'Just hang him and be done with it': Dan Hardy says ex-UFC star Abel Trujillo should be HANGED amid sexual exploitation charges

Former fighter and current commentator Dan Hardy says 11-time UFC veteran Abel Trujillo should be hanged after the American pleaded guilty to charges of sexual exploitation related to sending nude photographs to underage girls.

Trujillo, a former opponent of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, last competed in the UFC in late 2017 in a losing effort to John Makdessi but has landed in the headlines once again after being found to have engaged in inappropriate exchanges with underage women online.

The 36-year-old admitted to the charges despite not being obviously identifiable in the images, with prosecutors pushing forward with the case based in part on tattoos which were visible in the digital photographs.

He was sentenced to five years probation this week after three other felony charges were dropped for which he faced a term of 18 months in prison.

Trujillo has twice pleaded guilty to domestic abuse charges in the recent past, with those particular situations understood to have involved a woman with whom he had a child. 

Responding to a news report on the incident Hardy, who has earned several plaudits for his cage-side commentary in the UFC in recent years, said that he thinks capital punishment should be applied in the case and that Trujillo should be hanged for his crime.

"How do you get probation for that sh*t? Just hang him and be done with it. He should have no right to oxygen anymore,” Hardy wrote on Twitter, responding to a report into the incident. 

He later emphasized his point after receiving questions as to why he thought the death penalty should be applied for this type of case, suggesting that Trujillo has displayed the type of behavior which cannot be "unscrewed."

The notoriously straight-talking Hardy has found himself in hot water for some of his comments in the past, most recently after he confronted referee Herb Dean and implored him to "do his job" after he was critical of the official for a perceived late stoppage in a recent UFC bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Hardy's English compatriot Jai Herbert in July. 

After that incident, Hardy was reminded by UFC president Dana White of his obligations and that he doesn't have the right to approach or vocally criticize a referee - but it remains to be seen if the UFC will consider any form of censure after his outspoken comments this week.