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UFC President Dana White had some harsh words for Dan Hardy after learning the ex-UFC color commentator claimed he’d staged a video where he showed concern for a fighter’s safety because the broadcast was on national television.
During an appearance on Freedom Pact podcast, Hardy described being present when White ordered that Calvin Kattar be taken to the hospital immediately after a savage beating from Max Holloway at UFC on ABC 1 in January 2021. He pointed out that White was wearing a microphone, which he said was a clear indication the promotion was trying to save face by creating the moment.
“I can tell you we’ve never staged anything ever,” White responded during the UFC 280 post-fight press conference. “We have a documentary that we filmed during COVID, that’s why I was mic’d. I’ve never been mic’d. I was mic’d because of that.
“Are you talking about when I was talking about let’s get him straight to the hospital? Do you know how many fights a week I say that to [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter [Campbell] or [UFC Chief Medical Consultant] Dr. [Jeff] Davidson – no interviews, no nothing, that guy goes straight to the hospital. Everybody should have been concerned about Calvin Kattar that night.”
Hardy, who previously called fights for the UFC before he was terminated in 2021, took the UFC to task and said the incident contributed to his uneasiness about the culture around the fight promotion.
“Actually do something to protect the fighter – don’t do something to protect the sport or the company if the fighter gets damaged,” Hardy said. “That hurt me to watch that, because I can see the game being played. It’s pretending they had some kind of concern by Calvin Kattar, and I just didn’t buy it.”
In response, White blasted Hardy for suggesting that his show of concern for Kattar’s health was an orchestrated move.
“I don’t give a f*** what anybody thinks so you don’t have to worry about me staging anything, and I definitely don’t give a f*** what Dan Hardy thinks,” White said. “Dan Hardy’s a guy that was mistreating a woman who worked here and that’s why he was fired. So obviously he’s bitter and I’m assuming that’s why he would say something like that.”
At the time of his split with the UFC, Hardy stated that he had a “disagreement” with an employee “over an opportunity missed, or withheld” from him. After hearing White’s comments on Saturday, Hardy fired back on Twitter, writing that the UFC President didn’t have all his facts straight.
“‘Mistreating a woman,’ Dana White?” Hardy wrote. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing. Clear proof that you were told lies about what happened and why they steered all of the ‘Dan Hardy’ questions away from you.”
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