Tag: Dan Hardy

Video: Did Israel Adesanya’s dry-hump celebration go too far?

UFC fighters-turned-commentators Paul Felder, Dan Hardy and Angela Hill offer their unique perspectives on Israel Adesanya’s celebration.

ABU DHABI – Did [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] go too far with his UFC 253 post-fight celebration?

After finishing [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] with strikes in Round 2, Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) dry-humped his downed rival who laid face down on the canvas. Moments later, Adesanya was seen exchanging words with Costa’s coach, Eric Albarracin, before pretending to ejaculate on him.

On Tuesday, three UFC fighters-turned-commentators weighed in on the topic during a series of interviews. [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag], [autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] and [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] each offered a unique perspective on Adesanya’s hip-thrusting on top of Costa (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC).

Check out their reactions to Adesanya’s post-fight theatrics in the video above.

[lawrence-related id=555607,555707]

UFC 253 took place this past Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island. The main card streamed live on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The event was the first of five the promotion is holding during its second stint on “Fight Island.”

[vertical-gallery id=554924]

UFC analysts break down Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa results

UFC analysts Paul Felder, Dan Hardy and Angela Hill give their thoughts on what happened with Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi.

UFC analysts Paul Felder, Dan Hardy and Angela Hill give their thoughts on what happened with Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi.

Did Israel Adesanya go too far after UFC 253?

Was Israel Adesanya’s post-fight celebration at UFC 253 over the line? UFC fighters and analysts Paul Felder, Dan Hardy and Angela Hill give their thoughts.

Was Israel Adesanya’s post-fight celebration at UFC 253 over the line? UFC fighters and analysts Paul Felder, Dan Hardy and Angela Hill give their thoughts.

Dan Hardy explains reason for Herb Dean confrontation, clarifies lingering confusion

At the end of the day, all Dan Hardy wants is accountability for referees who put fighters in unnecessary danger.

As much as [autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] has said already about his run-in with referee Herb Dean, he still thinks some things could use clearing up.

Hardy, a UFC color commentator and former welterweight title challenger, openly and loudly criticized Dean’s stoppage of Francisco Trinaldo’s knockout win over Jai Herbert on July 25 at UFC on ESPN 14.

“Yeah, but I feel like there’s a lot of confusion around this still,” Hardy recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve kind of put it out of my mind. It became so frustratingly irritating that people didn’t have the right information.”

UFC president Dana White, who was not in attendance on “Fight Island” to see the incident up close, voiced his displeasure with the idea of his employees confronting referees and said he had opened a dialogue with Hardy. However, Hardy said the wrong perception still exists among some in the general public when it comes to those comments.

“(Dean) came over to me and spoke to me at the desk,” Hardy said. (White saying), ‘You can never approach an official.’ That was not aimed at me. I’m not taking that as being aimed at me in any way. That was, to me, related to the fight the following week at UAE Warriors where one of the fighters wouldn’t let go of the choke and then pushed Marc Goddard, who was the official on that night. It was a bit of a mix of a reply from Dana at the press conference. That, to me, was what he was replying to. I didn’t approach an official.”

[lawrence-related id=539535,539364]

While Hardy noted that White’s comments weren’t completely directed at him, he revealed he’s had conversations with the UFC about the incident. He’s taken the company’s feedback into account but said he still feels a need to stand up for what he believes in.

“I’ve spoken to the UFC about it,” Hardy said. “They don’t want me shouting at the officials on the broadcast. That was my feedback from it. At the same time, I don’t want to be put in a position where an official isn’t doing their job. … I just want accountability. That’s all I want. We’re in a sport where people can get seriously hurt – permanently seriously hurt.”

Hardy’s actions and comments after the Dean didn’t go over well with some people, including Dean, who posted a lengthy social media video to explain his perspective of the perceived late stoppage.

Outside of competing in a few fights Dean officiated, Hardy said he hasn’t had many interactions with the referee. If Dean wants to talk privately or publicly about the situation, Hardy would be be happy to oblige.

“Herb has refereed me a couple of times,” Hardy said. “I’ve always respected him as a highly experienced official. There’s no denying he’s a good referee. There’s also no denying that he’s human, and people do make mistakes. We don’t grow unless we take accountability for those mistakes. That’s all it was about. I have nothing against Herb. If he wants a conversation with me about it, I will have one in private or in public. He can come on the podcast, and I’ll discuss it with him on record. There are lots of things we can all learn from it.”

[lawrence-related id=539142,539064]

More than anything, Hardy said he wants to be an advocate for fighter safety. If he sees something he perceives as wrong, he’s’ going to speak up. He’s grown with the sport and doesn’t want progress to be reverted.

“Ultimately, I’m just trying to make the sport better for everybody involved and make sure we keep in the mainstream, because we clawed and fought our way to get here,” Hardy said. “When I was fighting for a world title, it wasn’t about the fight. It was about why ‘human cockfighting’ was on TV. I got sick of having those conversations. I don’t want to go through all that ground again, because we’ve covered so much ground. But nonchalant attitudes toward refereeing is going to get us back there, and that’s what I’m trying to prevent.”

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

Feeling fresh at 38, Dan Hardy says ‘someone’s gonna get it’ if he returns to MMA

Dan Hardy still thinks about returning to competition, and the 38-year-old explains making a comeback won’t be as difficult as some might think.

[autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] still thinks about returning to competition, but explains how it won’t be as difficult as many think.

Though he never officially hung up his gloves, Hardy (25-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) hasn’t competed since September 2012, when he defeated Amir Sadollah in his hometown of Nottingham, England.

The 38-year-old former UFC welterweight title challenger was then scheduled to face Matt Brown in April 2013, but was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (also known as “Wolf Heart”) and forced to withdraw. He decided against surgery and has been teasing a comeback for a while, but seems closer than ever to actually making it a reality.

On an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show in August 2019, Hardy, who’s been serving as an analyst and UFC commentator since 2014, said he had intentions of reentering the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool with the hopes of making a comeback.

That hasn’t materialized yet, but Hardy continues to hint that he will likely return. He admits that after watching some of the older fighters such as Ricardo Lamas and Frankie Edgar pick up wins last weekend, he’s motivated and confident that he’d be ready to return, and admitted he occupies his mind quite a bit.

“All the time,” Hardy told MMA Junkie Radio. “Frankie Edgar is still going at it. I mean, I felt like I was still in school when Frankie Edgar was making his UFC debut, and I’m pretty sure I’m older than him still. What we realize about MMA is that it’s a lot more down to IQ and experience. We’re having a lot of fighters that are having success later in their life. I know Lamas was talking about retiring at the weekend, but I thought he looked great. I thought he looked in fantastic condition, and he’s 38 as well.

“The other thing that made me laugh – because, as you know, I do my research – when I was researching for the ‘Fight Island’ finale, the last event on there, there were four guys on the card who were older than me. Two of them were fighting each other: (Mauricio) ‘Shogun’ (Rua) and (Antonio Rogerio) Nogueira. (Francisco) Trinaldo is older than me. I think there were four guys older than me. But the other truth is, that there was one guy that had more MMA experience than me. I’ve had a lot of fights. I’ve been around here a long time. I’ve only been knocked out in a fight once. I’ve not drank in years. I’m not taking punches to the head on a daily and weekly basis.”

The majority of Hardy’s losses have come by decision or submission, and he hasn’t engaged in too many slugfests that have compromised his health. He thinks the time off has certainly helped, and once he returns, he’ll be in solid form.

“As much as I look at these guys and go ‘Wow they’re still performing well at 38, 40, 42,’ I’m also looking at how much wear and tear they’ve got compared to me,” Hardy said. “So if and when I do decide to come back, someone’s gonna get it – and I don’t think people realize that.”