Former UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy believes Dana White will do anything he can to keep his fighters from trying to follow in the footsteps of Francis Ngannou.
On October 28, Ngannou exceeded all expectations in his professional boxing debut against the man many thought to be the baddest man on the planet. Through 10 rounds of entertaining action, ‘The Predator’ took it to his opponent, reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, even knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ in the third.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Dan Hardy spoke about the sudden boom in crossover boxing, suggesting that the UFC CEO will likely try to avoid putting his prized possessions into boxing matches despite it proving to be a fairly profitable venture.
“We got the [Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor] thing and that was a one-off,” Hardy explained. “I do feel like the UFC in particular like Dana’s a boxing fan. I think he was intrigued by that because he felt Conor was something quite special and he might be able to just do something as well as obviously they made a bunch of cash out of it.
“If you look at somebody like a Sean O’Malley or a Jon Jones, he doesn’t want to take that risk. You remember when he took Chuck Liddell over to PRIDE and ‘Rampage’ [Quinton Jackson] beat him up, that kind of burned him, I feel. He’s been very, very reluctant to risk breaking his toys in other people’s promotions. I think he’s going to do everything he can to stop people from doing it.”
"He’s been very, very reluctant to risk breaking his toys in other people’s promotions."
Dan Hardy doesn't think Dana White will let UFC athletes fight outside the promotion #TheMMAHour
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Despite only having one fight since his split with the UFC, Francis Ngannou has found an incredible amount of success. First, he signed a groundbreaking deal with the PFL that will make he and his opponents inside the Smart Cage very wealthy. Then he delivered a jaw-dropping performance against Fury that has seemingly opened up even more opportunities.
“I think now people are going to have the courage and confidence to see Ngannou go into free agency, recognize that maybe the grass is potentially greener elsewhere,” Hardy said. “The money is certainly greener elsewhere, I can tell you that. We’ll see a few more people working their way out of their contracts.”
Dan Hardy Believes Francis Ngannou Has Paved the Way for UFC Fighters to Leave Dana White in Pursuit of Green Pastures
Multiple members of the UFC roster have expressed an interest in strapping on the eight-ounce gloves, including reigning bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley, who called out boxing star Devin Haney as the title belt was still being strapped around his waist for the first time.
Ngannou’s success could very well pave the way for athletes like O’Malley, Sean Strickland, and Israel Adesanya to one day walk away from the Octagon to pursue something more lucrative inside the squared circle.
“Sean O’Malley wants to step into boxing,” Hardy said. “There are other fighters like Sean Strickland, he’s made a fan out of me in his performance against Israel Adesanya and I know in the boxing world he’s very unorthodox and very difficult to deal with. I would absolutely put him in there against some of those guys and watch him mix it up. There’s definitely scope for other fighters to cross over.”
Of course, if there are any heavyweights out there looking for a big payday, you need only look to the PFL which is guaranteeing Francis Ngannou’s first opponent under the promotional banner $2 million.
“$2 million on the table for Francis Ngannou’s first opponent in the PFL,” Hardy added. “There are enough heavyweight fighters that are prize fighters because they’re big guys that punch hard that will go where the money is.
“I think we’re going to see a couple of people come out of their contracts soon and crossover ready for that big payday.”
Watch the full MMA Hour interview below:
Transcription by MMA Fighting
