UFC Welterweight Dan Hardy came into his bout against Duane "Bang" Ludwig at UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir under a cloud. Four straight losses in the Octagon had him under the gun. Many fighters are cut by the promotion after two straight losses, most after three, only a select handful of proven, popular veterans get a fifth chance. Hardy was in that select handful but going up against Ludwig, the owner of one of the quickest KO wins in UFC history, he had to fear for his UFC career.

UFC 146 Results: Dan Hardy defeats Duane Ludwig via TKO at 3:51 of the first round.

Those nerves were banished in less than four minutes when Hardy caught Ludwig with a beautifully set up stutter step left hook and followed up with a string of brutal elbows to the downed Ludwig. Those elbows even had UFC president Dana White tweeting that he hated to see the "late" shots.

Hardy was on the brink of joining former WEC champ Steve Cantwell as the only fighters to have 5 straight losses in the Octagon, but his performance last night has given the brash Brit a new lease on life.

SBN coverage of UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir