(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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commentsB. 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.
"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.
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..
"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
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.
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.
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.
'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!
Hardy will walk through 'The Irish Hand Grenade' which incidentally is the worst nickname in MMA along with 'J-lo' for Lauzon.
Get better!
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.
@ 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.
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!
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