PFL Matchmaker Dan Hardy Welcomes Opportunities for Fighters After Retirement

𝙈𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙏! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Stevie Ray and Lewis Long go face to face outside the OVO Hydro ahead of Saturday night’s welterweight main event!

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #PFLGlasgow
📅 Saturday 28th September
🏟️ OVO Hydro
📍 Glasgow, Scotland
🎟️ On Sale NOW!… pic.twitter.com/yBtsivcW4N

— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 25, 2024

As the matchmaker of Professional Fighters League’s Europe series, former fighter Dan Hardy feels a tremendous sense of pride when scouting a diamond in the rough.

Dan Hardy has been instrumental to the growth of the PFL, especially in the European market. As PFL Europe shipped 2023 champions Jakob Nedoh and Dakota Ditcheva to the PFL global season in 2024, matchmaker–and commentator—Hardy has established a revolving door of rising talents on the Europe roster. Ahead of PFL Glasgow, Hardy spoke with Sherdog about what to expect in the semifinals and how he views his role with the organization.

In the main event of PFL Europe 3 Playoffs, Scottish submission specialist Steven Ray will face Welsh veteran Lewis Long in a showcase matchup. On Thursday, Ray mentioned he’d love to work with the PFL after his career is done. That fighter-turned-worker transition is one that Hardy has experienced himself, and hopes more fighters will make that switch.

“Yeah, 100% we were just talking about this with Paul Craig,” Hardy noted. “He was saying the same thing, like, ‘what do we do afterwards [fighting]?’ We need these fighters to stay in the sport of mixed martial arts. We need more fighters more involved in every level of the sport. Mainly because they know what the fighters are going through and they know what these weeks are like for them. To have the likes of Stevie Ray after his active career, it just makes sense. Keep these guys close to the organizations that help build them.”

With the second season of PFL Europe hurtling towards the championship finals in December, Hardy cannot help but look back on the young stars already blooming from the league, including unbeaten flyweight Ditcheva. The company man is proud of the successes of fighters he has helped bring into the league.

“It’s representing the fighters; it’s representing the sport of mixed martial arts. Creating opportunities for these fighters to chase their dreams, make a career out of their hobby, strive for greatness, and inspire the people around them. That’s really what it’s about for me. The PFL, the platform, has given me the opportunity to do this but it always comes back to the fighters,” Hardy remarked.

He continued, “We got to make sure the fighters are well looked after and well respected, moving through a career that makes a lot of sense. Keep winning, pick up the European belt, move on to the global roster, etc. Have a path laid out for you so you can focus on being the best you can be. There’s not the politics of calling out this person, trying to get this top-15 opponent, that can be very discouraging. It’s a clear path here.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s semifinals in Glasgow, Scotland, Hardy expects a wild night of action. Even with several bouts seeing wide betting lines, Hardy believes the matchups are closer on paper than they appear.

“We’ve got a card that’s stacked with even matchups. This is what I love about these cards, I take pride in putting a fighter in a matchup where, yes, they can win, but they can also definitely lose it. That’s what makes it most interesting for the fans,” the man known as “The Outlaw” concluded.