making this fight happen. The first is that Hardy needs to be cleared by doctors to fight. He hasn’t been able to compete in seven years due to his ‘Wolf Heart’ syndrome and there’s no guarantee he would be cleared to fight inside the Octagon, though he has been wanting to return for a long time.

The other hurdle to clear is that Pettis is currently booked to face Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC 246. The outcome of that bout could very well determine if Pettis could fight Hardy next or not. Should Pettis win, he may want to challenge for the lightweight title and try to regain his belt from UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Would you be interested in a matchup between Dan Hardy and Anthony Pettis?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 11/29/2019.