• UFC 111

Hardy confesses his money would be on St-Pierre

Dan Hardy wants to shake up the 170lb division © UFC

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Dan Hardy has confessed ahead of his UFC welterweight title showdown with Georges St-Pierre that if he was a neutral MMA punter, he would have his money on the champion.

Hardy has surprisingly seen his stock rise in the two weeks prior to Saturday's UFC 111 main event, with opinion beginning to tilt slightly more towards "The Outlaw". Hardy was originally completely written off when his victory over Mike Swick made him No. 1 contender, but over the past 10 days theory is growing that the Team Rough House fighter has the mental toughness and counter-punching power to pull off a huge upset against St-Pierre.

Hardy has kept a relatively low profile in the build-up to the biggest fight of his career, employing Steve Papp to improve his stand-up, Rough House stable mate Jimmy Wallhead to strengthen his wrestling, and Matt Serra to work his Jiu Jitsu and overall psyche. Ironically, it may have worked in Hardy's favour had he been written off in all quarters, but with opinion beginning to support his chances of an upset, Hardy admits he would probably have bet on GSP himself.

"It kind of surprises me a little bit," Hardy said when told opinion polls are not as one-sided as they first appeared. "If I was looking at it from a fan perspective or a betting perspective, obviously you know Georges is a safe bet.

"But I know myself and I know what I'm capable of and when people doubt me it just gets me more excited for the fight."

Asked why he feels St-Pierre is beginning to lose the aura of invincibility that he had when the match-up was first announced, Hardy believes the answers rests in the fact MMA fans want the welterweight division shaken up.

"The attitude has changed a little bit, I think that's down to the fact people are ready to see a change in the division. Obviously me taking the belt off Georges is going to really open the place up. So I think people are more excited about the potential of what could happen in the division once I've got the belt more than the fact that they think I can win."

UFC 111 is live on ESPN UK. Subscription details can be found by clicking here.

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