Dan Hardy would love to fight Michael Vick: 'He's a despicable human being'

If the UFC wants to bring Dan Hardy back to the cage, there's one opponent that is guaranteed to pique his interest.

Hardy has not fought since 2012, though he insists that he is not officially retired and is looking for big money fights to properly close out his career. At a Q-and-A ahead of UFC Fight Night 86 on Sunday, the personalities onstage were asked who they would fight if they could bring anyone into the UFC Octagon.

Hardy thought outside of the box for his answer, calling out NFL player Michael Vick for his past transgressions.

"The person at the top of the list just based on the recent charity work I’ve been doing is Michael Vick," said Hardy. "He was arrested a while ago for dog fighting and now he's back playing in the NFL. I think he's a despicable human being. They rescued 56 dogs off him, and I've seen a lot of these dogs and they're damaged beyond repair.

"He's a sociopath, he's a disgusting human being and if I could get five minutes with him, he would regret it."

In 2007, Vick was at the center of a scandal that saw him jailed for his involvement in dog-fighting activities in Virginia. He would go on to serve an 18-month prison sentence and has since spoken out against the abuse of animals, but Hardy is not convinced.

The animosity stems from Hardy's personal beliefs as much as any particular bad blood towards Vick.

"The truth is I don't eat meat and that's my personal choice and I think if people hunt to feed themselves, I have no real problem with that," said Hardy. "It's when people hunt for entertainment and for fun, I think it's disgusting. I think that people that go out to Africa and shoot a bunch of animals, it's just an ego boost for them and I think they need to ask themselves some questions."