Dan Hardy
Great Britain

  • Full name Dan Hardy
  • Nickname The Outlaw
  • Birth date May 17, 1982
  • Birth place Nottingham
  • Current age 41 years 307 days
  • Height 6 ft
  • Weight 170 lb
Dan Hardy gets emotional after beating Mike Swick
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Although he may not look it, Dan Hardy is a fighter's fighter. Ask him if he is aiming for a first-round KO and there is hesitancy in his eyes at the thought of not getting into the meat of the battle. "The Outlaw" loves the mental side of a fight, when both men are in deep waters testing how far the other is willing to go.

Entering the UFC as the best European fighter outside of the organisation, Hardy had earned his stripes in various other competitions, building a 19-6-0 record. The UFC recognised the Nottingham-born fighter's potential, throwing him directly into an acid test debut against Akihiro Gono, which Hardy dealt with admirably.

A stunning knockout of Rory Markham cemented Hardy's arrival, and confidence followed as he trash-talked Marcus Davis into defeat at UFC 99, opening the door to the welterweight division's top 10.

There he found Mike Swick, a man who had won nine of his previous 10 fights, having knocked out Ben Saunders in his last outing. Hardy entered as the underdog but, in front of a packed home crowd in Manchester, he schooled the toughest opponent of his career (at that time) for three rounds to earn Britain's first UFC title shot.

Unfortunately for Hardy, that title shot came against Georges St-Pierre, who completely overwhelmed him in a five-round decision victory. However, the defeat arguably earned Hardy a bigger army of fans than he ever had before after he refused to tap in some seriously nasty submission situations.

The defeat to St-Pierre sparked a disastrous year for Hardy, who later suffered the first knockout of his career to Carlos Condit, which led further defeats against Anthony Johnson and Chris Lytle. Hardy needed to re-invent himself and, having taken time away from the Octagon, he has since returned to the winner's circle with back-to-back wins.

Career high
Defying the odds to beat Mike Swick and secure Britain's first ever shot at a UFC title. Hardy faced a seasoned pro in Swick, but he had him rocking on more than one occasion on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Career low
In 30 previous fights, Hardy had never been knocked out, but when he faced Carlos Condit the Briton was well-and-truly floored. Not known for his immense power, Condit stunned Hardy late in round one and left The Outlaw a little embarrassed in front of his home crowd.

Quote
"The ones who have been counted out all the way throughout history that all of a sudden just applied themselves at the right point with the right game plan and the right mentality and shocked the world and people look back and get inspired by those stories, that's what I'm doing right now, I'm just creating that story."

Trivia
Dan Hardy started Mixed Martial Arts because he wanted to be just like the teenage mutant ninja turtles.

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Dec 12, 2012

Dan Hardy turns his hand to AFL during a UFC media session

Sep 29, 2012

Dan Hardy is introduced by Bruce Buffer

Sep 27, 2012

Dan Hardy poses alongside Amir Sadollah

Sep 26, 2012

Dan Hardy works out for the media during an open workout session

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