Dan Hardy Wants To Return To The UFC And Retire Diego Sanchez

Dan Hardy hasn’t seen action inside the Octagon since 2012 when he KO’d Duane Ludwig, and then picked up a unanimous decision win over Amir Sadollah. After the bout it was discovered that Hardy suffers from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which is a heart condition that essentially means Hardy has an extra electrical conduction pathway in his heart, which can cause his heartrate to jump to abnormally high levels. The condition is a more severe version of Supraventricular tachycardia.

Hardy spoke with MMAJunkie Radio about his hopes for returning to the Octagon after getting good news from his doctors.

“I spoke to the doctor that works for the UFC in the U.K., and he said he thinks it’s not really much of an issue to get me cleared. It’s just a case of going through the right tests and seeing the right cardiologists, guys that aren’t going to make a buck out of selling an operation to me. And that’s really where I am at the moment, particularly with the U.S. doctors. They’re trying to sell me a car, and I don’t need it.”

“I would reconsider if all of a sudden [the syndrome] became a complication for my health,” he said. “But as it is right now, it’s just a complication for my career, and I really feel like I’m caught in the health care system.”

Who does Hardy want to smash if given the opportunity to return to the UFC? The man who robbed his teammate Ross Pearson of a victory at the hands of arguably one of the worst judging calls of all time…Diego Sanchez.

“Ross Pearson won that fight clearly, and Diego accepted the win like he does…he’s as crazy as he is,” Hardy said. “I’m a huge Diego fan, but for me, he is what’s wrong with mixed martial arts right now. He is the 20th century bullheaded martial artist that walks forward and fights with their face, and now we’ve got guys like … Conor McGregor, we’ve got Gunnar Nelson; they’ve all got this very Machida-esque style where they’re very mobile; they can switch stances, and they can hit with power from anywhere.

“I’d like to get in there and maybe push him toward retirement,” he said. “Get my comeback fight, give him his last fight, and see where we’re at.”