Fan favorite Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy hasn't competed in MMA since his UFC fight against Amir Sadollah in September of 2012. A fight Hardy won via unanimous decision. A more well-rounded Hardy who had been on a 4 fight skid, was now on a 2 fight win comeback. He was set to face Matt "The Immortal" Brown when Hardy received devastating news. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a heart condition and was not cleared to fight. He was told he needed to have surgery in order to fix the condition. However, Hardy refused arguing that he had been competing as a professional athlete for most of his adult life with no symptoms at all.
Still he would not be cleared to fight. Hardy went on hiatus and became a UFC commentator and fight analyst, doing a great job at both. "The Outlaw" was regularly training and occasionally expressing his desire to get back in the Octagon. But it seemed that without that surgery he would not be cleared. Last year, Hardy revealed that he had been medically cleared to fight despite his heart condition but no plans to fight were announced. Nearly a year went by before Hardy dropped news on the Joe Rogan Experience that he had put himself back in the USADA (anti-doping agency) testing pool in order to be eligible for competition.
There has been no word of any progress since then but according to a video blog on Dan's Full Reptile YouTube Channel, it is revealed in a conversation with fellow UFC fighter Paul Felder that Hardy has been communicating with former Lightweight Champ Anthony "Showtime" Pettis and trying to set up a fight that may take place at either 155 or 170 lbs.
Seeing Dan Hardy return to fighting would be an amazing treat for all of Hardy's fans who missed seeing him throw down in the UFC. Hardy and Felder mention April or May as an ideal timeframe. None of this is official but it is the closest we've gotten to the reality of seeing Dan fight in several years. Keep your fingers crossed, fight fans!
