(Steve Cofield chats with Dan Hardy after UFC 95.)
By know you may have heard that Dan Hardy is following up on his big knockout victory over Rory Markham at UFC 95 by immediately angling for a fight with Marcus Davis. He’s already taken some shots at Davis’ attempts to brand himself as a U.K. fan favorite, telling Sherdog.com that “The Irish Hand Grenade” is “not English; he’s not Irish. I was born here, and I’ve been bred here. I don’t mind taking on that challenge and showing him this is my home and not his.”
Boom. Immediately this fight has a hook. Not only does Hardy have a point – for all Davis’ attempts to sell us on his Irish heritage, the thick New England accent limits our suspension of disbelief, kilt or no – but he’s also taking a proactive role in his own matchmaking, which is a very smart move for a guy in his situation.
If Hardy were to hang back and let the UFC decide who to put him against next, it’s a crapshoot. He might get Jon Fitch, for Pete’s sake. Or an angry Josh Koscheck with something to prove, someone who might exploit what is generally the weakest area of any British fighter’s game: wrestling.
Instead, he sets himself up a more winnable, and more interesting fight with Davis, who’s known for not being the kind of pussy who will take a fight to the ground. Fight promoters love nothing so much as a natural storyline, and if it’s one that will sell especially well for a future U.K. card, even better.
Give Hardy some credit. The guy has brains. Don’t be surprised if he gets the fight with Davis, and if it ends up being one we talk about for weeks leading up to it. Then he just has to win.
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Comments
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:37
yeaaaa me!
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:45
Dan Hardy got lucky....oh I know " no such thing as a lucky punch", well I think when you are unskilled dumbass, LUCK is involved. I think I would love to see davis walk a mudhole through this guys ass, and STOMP it dry.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:49
What in the world is wrong with you, really?
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:53
"By know"? Sorry to be a dick...
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:54
i'll say unskilled? yeah right, besides his lack of wrestling dan hardy is a well rounded fighter, more so than rory markham. Your just hating
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:57
@UFC Fan Ill give Dan Hardy some credit, there was no lucky punch in that fight. Ill agree with you thath i'd love to see Marcus Davis walk through this Hardy charactor but as for "lucky punches". Dude, go back and watch the video. That left hook had every intention of landing on Markhams dome. As for you limey britt fans...get it all out now cuse it wont last long before Bisping get's stomped out before he even becomes a contender to fight dudes like Demian Maia, Nate Marquardt or Anderson Silva.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:57
Dan Hardy is in my top 3 UFC welterweights
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:59
P.s. Team Hendo/U.S. are gonna stomp out team Bisping/U.K.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 04:59
Cool Cool Cool Cool... Damn it doesn't work for me : (
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:02
Davis would knock Hardy into a living death
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:08
UFC fan, you have to be a complete MORON! He has skillz! Have you not seen his videos of past fights? He will take out Davis as well.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:15
The UK in general is full of a bunch of nationalists who go crazy for mediocre fighters like 'the irish hand grenade' or this new Hardy Character. If this fight happens it won't be an important fight. It would not consider a new 'titleshot' contender or even top 5. It'll simply be an exciting fight that I would love to see. Im not saying these fighters have no talent, heck there tough tough guys. Its just annoying seeing all these Brits and Irish trying to put some of these fighters in the high ranks. Even Bisping is only an above average fighter who got lucky he won that fight with Hamill, and hasnt faced an honest challenge yet (Leben... for real? Howbout feed him to maia). Where your from has nothing to do with how good you are, your blood isnt special, Its the training you go through. In brazil they train like crazy bastards since they were very young, and in Greg jacksons camp they go much harder than any other camp. Is it any surprise they're dominating?... Anyways if this fight happens, i'll be happy to witness a first or second rough knockout.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:21
give hardy his props, the man fought well. he's easy to hate, but that punch had malice aforethought and it landed hard. that being said, potatonation is no place for nationalism, british, american, canadian or otherwise. let the fighters talk inside the ring and put a muzzle on 'em beforehand. who really cares WTF they have to say? at best it's like listening to rock musicians or supermodels blither away about their pet causes. nice in practice and entertaining at times, but ultimately not very satisfying... STFU and fight.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:33
what anonymoose said ! STFU & fight. where you were born has no relevance.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:43
does anyone know what song he came out to??? sounded bloody sweet!
Mon, 02/23/09 - 05:57
i think hardy came out to something by Cocksparrer - a vastly under-rated punk band
Mon, 02/23/09 - 06:05
A Davis-Hardy fight would be a genius peace of marketing. Since taxation without representation, Americans love to hate the British. Why do you think every officer working for Darth Vader had a British accent? Think about it...
Mon, 02/23/09 - 06:23
americans love to hate anyone as nationalistic as they are.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 06:23
american's love to hate anyone as nationalistic as they are.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 06:36
Regrettably, the Markam-Hardy fight was not an accurate representation of the contest. Nor was the end result -- the surprise 1st knockout; which is not to take anything away from Hardy as a worthy UFC pugilist. The unknown fact/variable, discovered after mandatory medical checks, is that Markam entered the cage with a collapsed lung, and is still under observation at a hospital in England. Heavy physical exertion, such as fighting, with a collapsed lung can easily result in a stroke or death. Under the circumstances, the best thing that happened for Markam was the early knockout. It saved his life!
Mon, 02/23/09 - 07:03
"americans love to hate anyone as nationalistic as they are." @ anonymoose Great way to put it. We Americans think we're the shit, and we take offense if some other country thinks they're the shit. Completely useless tidbit there. ___ It's good when fighters call out a realistic opponent, and don't make themselves sound like an overconfident deusch while doing it. Personally I've been wanting to see Davis get his ass kicked since he back peddalled his way to a split decision over Lytle after he said he was gonna put on a show for the ages. This dude's hair is pretty gay though, so as long as atleast one of them loses I'm happy.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 07:07
dan hardy vs anthony johnson please
Mon, 02/23/09 - 07:14
Dan Hardy is fucking awesome, can't wait to see more of him.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 08:24
Nice piece. Dan Hardy has some serious draw. The 'love me or hate me' type of draw that War Machine only dreams of having. Face it, he has character, and enough of it to drum up emotion. On the matchmaking, perfection. I can hear the trash talking already! Entertainment is crucial to MMA and not only does it make the whole card more interesting an entertaining aspect will pull in more casual MMA fans. This match in particular basically ensures that Hardy will get another fight within the UFC. I bet Davis isn't complaining.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 08:59
Hardy vs Johnson. Nippletwist is spot fukin on. That is the very fight that came to mind after Hardy's KO Saturday. It would be a good way to clean out the next real contenders from the overhyped scrub smashers in the welterweights. Plus it should be a good scrap.
Mon, 02/23/09 - 10:36
HAHAHA...HaHaHa...He said Cock! HAHAHA
Tue, 02/24/09 - 01:04
You guys are just sour your boy Markham didnt live up to the hype. Hardy will walk through 'The Irish Hand Grenade' which incidentally is the worst nickname in MMA along with 'J-lo' for Lauzon. Get better!
Tue, 02/24/09 - 01:57
@ Anxiotic 'Its just annoying seeing all these Brits and Irish trying to put some of these fighters in the high ranks' Oh, heaven for fucking-bid any British fighters attempt to encroach on the American fighters territory. You fucking tool!
Tue, 02/24/09 - 03:01
I find it so entertaining listening to all these forum fighters get nationalistic. WTF have you ever done for your country other than pay taxes? Do you really think that when American fighters fight they go in thinking "this is for America"? Or Brits go in thinking "For Britain", even Brazillians who hype on about Brazil probably don't care about representing their countries. They fight for themselves, not for you or your fucking country - we're all selfish; wake up.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 03:17
@ Anonymous's comment re: Darth Vader's cronies Favourable labour market conditions is what lead Lucas to film Star Wars in England rather than the US, that's why the lackies have accents, and for no other reason. As for the fight itself, I can see this match being a slugfest but little more. I can't predict a winner, as all it takes is one punch to end a fight, but Davis is a little more experienced and accurate striker. If I were a gambling man (and I am), I'd say Davis comes out on top should they meet up. Outside of fan appreciation, this fight offers little in the way of welterweight rankings and contention status. But it will likely end in a tko and should be entertaining to watch, if it even happens.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 05:20
@Darkyn I think alot of fighters do care about defending the reputations of their home, though it's not important to them as a win to begin with. I like the country vs. country aspect of MMA, it just makes things seem a little more important. I especially love it when the fighters use fighting styles that are typically associated with their country of origin. Gonzaga vs. Carwin is a perfect example of an awesome battle between rival countries/fighting styles.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 05:37
Dan Hardy is very good standing and punching all match, but he is no slouch on the ground. He has above-average submission defense and, if he can get a mount, can ground-n-pound very well. If Davis underestimates Hardy, just as Markham did, and as a lot of you do, then that will be a big mistake. I hate seeing UK fighters beat US fighters but this Dan Hardy is the truth and we have to respect his skill.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 05:54
Oh for crying out loud cagepotato can we have something else to talk about naoplz?
Tue, 02/24/09 - 05:55
Post a story about ufc 96 or something, GAWD.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 06:23
Iv been a great fan of this site for some time. And all you guys at CagePotato are clearly of unlimited intelligence and are fantasic editors. But it really annoys me that Americans have such a self-orientated knowledge of geography. It may sound pathetic but iv been travelling to your beautiful country almost every summer for years and you guys never fail to come out with the most ridiculous shit when I mention my place of origin. Scotland. "Is Scotland a city in England?" "Does Scotland have running water?" "Do you guys all wear kilts?" To name but a few. England and Scotland are different countries MATE. And the kilt comment you made would be refering to Scotland. Although Dan Hardy is English... Thats like me asking why Americans have a red flag with a mayple leaf on it? Why? Its not really just that, its the way it was said, in a jokey; 'Im making another smug comment about a non-american' kinda way. This is the first comment i've contributed and for some reason im proud. Now excuse me, I must depart on the long and treaturous road to the water well for my mother is baking Lumbas bread for the street orphans. Peace x
Tue, 02/24/09 - 07:15
Was at the O2 on saturday Kos shocked the s**t out of me losing that fight and the dude that beat him has got the biggest f**king ears i've ever seen! as for Hardy he did well but there's a lot of tough SOB's that would pose plenty of problems for him.. As for the Count i agree that he hasn't been in with a beast a 185 and i would love to see him fight Nate or Maia... but Nate vs Maia would be a good fight with the winner facing Spider..
Tue, 02/24/09 - 01:15
"Dakyn Says: Tue, 02/24/2009 - 03:01 I find it so entertaining listening to all these forum fighters get nationalistic. WTF have you ever done for your country other than pay taxes? Do you really think that when American fighters fight they go in thinking "this is for America"? Or Brits go in thinking "For Britain", even Brazillians who hype on about Brazil probably don't care about representing their countries. They fight for themselves, not for you or your fucking country - we're all selfish; wake up." Dan hardy was all about his country, he was a bragging fucking tropical fish looking dude, him and his goofy ass mohawk.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 01:21
u must be american, cuz only americans think that way. but that's ok, because i wouldn't be proud or nationalistic if i was american either.
Tue, 02/24/09 - 01:22
That was meant for Dakyn
Tue, 02/24/09 - 06:58
A. Davis' Grandfather on his mother's side is Full Blown Irish. B. Davis would absolutely kill Hardy, in stand-up, or on the ground. C. Bad fight for Marcus. He needs to fight a top 5. But who are the top 5. Kos is losing. Hughes is about done. Serra never fights. Diego is at 155. He's either gotta go for Swick again, who he will beat because he's healthy now, or Fitch.
Wed, 02/25/09 - 09:19
Who will beat Swick again? There are very few who can deal with Swick as he is right now. Don't believe it, wait and see.
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