Dan Hardy is now “50/50” on the UFC 254 main event after watching UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov weigh in.
Nurmagomedov is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje in the card’s main event. The bout is widely considered the toughest test of his career to date.
On Friday morning, the fighters on the UFC 254 stepped onto the scales to weigh in for battle. While both Nurmagomedov and Gaethje made weight, the former looked quite depleted on the scale, and even relieved when it was announced that he’d hit 155 pounds.
They’re all hard cuts, but was this a harder one for Khabib? No shorts, holding arms to stand on the scale. And the look of relief after getting the official reading of 155. #UFC254pic.twitter.com/80ZKmRKUVr
— MMA mania (@mmamania) October 23, 2020
After watching Nurmagomedov step onto the scale on Friday, Hardy, a former fighter and now a commentator for the UFC, admitted he’s now “50/50” on the outcome of the fight.
“I’m a little more 50/50 after seeing Khabib stepping on the scale,” Hardy on BT Sport (via MMA Mania). “Because I still don’t know the situation with him being so close to the weight and needing the towel. The fact that he was the first one on the scale was still a big statement.”
Hardy continued, suggesting that if Nurmagomedov did endure a tough weight-cut, it could compromise his cardio in the later rounds.
“If we get into the fourth round it starts to swing towards Gaethje,” Hardy said. “Those first two rounds are going to be very difficult for him to win against Khabib. There’s no doubt about it. And the question is, how does his conditioning hold up after 10 minutes of wrestling. Does he get into the third round with punching power or does he start to look slow and a little bit broken in his conditioning.”
“If we hear the hooter for the fourth round it’s all Gaethje for me!”
“I’m more 50/50 after seeing Khabib on the scales.”@DanHardyMMA and @Peety_Editor give their final thoughts for the #UFC254 main event. pic.twitter.com/CiTOtN7WwV
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) October 23, 2020
Are you with Dan Hardy on this one? Did Khabib Nurmagomedov look compromised at the UFC 254 weigh-ins?