• UFC Fight Night 24

Anthony Johnson should move to middleweight - Hardy

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Dan Hardy has urged Anthony Johnson to make his name in the middleweight division, insisting his UFC Fight Night 24 rival is "too big" to remain at welterweight.

Hardy and Johnson are "good friends", although there is no hesitation on Hardy's part when it comes to punching Johnson in the face, as the pair have never trained together. The Briton claims Johnson needs to find a home at 185lbs, but he only does so because he wants to see Rumble reach his full potential.

Asked what went through his mind when given the Johnson fight, Hardy replied to ESPN: "Whether he can make weight or not! I'm about as big as a welterweight can get without being too big. In my opinion he's too big, and I say that because I think, for his sake, it'd be better to go up a weight class.

"Obviously he likes to be bigger than his opponents, but it comes at a cost. You can't gain that much weight and lose that much weight without it affecting your performance. We've seen it in his last few fights, great for the first few minutes but then he slows down. I don't slow down, and that's the deciding factor in the fight.

"I'm quicker and I'm probably the biggest guy he's fought, so he's not going to be that much bigger than me. The difference is I can carry my weight for the entire fight, and I don't think he can."

Hardy continued: "He's just a big guy, we're good friends and every time I see him in California I say to him, 'My god, what are you weighing now?' We have a joke about it. Personally if I was his size I'd be a middleweight, but he feels more comfortable being bigger than his opponents."

Hardy also assured his fans that he will not be taking the same cavalier approach that led to his downfall against Carlos Condit into the bout with Johnson.

"He's seen my last fight and thinks he can replicate the Carlos knockout. But I plan on my first knockout being my last. The difference is I had no respect for Carlos' striking, but I have a lot for Johnson's. That changes my approach altogether.

"The last guy I had respect for when it came to striking power was Rory Markham and that didn't last long. I took the wrong approach to Condit. I won't be doing that against Johnson because it would be foolish."

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