• Dan Hardy

Injury-free and ready to ambush Georges St-Pierre

Dan Hardy
March 1, 2010
Dan Hardy earned his title shot by beating Mike Swick © UFC
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Dan Hardy will become the first British fighter to contest a UFC title when he faces welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey. In the four weeks leading up to the March 27 bout, Dan will provide a weekly blog for Espn.co.uk.

The fight with Georges St-Pierre is less than four weeks away now and I'm pleased to report I'm 100 per cent injury free and feeling good. I've got no idea how many fans will be making the trip out to New Jersey but I keep getting people calling, texting and emailing me to say they're going. I even get a lot of mail from Canada and the US telling me they're going to be there supporting me and they're wanting me to win...so I don't know what Georges has done to upset them!

Obviously it's the biggest fight of my life but I can honestly say there are no nerves, just plenty of excitement. I know I'm the big underdog in many people's eyes but I've been an underdog for my last four fights, and I always come out on top. I fight better when I'm an underdog so I wouldn't have it any other way.

I feel like from the first moment I stepped into the Octagon I was ready to fight anybody. I remember saying in a past press conference - following my win over Marcus Davis - that Mike Swick was ahead of me, but that was only because I felt he had earned his place as number one contender in the title queue. Unfortunately for Mike, he had to pull out of his next fight with Martin Kampmann which then meant he walked into my path, and I'm not lying down for anyone. It was unfortunate for him that to get to his title shot he had to get through me, because that was never going to happen.

The game plan
I've never really had to use my ground game nor my wrestling up to this point in my UFC career, so I'm looking forward to GSP bringing that out of me. I know he's going to take me down at some point and I know he's going to make me work while I'm down there. But I just hope he's coming to win the fight, rather than coasting to a decision once again.

Preparing for the fight, I would say it's more important to spend time working off my back than stopping takedowns. My focus is just to make sure I'm happy wherever the fight goes, and to make sure he's under pressure for the entire 25 minutes of the fight. Takedown defence is important but the best thing to do is just accept he's going to put me on my back at some point, so then I need to focus on what I'm going to do when I'm down there.

Mental challenge
The longer this fight goes, the more it sways in my direction. No doubt. I get better the deeper a fight goes on, and the more time I can put pressure on GSP the more he's going to get discouraged that he hasn't been able to get me out of there. I love the longer fights, I hope this fight is going to be the one that really gives me the mental examination that I crave. I know GSP can put me under pressure, but I'm looking forward to having 25 minutes to figure out the problem. My intention is break him, my job is to convince him he cannot beat me. The sooner I see that realisation in his eyes, the longer I've got to turn up the pressure.

Ready to throw
A lot of people will look at Thiago Alves' defeat to GSP, when he was put on his back for 25 minutes, and wonder what I can do differently, but I think Thiago was too concerned with stopping the takedown in his fight. He didn't throw anywhere near enough strikes. I actually think he had all the tools to beat GSP, but he went in there too cautious. You're gonna get taken down by GSP, the sooner you accept that the more time you have just to land as much as you can. I'm just going in there to enjoy myself. Whatever happens happens, but I will not come out with regrets. If he puts me on my back I'll deal with it, but let's see how he copes with me putting him to sleep.

YOUR QUESTIONS:
1. Your team-mate Paul Daley fights Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 - what happens?
Paul Daley victory by knockout, no doubt in my mind. Koscheck's forgotten he's a wrestler, he thinks his stand-up is good enough to fight Paul, but he's sadly mistaken.

2. If you do beat GSP, who would you like your first title defence to be against?
I think a lot of people would like to see me put a beating on Koscheck but obviously he's got Paul next and there's no way he's getting past Paul. Whoever the fans want to see me fight, I'll fight. Jon Fitch is up there, Thiago Alves is up there, Matt Hughes remains a force, Paulo Thiago. But I'm just concentrating on getting the belt first.

3. Would you fight Paul Daley if it came to it?
No.

4. How are the teeth?
The teeth are doing fine, I had my first filling two months ago but I must be doing alright because I'm 27 and they're in pretty good shape. They might not look the best, but they do the job.

5. How will you approach the stare-out with GSP?
It depends how the mood takes me. I'll have a look into his eyes and see what vibe I'm getting and then feed off of that. Whatever happens, I'll have a smile on my face, no doubt.

Dan Hardy's title shot against Georges St-Pierre can be seen live on ESPN on March 27.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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