After nearly 10 years without making a combat sports appearance, "The Outlaw" is back.
Former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy is set to face Diego Sanchez in an exhibition boxing match July 2 in Manchester, England, the promoter confirmed to MMA Fighting's Mike Heck.
The fight will consist of eight two-minute rounds. It's unclear what weight at which it'll take place.
Hardy and Sanchez have talked about fighting each other in the past. They traded shots on social media in 2020, and Hardy said in 2014 that he wanted to send Sanchez into retirement.
Hardy hasn't fought since September 2012, when he defeated Amir Sadollah by unanimous decision in a UFC bout.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart abnormality, and was deemed unfit to compete. Hardy was medically cleared in 2018 and has since often teased a return to combat sports.
Hardy, 39, put together a 6-4 record in the Octagon. After scoring four straight wins to begin his tenure, he challenged Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title. He lost that fight by decision at UFC 111 in 2010.
Sanchez, 40, is coming off his unsuccessful Eagle FC debut in March. He suffered a decision defeat to fellow UFC veteran Kevin Lee in what was his first non-UFC appearance since 2004.
Neither Hardy nor Sanchez has competed in boxing before.
The July 2 event will take place at AO Arena and be headlined by a match between Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera.