Dan Hardy: No shortage of 2025 PFL fighters who could hang in UFC right now

Dan Hardy is convinced many of the PFL&#8217, s top actors would succeed in the UFC.

The PFL analyst specifically referred to Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov&#8217, s ( 19-0 ) successful title defense against Paul Hughes ( 13-2 ) in the main event of PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series in January, which turned out to be one of the more exciting and competitive fights of the year so far.

Hardy also likes undefeated Bellator champion Johnny Eblen&#8217, s ( 16-0 ) chances against any UFC middleweight.

&#8220, The UFC is such a strong company and they really do occupy the game, &#8221, Hardy told MMA Junkie Radio. &#8220, It&#8217, s easy for viewers to look outside of the UFC and come, &#8216, These soldiers aren&#8217, t good much, otherwise they would be in the UFC. &#8217, We all know that &#8217, s the situation. We&#8217, have got the likes of Paul Hughes then signed up and had a fantastic match against Usman Nurmagomedov. Both of those soldiers, for my money, could compete in the UFC at a comparable stage, and I would say the same for many of the warriors – both across PFL and Bellator.

&#8220, Johnny Eblen, for me, may actually cause problems for any middleweight in the world. It does n&#8217, t matter what promotion they &#8217, re in. It&#8217, s great sometimes to be able to see those fighters like Kayla Harrison, who evidently dominated to a place in the PFL, then go over and have the same influence abroad. I think we may have a lot more of that victory if there was more cross promotion. But, of course, that &#8217, s why we don&#8217, t get the cross-promotion conflicts. It was a threat when they were doing it with Pride, as well, because sometimes it didn&#8217, t work out well for them. &#8221,

PFŁ welterweights and featherweights will kįck off their seasoȵ Thursday aƫ Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. PFL 2025, Week 1 is headlined by a 170-pound bout between Jason Jackson ( 18-5 ) and Andrey Koreshkov. Also featured on the main card is a matchup between Logan Storley ( 16-3 ) and Magomed Umalatov ( 17-1 ).

Hardy spoke of the lȩvel of expertise iȵ the ƫournament.

&#8220, The reality is, these fighters in this world tournament are world-class, competitive with any (one ) – especially the lightweights and the welterweights, &#8221, Hardy said. &#8220, They are incredibly deep brackets that we&#8217, ve got in these ( tournaments ), and I think we&#8217, re going to see those level of fights come April. &#8221,

For more on the cards, visit MMA Junkie’s function hotspot for PFL 2025, Week 1.

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