Dan Hardy Defends McGregor’s UFC 303 Withdrawal – ‘You Can’t Really Say Anything’
Dan Hardy has defended Conor McGregor’s decision to pull out of his fight with Michael Chandler.
McGregor was set to face Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29. It was meant to be McGregor’s first fight since his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. The Irishman broke his leg in the loss, as he took his UFC record to three losses out of his past four bouts. McGregor showed that he was still as popular as ever. The live gate for the UFC event sold over $20 million, setting a new UFC record. The tickets for the press conference also sold out within nine minutes.
McGregor’s Injury
The news of McGregor’s injury disappointed fans and drew a mixed response from other MMA fighters. UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev labeled McGregor a chicken. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz defended McGregor. The Irishman’s injury was compared to that of Alex Pereira. The Brazilian broke his toe two weeks before he faced Jamahal Hill. However, he still went ahead with the fight at UFC 300. Pereira then knocked out Hill in the first round. When he was asked about McGregor, Pereira refused to bash McGregor.
“You can never judge people’s pain. Different scenarios, different situations. He made his name. [And] he made his money. He made his life. I’m kind of halfway there. So I fought with the broken toe due to my situation, but maybe if I was in his situation, I would not have fought. So I cannot judge,” Pereira said
Hardy has also defended McGregor. He backed the Irishman’s decision, stating that Conor took Chandler seriously. Chandler has prepared for this fight since their days as rival coaches on the TUFC 31 series. McGregor won the coach’s challenge, while Chandler won the series with the most wins. Chandler has not been in the Octagon since his loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in 2022. He has chosen to turn down fights to wait for McGregor. That would suggest that Chandler’s preparation has been on point. That is why Hardy understood McGergor’s decision to pull out since he was showing Chandler respect.
Hardy Reacts
“We know what Conor’s like, he’s not going to pull out of a fight that he feels like he can win, even if he is injured. I think this shows that he’s got a lot of respect for Michael Chandler and he knows that he needs to be on his A game because, I mean, he wants to get back on track, right? He wants to be back in the win column.
“What we know about McGregor is that, you know, he is, you know, he’s very much about footwork, especially the best versions of McGregor, (it) requires him to be mobile. And he’s got a long stance, which means he uses the big toe and the little toe just as much as one another to keep himself mobile.
“You know, you can’t really say anything negative about him because we know that (he) would take fights on short notice if you felt capable of competing. And I really want the best version of McGregor because ultimately we might be counting on one hand the amount of times we see him fight again,” Hardy
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