Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone was a fixture in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for over a decade, squaring off with the likes of Leon Edwards, Conor McGregor and Rafael dos Anjos.
However, unlike those opponents Cerrone has never been a champion in the UFC. With the recent news that Cerrone will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023, talk began of the 39-year-old's worthiness of such an honour.
Dan Hardy is having none of it.
"It's a no brainer, of course," Hardy said on The DAZN MMA Show of Cerrone's impending induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. "He's a legendary fighter, he brought so much excitement to so many fans.
"He took so many short-notice fights and tough fights and came back from losses and regrouped himself."
Sean O'Connell agreed with Hardy's take, noting that statistics aren't the only thing that should be considered when looking at potential Hall-of-Famers — unlike in more established North American sports in which stats can weigh heavily on a person's eligibility.
"Because every other sport is so much older than MMA, it becomes resume-based, right? And you have to have a certain amount of boxes checked," O'Connell said. "You don't get into the NFL Hall of Fame if you don't have a certain number of All Pro decorations, Pro Bowls, Super Bowls, depending on what position you play at.
"You can be the best player at your position for 10 years. And if you don't have Super Bowls on your resume, it's harder to get in now.
"You can still get in if you're truly the best but everything is so resume-based and stats-based [because] people want the measurables"
O'Connell continued by highlighting Cerrone's impact on mixed martial arts as something that transcends wins, losses and titles.
"If you just go on resume, we're gonna get to a point 20 years from now where people who didn't get to watch Cowboy Cerrone's career are going to look back at his record and they're going to look and be like, 'This guy? I mean, he never had the belt. Why is he in the Hall of Fame?'
"It's not a resume thing in mixed martial arts," O'Connell explained. "It's not about, 'How many stats did you compile?' and listen, he compiled plenty of stats as the most active fighter of his generation. But it's your impact on the sport. And it's undeniable that Donald Cerrone had as big of an impact during his time in the UFC as anyone."
Hardy noted Cerrone's Fight of the Night bonuses as a marker of quality in the absence of a title win, with the Denver native tied for first all-time at the top of the UFC performance bonus chart. And it's the performances in those bonus-earning fights that will stand the test of time, Hardy said.
"I think the best way to decide if someone belongs in the Hall of Fame for mixed martial arts, certainly for the UFC, for the PFL, for Bellator or whatever is: can you tell the story of that organization, of that franchise, of that sport without that person?" said O'Connell.
"Can you fill out the history of that sport without that person? And if the answer to that is no, then they definitely have to be in the Hall of Fame, right? Regardless of your stance, regardless of your resumes.
"Can you tell the story of mixed martial arts from the year 2005 to 2023 without Cowboy Cerrone? And the answer is basically, 'No.'"