Hardy also gave his opinion on the status of the UFC lightweight division as the 155-pound class looks to move on following the retirement of undefeated, undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Brazilian submission specialist Charles Oliveira and American former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler are set to do battle for the vacant championship on Saturday night at UFC 262 in Houston, Texas.

But while those two athletes would give the division a fresh new champion, Hardy explained that, if McGregor, Poirier or fellow former interim champion Justin Gaethje became champ, it would actually devalue the division in a sense, due to Khabib’s prior submission finishes of the trio in past title fights.

“Who’s gonna compare to Khabib? That’s the problem that we’ve gotten (to),” said Hardy.