Dan Hardy revealed that he was banned from all fight week activities before cornering his wife at UFC 286.
The one-time UFC title challenger was present at the O2 Arena last weekend for his former employer’s big return to London. Hardy could be seen in the corner of his wife, Veronica Hardy, who kicked off the card with a big win over TUF 30 winner Juliana Miller. Though present during the official weigh-in and the event itself, Hardy revealed in an interview with Petesy Carroll of The Ariel Helwani Show that he had been banned from all other fight week activities after what he described as a “very minor disagreement” with a staff member.
The conversation started with Carroll getting Hardy’s take on comments made by welterweight gatekeeper Colby Covington. During an interview, ‘Chaos’ physically threatened UFC play-by-play man John Anik for backing Belal Muhammad as the rightful contender to the 170-pound crown.
“I think the reason [Covington will] get away with it of course is ‘cause Anik is another public figure,” Hardy explained. “You know, like we had the bit of a back-and-forth between Gaethje and Bisping. And I think as long as both people in the organization are public-facing figures, I don’t think it’s that much of a problem in Dana’s eyes.
“But I mean, I had a very, very minor disagreement with a member of staff and I was banned from all fight week activities last week,” Hardy continued. “So, you know, it’s a case-by-case basis … I went to the official weigh-ins, that was the only thing I went to. But everything else I was banned from. And it’s silliness. It’s a massive, massive double standards. But, I wouldn’t expect anything less from that organization these days.”
Dan Hardy talks UFC: The company's been rotting from the inside for a long while and now the rot is starting to show on the outside…
Full interview here:https://t.co/GMUEozVQGu pic.twitter.com/R8VRblCedH
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 23, 2023
Dan Hardy Says Despite Fight Week Ban, Everything Else Was ‘Smooth Sailing’
Following his retirement from the sport, Dan Hardy successfully transitioned to the commentary table for the UFC. In July 2020, ‘The Outlaw’ did find himself in a bit of hot water after getting into a verbal altercation with tenured referee Herb Dean on air. Hardy believed Dean took too long to step in and stop a bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert. Though UFC president Dana White indicated Hardy would face no punishment, he delivered a strong warning to anyone that might consider confronting an official in the future.
Less than a year later, Hardy would part ways with the promotion after allegedly engaging in a heated confrontation with a female employee.
“Honestly it was a really cathartic week for me,” Hardy said of his return to the promotion. “In my head, I just… Because I expected them to cause as many problems for me and Veronica as they could and it was a relatively smooth sailing week. I just stayed out of the way, as I did when I was working for them to be honest. I was never down hanging out at breakfast and having conversations with people. I was always hiding in my room. I’m quite anti-social.”
Transription by MMA News
