• UFC 149

White 'definitely making Hardy v Riddle fight'

Matt Riddle defeated Chris Clements © Getty Images

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UFC president Dana White declared "we are definitely making the Dan Hardy fight" after Matt Riddle revealed a simmering hatred for England on Saturday.

Riddle scored the Submission of the Night cheque after he beat Chris Clements at UFC 149. And after the bout he called out Hardy, who is set to face Amir Sadollah in September on the UFC Nottingham card.

The call-out started in good nature, with Riddle insisting he respects Hardy, but then a tongue-in-cheek comment from White inadvertently drew Riddle's true feelings about the British public.

"I'm down to fight anybody at any given time, anywhere," Riddle said at the press conference. "I just picked Dan Hardy because he's got a lot of hype behind him and I know that it will put me on the map for sure. I have nothing personal against him, but a win over him, I guarantee everybody knows my name afterwards."

At that point White joked: "I heard Riddle hates English people."

To which Riddle, who lost to Nick Osipczak in Manchester at UFC 105, replied: "I will be completely honest, when I fought in Manchester, they were very cruel to me. One fan actually spat directly in my face and he was lucky enough where it hit my mouth."

"Wow. I was kidding," laughed White, but Riddle continued.

"I don't have anything against English people. But to be disrespected like that, that was the part that really upset me. Everybody up here on this table is a world class athlete and we should be treated as a world class athlete. And for some butter-toothed Brit to spit in my mouth, that was some bull."

Having lit the flame, White finished off by saying: "We are definitely making the Dan Hardy fight!"

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