Back in July, Hardy spoke on the MMA Hour and reveals that he continues to think about returning inside the octagon constantly (transcript courtesy of
mmanews.com):
“I’m always mulling a return,” Hardy confessed.
“And I’ll get a few days of training together, and I’ll be dragged off somewhere else in the world to talk about somebody else fighting instead of myself. I did spend a week at American Top Team, though, doing some filming with Amanda Nunes and a few other fighters there.
“Then I’ll come home and I’ll hit the bag for a while, as you saw on my Instagram. I’m moving well. I don’t think I’ll be able to fully retire. There’s no point I’ll be able to take my gloves off and leave them in the Octagon, especially because I want to come and hang the to the wall in my gym as well. I never leave gloves behind.
While Hardy hasn’t confirmed a return to the octagon anytime soon, the 37-year-old has come out and stated that a fight against Nate Diaz would coax him out of retirement.
“Honestly, right now, the guy everyone wants to fight is Nate Diaz,” Hardy told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview (via
The Body Lock MMA).
“That’s the ideal pick.”
The 37-year-old already has a game plan for Diaz in mind,
“Oh, I’d eat his lead leg up until he starts falling onto my punches and then I knock him out. Simple,” he said. Hardy hasn’t had a fight in seven years, last facing former UFC Fighter Amir Shadollah on September 29, 2012. The England native got the victory via unanimous decision.