Dan Hardy Turns Down Fight With Mickey Gall

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Dan Hardy said he was going to turn down a fight with Mickey Gall, who called him out after beating Sage Northcutt at UFC on FOX 22. Here are highlights:

On getting called out: “I almost spat my tea out of my mouth when I was watching it. It was like four o’clock in the morning when I was watching, and I just wasn’t expecting it. I appreciate the callout. I appreciate the respect that you’ve shown me. But I’ve never fought anybody with less than eight fights, not even in my first pro fight. It’s just, we’re in different phases of our careers.”

On if he’ll accept: “I’m not looking at knocking off a future contender that I’m possibly going to commentating for in the future. And at the same time, if I was going to fight, I want to fight a veteran. I want to fight someone who’s had 20, 30 fights, who’s matured in their game and is sure of their fighting style, rather than someone who’s still developing. I like to see the development of these young fighters and I don’t want to interfere with that in any way. I’m 10 years older.”

On why he doesn’t want to fight Gall: “I don’t want to beat up a kid that I’m enjoying watching. There’s a lot of older guys out there who have matured in their style, they know their fighting style, they know their capabilities, and there’s a lot of fighters out there that I would be motivated to fight. And Mickey is a kid. I appreciate where he is in his career. He’s had four fights and he’s an exciting prospect for the future. I don’t want to play a part in that, being a burden in his career in any way.”

When Gall was told about the decline, he replied: “He has a right to feel that way. I respect that too. That’s cool. You’re a legend. It would’ve been an honor to fight you. That’s cool, man. I love you, Dan.“