Hardy Plans Time Off; Fertitta Says ‘Outlaw’ Not Cut by UFC

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For most fighters in the employ of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, three, sometimes even two consecutive losses would mean the end of their Octagon stint. But, despite suffering his fourth straight defeat at UFC Live 5, former welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy’s job appears to be safe.

“Will not cut Dan Hardy. I like guys that war!” UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta wrote Sunday on his personal Twitter account shortly after the Englishman was submitted by Chris Lytle at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center.

Hardy, 29, began his UFC run in October 2008, rattling off four wins in a row en route to a shot at welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Since dropping a lopsided, five-round decision to St. Pierre in March 2010, the “Outlaw” has been knocked out by Carlos Condit, outpointed by Anthony Johnson, and surprisingly tapped by the retiring Lytle.

“I don’t really know what there is to say, to be honest. It was a tough fight. It was exactly what I expected, obviously apart from the squeeze on the neck at the end,” Hardy said during Sunday’s postfight press conference. “I think my head’s elsewhere, to be honest. I’m gonna step back a little bit, just take some time and enjoy being in the gym for a while, and see where the future takes me.”