PFL’s Dan Hardy says ‘you’d laugh’ at the names he’s heard in regards to a UFC trade for one star

Dan Hardy laughs at what he’s heard about the UFC trading for Dakota Ditcheva

Dakota Ditcheva’s rise has led to fans demanding that the UFC sign her after she’s emerged as one of the top fighters that isn’t currently signed to the promotion.

Ditcheva, who ranked as #2 on ESPN’s recent ’30 under 30′ list, may have instantly become one of the MMA leader’s top female fighters if she hadn’t signed a multi-year extension with the PFL earlier this year.

The 27-year-old could end up following a similar career path as the aforementioned Kayla Harrison, but there has been a debate over whether the UFC could attempt to trade for her instead of waiting.

Dan Hardy, who recognizes that Ditcheva is the one fighter the UFC would want to trade for, says what he’s heard about a trade is comical.

“I’ve heard of conversations around trading and I’ve heard some names being thrown around and you would laugh at the names that have been thrown around, especially because of how things have played out [laughing]. It just doesn’t make any sense,” Hardy told Bloody Elbow ahead of PFL Lyon this Saturday.

It isn’t clear exactly what the context of these conversations and names being mentioned is, though Din Thomas did propose earlier this year that the UFC should trade Magomed Ankalaev for Ditcheva.

Considering Hardy’s comment about how things have played out, this could be what he’s referring to considering that Ankalaev is no longer a UFC champion.

Dan Hardy doesn’t agree with trades in MMA full stop

It isn’t just the idea of the UFC attempting to match what Dakota Ditcheva brings to the table to try and sign her that Dan Hardy isn’t on board with.

The former UFC title challenger loves the idea of cross promotion events and fights, but doesn’t believe that trading works in MMA.

Even the one famous instance of this, where Demetrious Johnson and Ben Askren swapped places, left Hardy confused.

“I don’t like the idea of trades. I think it’s an odd thing to do in combat sports,” Hardy stated. “If it’s a team and you’re trading one player from one team to another, etc., that makes sense. A fighter is a very individual thing. Like trading Ben Askren for Demetrious Johnson, that didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever. I mean, one is not the equivalent to another.”