Dan Hardy on Sunday rebutted UFC President Dana White, again denying he mistreated a female employee. The former UFC commentator also took aim at the exec’s slap fighting promotion.
Hardy once again charged White with spreading misinformation regarding the circumstances of his termination. He borrowed UFC president Joe Rogan’s comments about White at the UFC 280 conference.
” I don’t care what ***,” Hardy has to say. “I owe nobody anything. “I’m not obligated to anyone. This is my microphone, this is my channel. I can say what I like.”
” I might sound sexy but I won’t be treating a woman or a female worker in a sexually inappropriate way. Anyone who has worked alongside me will know this. Anybody that knows me would know that.”
Hardy, who continues to serve as an MMA analyst for BT Sport and runs the YouTube account Full Reptile, restated his version of the events that led to his departure. He said it was the result of a confrontation with the female employee — which he said was not veteran broadcasters Megan Olivi or Laura Sanko — over withheld promotional work after multiple complaints about her work ethic to other UFC employees. He accused the promotion of trying to damage his brand on the way out and admitted the experience had left him bitter, the word White used to describe him while responding to an accusation that the UFC staged a video at UFC on ABC 1 to express concern for a fighter’s head trauma.
“So you ask me if I’m bitter, yeah, I’m probably a little bit bitter, but ultimately what I wanted to do is let you guys know that I see the game that’s been played,” he said. “Mistreating a woman? Unbelievable. This was someone I knew and who had served as an ambassador for UFC for probably 12, years.
“To this day, I’m constantly hearing about it how obstructive and difficult she is to work with,” Hardy said. “I’m not making this up. This is what people know. Many people are listening now and know who the person is. They could also vouch to me but cannot vouch as me. Your media credentials will be destroyed if they speak out. You don’t get access. They’ll attack your sponsors. They will do everything they can to maintain control .”
White denied Hardy’s claim that he was “mic’d up”, noting that the documentary was a behind the scenes look at “Fight Island” and required him to wear a microphone.
Hardy agreed that concern for Calvin Kattar (who suffered a devastating TKO loss against Max Holloway at the 2021 events) was legitimate and should have stopped the fight early. The episode was rebutted by the other actions taken or not by the promotion when it oversees its fighters.
After working behind-the scenes, and fighting for promotion from an outsider’s perspective, Hardy stated that he had given up on trying to be diplomatic.
“There’s a lot of bulls*** in this sport, a lot of bulls*** in this industry,” he said. Corporation has overtaken, but I’m not one of them. I am an MMA nerd who sits in his room and studies. I do not indulge in Prosecco and schmoozing. It’s too much for me ******. So my relationship to the UFC and anything else is irrelevant to me, because I’ve rediscovered my love of martial arts. After going through this mire of f****** nonsense, I’ve arrived at this point when I realized that this is where I’m supposed to be.
“There’s people I trust and hope will be able stand up for the truth. But they have ****** consistently let me down. “I see so many people who should speak up, saying that this is not right and that the scale wasn’t settled. You are the one who is doing this? You work for the organization, you shouldn’t even be touching the scales.’ I see constantly this nonsense, these shenanigans, this f******, and there’s no reason why I can’t tell you about it any more.”
Hardy stated that the UFC has been introducing promos about White’s new slap fighting league during the UFC 280 broadcast. This is the latest example of duplicity.
“I know what we’ll do,” Hardy joked of White’s concept. We love our athletes and care so deeply about them, why not start a f ****** Slapfight league? Let’s trade concussions for cash. C’mon. And you’re going to advertise that to me while I’m trying to watch MMA, while I’m trying to watch my sport? C’mon. Say one thing, do another. Say one thing, talk some s***, do another. It’s the same pattern, over and over again.”
“How was that possible? Hardy later added. It’s hard to believe that anyone was living in the old MMA days and felt as passionate about slapfighting now. It’s making money on f****** brain trauma. I was having a lengthy conversation about it with someone. It’s cashing in on f****** brain trauma.”
After a heated exchange and White’s comments recently, Hardy stated that he has written off UFC and doesn’t want to speak about the UFC’s dramatic past.
” You can speak as much or little as you want at the press conference,” said he. “I don’t care. Dana, I also don’t care what you think. I don’t, honestly. I did once, and there are a lot of fighters out there that do give a f*** what you think, but they give a f*** what you think because you’re in control. If you were not in control of UFC and the UFC’s treatment, people wouldn’t be able to see you. Jesus. People will wake up one day, they’ll wake up — slowly, people are doing it. You’ll eventually bleed out if there are enough thorns on your side. .”
is not to be forgotten.
Below Hardy’s complete video podcast.
