Dan Hardy Clears the Air: Not Calling out 'Dinosaur of Sport' Matt Hughes

Dan Hardy is a man of many words. It's part of his charm that has kept him in the UFC despite losing four straight fights before putting together back-to-back victories. One man who has drawn the ire of the Englishman is Matt Hughes.

It was rumored that the UFC was working on possibly putting Hardy and Hughes against one another but Hardy told ESPN he has no plans to face the aging veteran.

"My comments aren't about picking a fight with him. I think he needs his a** kicking, but I'm not saying I'm specifically the guy to do it," Hardy said.

Hardy's comments focus mainly around Hughes' hobby, hunting. Hughes has been the prototypical "country guy" throughout his career and doesn't hide the fact that he's an avid hunter; something Hardy doesn't care for.

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"I don't agree with what he does as a person," Hardy said. "Brock Lesnar's the same but he's less in your face about it. It's the hunting thing, but also you can speak to people who work with Matt Hughes and he doesn't seem a nice person generally. I don't like his morals."

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Hardy made it clear in the interview that even if Hughes were in a different weight class, the Englishman would still be vocal about his disdain of hunting animals. The last comment Hardy makes about facing Hughes may be the most indicative of why he doesn't want to fight the former welterweight champion.

"I'm not pitching a fight... if it's offered, obviously I'll take it, but I'm not chasing one of the dinosaurs of the sport purely because I don't like him as a person," Hardy said.

I'm willing to bet Hardy had no problems facing Hughes following Hardy's four straight losses, but now that he's put together two straight victories, his attention is and should be on more relevant competition.