Former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes recently hinted that he may make a return to MMA competition.
Dan Hardy, who is planning a comeback himself, would have no problem watching Hughes return to action.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he signs with another organization and gets a couple of fun fights, and if he does, fair play to him. I understand that urge and that drive. If he feels the need to fight, then I think he should, and I will watch as a fan. I always learned a lot from watching Matt Hughes. He’s a great wrestler, great ground-and-pound, in comparison to people in the sport now, Matt Hughes has still got some of the best ground-and-pound that we’ve ever seen. Like I said, I respect him as an athlete, and I would watch him fight again if he wanted to just out of intrigue, but I don’t think he needs to. I think he’s done everything he needs to in the sport,” Hardy said on WHOA TV.
Hardy hasn’t competed in several years due to a heart ailment, with his last fight coming at UFC On Fuel TV 5.
If Hughes does return to competition, fellow welterweight Hardy doesn’t see a lot of fighters he can actually beat.
“For a start, he’s an old man,” Hardy said. “He’s 43 now, so I don’t know how serious he is at this idea of a comeback. I don’t know how interested the UFC would be in signing an old man, as well. He also said that he would fight if he can find somebody he can beat, and I don’t know whether he thinks he can beat me, but I don’t see many people on the UFC roster that he would be able to beat, at the moment. Especially people that we would want to see him fight; we don’t want to see him fight any up-and-comers, it’s going to have to be a veteran, and he’s been out of the sport for a long time.”
The British fighter was last seen performing color commentary at UFC Fight Night 107.
