Dan Hardy talks Georges St. Pierre on Tapout radio: (audio)
"That [Serra fight] is something that is going to be at the back of his mind. He knows that all his fame and glory can be taken away from him if he is not careful. He is a good wrestler and he is sticking to what he is good at, which is taking people down. I don’t think his striking is particularly brilliant. He is a great fighter don’t get me wrong, but he is a great well-rounded fighter. In a kickboxing match I would be able to play with him, pretty much."
"A loss to some mouthy British punk is going to hurt him. The pressure is on him. He will be inside his own head like he was for the first Matt Hughes fight."
"Its no surprise is that he will want to try and take me down and I will want to knock him out. I think the difference between me and other people who have been fighting him is that they have been conscious of the takedown. I am the kind of guy who will just swing at him with a grin on my face and if I end up on the floor I will worry about that when I get there."
-- more at fightersonlymagazine.co.uk
HT: tapoutlive.com, fightersonlymagazine.co.uk
UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy coverage
almost 2 years ago
Nick Thomas
103 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
I would like GSP to stand with him for round 1. Then when round 2 hits take Hardy down and pound him out.
i really doubt gsp is in danger of being ko’d by hardy.. he hasn’t shown that he has finishing power really. best thing he can hope for is squeaking out a decision, which imo won’t happen with a wrestler as good as gsp
he hasn’t shown that he has finishing power really.
Rory Markham’s brain cells would disagree.
by Scott Haber on Feb 23, 2010 12:34 PM EST up reply actions
markham is a nobody though. bisping knocked out a bunch of nobodies early in his career, and also thought he was a one punch koing machine, that work out for him?
So KOs don't count if they happen against lesser competition?
That makes no sense.
I’m not arguing that Hardy can KO GSP…I’m just responding to your statement that Hardy has no finishing power, when he has clearly demonstrated that he does.
by Scott Haber on Feb 23, 2010 1:44 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
makes no sense? are you nuts? lesser competition will let you hit them cleaner most of the time… and sometimes will have bad chins… there’s a reason they are called LESSER COMPETITION. lesser in every sense of the word. you must think that knocking out rampage jackson and knocking out keith jardine are the same thing.
by kanodogg on Feb 23, 2010 4:34 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Wanderlei Silva probably does
:)
Get rid of the ramp!
by ihateemo on Feb 23, 2010 4:49 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I’m not going to dignify that with a response
by Scott Haber on Feb 23, 2010 10:42 PM EST up reply actions
people can get mad....
But hardy is absolutely right. Why pretend he can stuff gsp’s takedown? His best bet is to be as prepared as possible to fight off his back and to go for broke when they stand.
I thought that’s how Alves would fight, but he ended up showing GSP too much respect and was torn down bit by bit. 4/5 times gsp takes this, but if hardy really proves to be where he claims mentally then he could give gsp fits.
by JaeeJaee on Feb 23, 2010 12:19 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Just like Alves KOed GSP.
Hardy has 1 KO in 4 UFC fights. He’s not the striking legend some make him out to be.
by Hardcharger on Feb 23, 2010 12:26 PM EST up reply actions
Then you don’t know shit about the sport. Can I say that?
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 12:28 PM EST up reply actions
you can say it all you want. how bout this Hardy ko’s gsp you stop posting here. Im tired of people telling me how little i know about the sport becuase i give my opinion on how a fight will go.
Everyone was on here saying how there is NO WAY cain will KO nog, i never posted that but i thought it.
So from the shit that i dont know about this sport, its safe to say anything can happen.
I'll take the bait.
I, ChiCubs23, will stop posting on BloodyElbow.com if Dan Hardy knocks out Georges St. Pierre in their UFC 111 match.
Now, if GSP finishes Hardy in the first round, you stop posting. Any other outcome other than a GSP first round finish or a Dan Hardy knock out (during any round) is a wash, and both of us continue posting.
Feeling confident?
Can I have your stuff?
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Feb 23, 2010 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
No PS3?
:(
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Feb 23, 2010 5:04 PM EST up reply actions
I, ChiCubs23, will stop posting on BloodyElbow.com if Dan Hardy knocks out Georges St. Pierre in their UFC 111 match.
Co-signed.
Kittitas
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 5:52 PM EST up reply actions
"i never posted that but i thought it."
weird.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 5:50 PM EST up reply actions
What?
GSP made the mistake of purely standing with Matt Serra and got smashed. Ever since that loss, GSP has used his takedown ability in a relentless fashion – against Hughes, Serra, Fitch and Alves.
There’s no reason to think his gameplan will be any different against Hardy, so saying that he WILL stand and swing against Hardy is a silly thing to say. But there’s nothing wrong with pointing out that on the feet GSP is vulnerable.
Get rid of the ramp!
yeah right, bj penn has 10x the standup of hardy, and much harder to take down. also alves is a beast much bigger than hardy, with much better standup, kicking game, takedown defense, how did that fight go for him. If you seriously think hardy wont get battered worse than bj penn, you need to check yourself into a mental institution.
That's what folks said when GSP fought Alves
Time and time again people underestimate GSP’s striking, especially when he’s up against a good striker (Alves, BJ), but the results speak for themselves.
by Scott Haber on Feb 23, 2010 12:33 PM EST up reply actions
Thank you. For being such a crappy striker GSP sure dominates the striking, even against guys who are supposed to have far superior standup.
by ufc4 on Feb 23, 2010 12:40 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Alves has a big reach disadvantage with GSP though. He’s a great striker of course, but against GSP thats something which stood out for me, he couldn’t get near enough GSP to really open up. Hardy will have less of a disadvantage in this area so it should be interesting to see how it goes.
by StevenGiles on Feb 23, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions
Every fighter in the division has a reach advantage on Alves, why is it only against GSP that it’s an excuse?
by Worldisart on Feb 23, 2010 12:46 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Because GSP is the only one in the last couple years that kicked his ass.
by ufc4 on Feb 23, 2010 12:57 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
gsps striking has become incredibly good over the yrs, since the serra fight who has outstruck him. Im sure he could do pure standup, and win no matter who it is against, but why take the chance of a lucky punch like serra catching him? why not take the opponent down, and batter them untill they are punch drunk, and he softens them up, then he can let them stand, and batter them standing also. It doesnt mean he is afraid, just smart game plan. Hi trainer WBA champ alcine said a while ago, that gsp is one in a million, even when sparring against him gsp holds his own. If he does that against wba champions, is he really going to be scareed of alves, kos, fitch, bj penn, or even hardys if he wants to engage. I THINK NOT
hardys just talking
this really cant honestly be his game plan u dont go into a gsp fight and not be conscious of the takedown
GSP is no sluch in the striking department and I doubt sincerely that the Matt Serra fight will be in his head…he’s just on another level mentally and otherwise. I expect this to be a very onesided fight. GSP by TKO.
To say that all the pressure is on GSP, and not on himself as well doesn’t seem correct. GSP has shown that especially after the Serra fight, he will not wilt and will fight smart to win. The Serra fight is actually in GSP’s head, but that has only made him more prepared against his opponents because he now knows not to underestimate them. GSP has well above average striking, and it is not like Hazelett vs Daley where there is some sort of vast level of difference in their striking.
St. Pierre would probably win a kickboxing match.
by Michael Rome on Feb 23, 2010 12:15 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I believe he probably would too, but at the same time Hardy knows he absolutely cannot win a wrestling match. Maybe he’s trying to goad GSP into standing?
I'm the best ever. You're the most average in a minute.
And NEW UFC Welterweight Champion of the World.....Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy!
by slapjaw ackrite on Feb 23, 2010 2:20 PM EST up reply actions
Don’t worry danny boy. You are going to end up on your back. Just hope you don’t end up looking like Fitch after the fight. Nice try at trying to make him stand with you. He would beat you on the feet to though. Your striking isn’t great at all.
He won't look like Fitch.
He won’t be able to take that amount of damage and live.
Pretty foolish statement
I don’t think he’d roll over GSP in a kickboxing match at all. Maybe he hasn’t seen some old footage of GSP’s vintage fights where he fought primarily stand up. Maybe he forgot to watch the GSP/Penn 2 fight where GSP picked Penn apart who is known as a great boxer. GSP fights smart…he’s not interested in pleasing the fans or exciting fights…he’s interested in winning and keeping his belt. Anyone with a decent background can go out there and throw leather. We see how that works out for guys like Wandy and Nog who take considerable damage in their fights and now at the age of 33 are looking past their primes. Then we have guys like Machida, Silva, GSP…all champs by the way…these guys avoid damage and implement what they do best. It’s about fighting smart…not exciting all the time. If you fight smart…the exciting moments will come.
"To me, MMA is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other."
I think...
That this fight will look similar to Marquardt vs Sonnen except GSP will kickbox with Hardy in round 2 and then in round 3 finish Hardy on the ground either with a GnP TKO finish or submission.
No way Hardy gets to round three. I’ll take the under on him making round 2.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
"I don’t think his striking is particularly brilliant."
GSP’s striking is light years ahead of Hardy.
I am the kind of guy who will just swing at him with a grin on my face and if I end up on the floor I will worry about that when I get there.
I totally see this approach ending well.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 12:28 PM EST reply actions
He’ll still have the grin when he’s on the ground because he’ll be dreaming a nice dream of a place where huge Frenchmen don’t beat you to a pulp. Then the medics will wake him up.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
I don’t see BJ’s lack of defence as much proof of what grein was asking for.
by TheKeyboardWarrior on Feb 23, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
Two points:
1. BJ’s lack of defense here is exactly the proof that grein should be satisfied by. BJ Penn has outstanding head movement and defense. For him to get blasted by a lead left / superman punch proves just how adept GSP is at throwing people off, which makes him very dangerous on his feet — e.g., despite looking to take the fight to the ground when possible against Alves (who most would say is the best striker at 170) and having a strained groin muscle at the time, he still managed to knock Alves down in the third round with a straight right.
2. Also note in the above GIF that BJ’s left leg starts coming up before he’s hit, which obviously is “suboptimal” defense. But it’s suboptimal becuase BJ was expecting an inside leg kick (or whatever it’s called) and was attempting to check the kick. GSP made him guess wrong and in the process demonstrated some fairly exceptional striking.
by The Darkness on Feb 23, 2010 1:28 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
This is one of the most hilarious punches ever
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Feb 23, 2010 1:25 PM EST up reply actions
Gsp won't stand and bang until u r tired.
What round is that gif from 3 or 4? He did not want to stand with bj until he was tired,and said this much. So I am thinking he will take him down a minute into round one and pound on him for the fist and do the same n the second. Then in the third he wil stand and tko hardy.
by J smooth 420 on Feb 23, 2010 5:27 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Watch GSP's fights. Watch Hardy's fights.
Done.
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Feb 23, 2010 3:51 PM EST up reply actions
I know he is great and all
but you can collect gifs for most fighters showing strikes.
When has Hardy consistently showed KO power in his hands?
by Tap or Snap Radio on Feb 23, 2010 12:34 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Rory Markham?
Not that that fight is a great indicator of anything.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
I just really hope...
…GSP doesn’t overlook this guy (like he should). Hardy is a guy he should walk, but there’s always that question that maybe GSP is looking past him. I doubt it, though, with his work ethic and such, but it’s something to think about.
Frankly, I hope GSP destroys Hardy as I can’t stand Hardy, but he’s one of those guys that a great fighter might look over.
GSP made that mistake once. He doesn’t make it twice.
by Worldisart on Feb 23, 2010 12:49 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
if he does lose i dont want to hear that excuse. Hes at the top there is no one to look past. When you are at the top you take each challenger on one at a time.
If you are working your way up the ladder you can look past people to a #1 contenders match or look past the #1 contenders to a championship fight.
Seems there's a lot of Hardy hate on this site
In all likelihood GSP wins this, but I really hope Hardy demolishes him. Gotta cheer for the underdog, especially when he’s as charismatic as Hardy.
Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.
by lowellthehammer on Feb 23, 2010 12:47 PM EST reply actions
Yup!
I’m rooting for Hardy. I like his fighting style and his confidence. Anything can happen in MMA so I’m gonna wait and see…
I like him too
I’m still rooting for GSP, but I find Hardy and Daley to be extremely entertaining fighters. People are making Hardy out to be a lot less effective than he is. In the end, GSP wins 9 out of 10, because he’s that awesome, but I have some hope for this being a good fight.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
It's not Hardy hate
It’s more that no one is worthy of fighting the great GSP, it just makes me wish that Hardy can pull off the unlikely even more.
Fighters like Alves have looked like inferior strikers because they are worried about and looking for the takedown, if Hardy can be fearless of the takedown and counter it while he is coming in, that might be his best chance.
My question is this… If this is a foolish gameplan doomed to busted-up face failure, what would be the more successful alternative?
by brad23 on Feb 23, 2010 3:22 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
More successful would be to you know, actually worry about the TD, defend some, and keep the fight more often in the realm where you think you are superior to GSP.
Alves had a good gameplan. He has great skills. He defended a couple TDs, but didn’t defend about 10 of them. He got to his feet many times in scrambles. He just couldn’t do anything to GSP because GSP is also a very good striker, moves very well on his feet, doesn’t get lazy, and always mixes things up.
Hardy’s plan sounds absurdly dumb.
I think at this point in GSP’s career it’s a given that being taken down over the course of a five round fight. If the takedown defence master BJ Penn is taken down almost at will, nobody else stands a chance.
Fighting off the back and looking for scrambles and submissions are the key, IMO.
Get rid of the ramp!
I agree, it is a given you’ll be on your back. But for every time you do defend a TD successfully, you stave off time where you’re in a bad position against relentless GNP. It would make more sense to at least be prepared to stay on your feet when you can, and utilize what you think is a striking advantage.
Hardy also doesn’t have anywhere near BJ Penn level BJJ, and BJ got smashed on the ground, so does Hardy really want to focus on that position?
Does Hardy really believe the shit he spews?
“A loss to some mouthy British punk is going to hurt him. The pressure is on him. He will be inside his own head like he was for the first Matt Hughes fight.”
When GSP fought Hughes the first time he even said he basically idolized Hughes therefore Hughes was in his head. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that GSP doesn’t idolize Dan Hardy. GSP is far too versatile, Hardy isn’t going to have any idea what GSP will be coming at him with next and is going to get dominated as a result. We have seen this over and over the past few years with everybody GSP fights and Hardy sure as hell doesn’t have the skill set to change it. Hardy’s ONLY chance is a punchers chance. He is going to be outclassed in every way.
He’s just gonna end up being another cocky Brit that ends up getting humbled just like Bisping did by Hendo.
GSP's boxing is pretty impressive
One thing he does that I don’t think he gets credit for is the double jab. He doubled up several times on B.J., keeping Penn off balance and pushing him back. Within that, he does it intelligently. GSP will throw the first jab quick and the second one hard, or vice versa.
Everybody’s got a puncher’s chance, but I think GSP is the more technically sound stand-up fighter.
"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"
Good observations. People don’t want to give GSP credit for his standup skills, partly because it’s easy to spend more time focusing on how good his TD and BJJ game has become, and partly because GSP is forever downgraded by some for the Serra I loss. In reality, GSP trains striking with amazing coaches, and some killer sparring partners (guys who are dedicated MT fighters or pro boxers). He’s not going to be overwhelmed in the striking dept.
GSP’s boxing in the Penn fight showed some excellent skills against a guy who is himself a great MMA boxer himself.
One thing everyone seems to be forgetting is that a huge reason GSP’s striking is so effective is that his opponents are constantly concerned with the takedown. If Hardy can truly manage to focus on the striking game, he’s got a very good chance of catching GSP with some good shots.
What were you expecting?
That Hardy admits before the fight that he is worse in every aspect and just wish that GSP doesen’t humiliate him that bad? Give the guy some credit for believing in himself even if he is the only one.
To voice a dissenting opinion
I actually think Hardy’s devil may care approach to GSP’s takedowns is exactly right. GSP could likely take Hardy down at will even if Hardy assumed a traditional elbows in defensive wrestler’s stance and did nothing but back pedal the entire fight. Given that he’s outmatched in the wrestling department, he needs to give himself a fighting chance. The way to do this is to go for it when they’re on their feet. Fighting tentatively will only diminish Harding’s chances of getting a KO or TKO and since he has virtually no chance of keeping the fight standing, submitting GSP from his back, establishing and maintaining a dominant top position or eking out a decision by outpointing GSP on his feet or otherwise, I think his strategy makes perfect sense.
If Hardy survives GSP first takedown and GnP...
which is actually a huge if, the result will heavily impact his “go for broke” attitude on the feet.
And it worked for Nate Marquardt against Chael Sonnen, right?
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
Nate, in theory, had the wrestling to hang with Chael so he shouldn’t have went for broke like he did (and I would be saying this even if he had knocked Chael out with his flying knee — it’s simply a low % move). Chael actually said that he had trained with Marquardt previously for five days and failed to take him down the entire time. I think everyone, including Marquardt and Jackson, were surprised by how easily Chael took NM down. Hardy, in theory, actuality and all possibly worlds, does not have the wrestling to hang with GSP. His options are very limited. This isn’t to say that if GSP jacks him up the cage and grabs his leg that Hardy shouldn’t make an effort to stop the inevitable, but it is to say that he should do little to modify his striking unless he’s does so in order to take even more chances. I would liken Hardy’s situation to the gambler who’s only option is to push all in. He might not win, but any bet less than is simply counterproductive.
by The Darkness on Feb 23, 2010 6:39 PM EST up reply actions
Disecting GSP's fighting to standing and ground...
is heavily flawed. His abilities in both synergize to complement each other like few other fighters have done to date. Situations like that superman punch gif and allot of the Alves fights truely show that GSP’s amazing takedowns and GnP augment his striking by leaving opponents confused as to what to expect, what to try and defend.
If anything, the ability to keep his opponents guessing is GSP’s true genius.
by Razreshat on Feb 23, 2010 1:49 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Damn, I’m itching for a title fight so bad.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
haha, but srsly, it’s been forever since UFC 107
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Feb 23, 2010 5:06 PM EST up reply actions
Fedor almost got Serra’ed. It happens to the best. GSP also hired a sports psychologist to exorcise the Matt Serra demon.
Not preparing for GSP’s wrestling will make this look like an early UFC when Royce would just go to town on people on the ground. This is going to be ugly, folks.
Keep firing Assholes!
Blackout is always right
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
