Johnny Walker scolds Dan Hardy for suggesting he taunts opponents, Hardy responds

UFC analyst Dan Hardy recently alleged that Johnny Walker taunted Corey Anderson backstage before their UFC 244 fight. It did not take Walker long to respond.

The light heavyweights collided in a preliminary bout at UFC 244 on Saturday. Anderson dismantled his opponent with a flush of strikes, achieving a first-round TKO win and ending Walker’s 9-fight win streak.

There were rumours circling that the Brazilian fighter antagonized Anderson behind the scenes in the lead-up to their fight. This added to mounting conflict from Anderson who felt he was not being respected by the UFC and hasn’t received the title shot he deserves.

During a segment with BT Sport, Hardy claimed that Walker had spoken badly towards Anderson.

“With the secret service locking the place down when the president was there, they had to bring the fighters out of their dressing room early,” he said. “So you’ve got Johnny Walker and his team, and Corey Anderson and his team in the same corridor.

“For five minutes or ten minutes all the time before the fight, Johnny Walker was going “Corey, I’m going to knock you out, I’m going to knock you out. So basically he was marinating in this annoyance for five or ten minutes before the fight.”

The accused fighter dismissed Hardy’s comments on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4a2EE_Ie2Z/

“@danhardymma , get your facts checked before saying stuff that is not true. I did not taunt Corey Anderson at all in the backstage before the fight and would NEVER do such thing. I know that moments like those, specially before the fight, are for focus and concentration. I really expected that a guy like you, who has been a fighter for many years, would ask me if this is true instead of just talking shit about me and painting a picture of me of a person that I am not. @coreya_mma @ricardoalmeidabjj you can come here confirm to Dan and the whole world how we were quiet and focused while waiting for our battle. Congrats and I will be cheering for you in the future.” – Johnny Walker on Instagram

Dan Hardy responded to Walker and defended his comments on Twitter:

“The fact that you do taunt people, as you did when Corey pinged you with that first punch, makes it all the more believable,” he said. “If you didn’t, then I apologize for sharing false information. I had no reason to believe it wasn’t true at the time though.”

The fact that you do taunt people, as you did when Corey pinged you with that first punch, makes it all the more believable. If you didn’t, then I apologize for sharing false information. I had no reason to believe it wasn’t true at the time though.

— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) November 4, 2019

Do you think the light heavyweight was goading his opponent, or that Hardy got it wrong? Sound off in the comments below!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/4/2019.