by Jason Kelly
March 27th 2010, New Jersey housed a championship bout, the champion remained the king of his castle that night, and I witnessed durability, grit, toughness, and heart at its very highest level from the defeated. The toughness I speak of is exhibited to this degree every now and then, when a fighter ignores his bloody cut continuing to brawl, never minding technique or choosing to go to sleep rather than tap due to a rear naked choke but, not many fighters will succeed the test when their appendages are on the brink of snapping.
That’s how far Dan Hardy proved he is willing to go in a fight he was losing from minute one; no quit in his heart. Georges St. Pierre had Dan Hardy beat physically throughout that fight yet, he could not finish Hardy, and that isn’t so much GSP’s insufficiency as much as it is an attribute to Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy’s fortitude. He never showed a sign of quitting in any of his previous fights, although in Dan’s previous fights, his opponent didn’t threaten to take his arm home, twice.
“The Outlaw” has been a solid striker since I first watched him scrap in Cage Warriors, his wrestling needed a great deal of work then and still does, that was apparent in his fight with Marcus Davis, who took him down at will. Hardy vows to learn how to wrestle at a highly effective level, it’s something I believe he needs to continue his UFC career in the 170 pound division, and jumping to 185 without bettering his wrestling is pointless with Yushin Okami, Mark Munoz, and Chael Sonnen lounging up there.
Hardy somehow managed to get a title shot without fighting the division’s top 3 contenders (Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Thiago Alves) 2 out of those 3 would wrestle Hardy out of his boots, and Alves vs. Hardy is something I still yearn to see. I think a loss to a wrestler prior to fighting GSP would’ve prompted Hardy to study wrestling more seriously earlier in his career.
As of late Dan Hardy has been complaining that wrestling is commanding MMA, but that’s something he can’t change, forcing him to learn. Hardy does a terrific job of putting together punches with kicks, if he can learn to nullify takedowns and progress to the caliber of grappler who can possibly threaten with takedowns of his own; “the Outlaw” can become a perennial contender in the UFC welterweight division, and perhaps a strap holder.
Hardy’s upcoming counterpart at UFC 120 is Carlos Condit, a guy who is just as tough and game, Condit I doubt will engage this fight with a wrestling approach nevertheless, he brings the fight. Hardy is bigger than Condit and has more power coming behind his strikes still, Condit has displayed the ability to hang with Hardy on his feet and if Condit grinds for the takedown and gains it, Hardy has to be extremely careful for submissions and brutal ground and pound.
I appreciate Hardy’s personality, respectful banter with other fighters, and his overall performances but, this fight with Condit will conduct how his grappling is progressing. I foresee much improvement in Hardy’s grappling and his striking will be crisp as always. Dan Hardy has a for real willingness to win that is seldom seen, which makes me believe he will embrace his nemesis; wrestling.
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