So Dan Hardy has an extra electrical pathway to his heart, and now his career may be in jeopardy, which is one of the biggest bummers that could ever come out of this Monday afternoon. At least we know that Hardy is in good spirits, and is even taking his “wolf heart” AKA Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome as a sign that he may be part of a higher evolution. In a joking way of course. But really, as Hardy says: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Aside from some tests saying he has an irregularity, Hardy is the fittest he’s ever been, and is constantly proving to doctor’s that he isn’t going to drop dead at a moment’s notice, even if a few doctors are slightly worried about him it seems.
This is his explanation of the situation that knocked him out of his fight with Matt Brown at UFC on FOX via Bloody Elbow’s Steph Daniels:
I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t want to think for a second that I’m done fighting, because I still love training and fighting. At the same time, I also feel that there are lots of other things that I should be doing, things that I should be concentrating on in different areas of my life. What it comes down to, though, is what the UFC is going to have to say on it. I certainly don’t know where the UFC stands on using me to fight in other states, because obviously now, this will be on my medical record. I’ve got a wolf heart, and now everybody knows it [laughs]. Then you have to wonder if the UFC can use me on shows in Europe or Australia, or things like that. Those are also options to consider. I just know that, at this point, I’m not going to have the surgery, because I don’t think I really need it. If, at any point, I start to feel like it might be necessary, I’ll start considering it. As of right now, I’m good, and I don’t want anybody messing with me.
The thing is, the doctors didn’t say anything about fixing the problem. They say they want to study me, which basically means putting tubes into the arteries in my leg and my neck, so they can study my heart. Usually, when people have this, they have one, main heartbeat, and then they have two or three weaker electrical connections that are kind of sporadic. Sometimes it can cause a panic attack or palpitations.
The problem with me, is that I have my main heartbeat, then I have the secondary heartbeat, which is almost as strong as the main one. It’s kind of an odd situation. They might be able to go in and fix it, by burning it out, but if it’s too close to the main heartbeat, they can’t touch it. I’m very much of the opinion, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.’
I’m doing hard training sessions every day, I’ve gone to Peru to drink psychadelic brews, I get eight hour’s worth of tattooing done. You know what I mean? I’m doing all these extreme things, and I’ve never had a bad reaction, so why would I want someone to go in and start messing with stuff? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I think it might be an evolutionary enhancement [laughs]. Who’s to say it’s a bad thing? It’s quite an interesting circumstance, and that was the point in the stress test that had me do. They had me hooked up to a machine and running on a treadmill like a little hamster. I finished the test in 18 minutes.
What they were hoping to see, is if my regular heartbeat would raise with the stress of the exercise. If the secondary heartbeat didn’t really react too much, it would mean it’s not as strong. My heart rate maxed out at 192, and my secondary heartbeat was at 171 [laughs]. I always knew I was special.
Looking back, I’ve never had a single incident happen in my past that would make me think there was anything out of the ordinary. Not one thing. I do a lot of meditating and a lot of breathing exercises, and I’m always very much aware of my heartbeat. I feel like I have great control over it. I can concentrate and slow it down pretty well. I’ve never felt better, and I’ve never had an issue.