Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy is a man with a lot he wants to prove. With a training résumé spanning from Eddie Bravo to the Shaolin Monks, he has high hopes for his UFC future and already has a fixed, but humble eye on George St Pierre’s Welterweight title. Speaking from LA ahead of his October bout with Akihiro Gono, Dan talks to us about his training regime, his thoughts on fellow Brit Michael Bisping and his hopes for the future.

 

So you’ve reached the UFC. How does that feel?

It feels awesome, I feel like my hard work has paid off and now my real career can begin. after a few annoying setbacks leading up to this point like the bad decision against Forrest Petz and the DQ loss in Japan, it makes me appreciate the opportunity. I take nothing for granted because I work hard for everything I have and now I’m in the UFC I can prove to people that I am for real.

 

Have you changed your training routine since you discovered your first opponent?

At the moment I’m just laying down the basics, working on my strength and explosiveness and improving my skill level in all areas of my game. I will start the more specific stuff eight weeks out when I’m back in the UK with Team Rough House and my coaches Owen Comrie and Nathan Leverton. I’m travelling back and forth between Vegas and LA at the moment, working with Eddie Bravo and all the guys at Legends in Hollywood and in Vegas. I’m also doing a lot of sparring at Xtreme Couture.

 

And the fight is not just taking place in your homeland; it’s in the Midlands, a short drive from your hometown! Does that add pressure to you or is it something you see as a positive?

It’s definitely an advantage to be so close to home, travelling does take its toll on your performance in the cage, so I’m grateful to not have that far to go. It will also be nice to have the support of my friends and family there. It will create a real buzz in the arena which I can feed off. I will convert all of that energy into power and aggression and aim it right at Gono’s face, I can’t wait!

 

There’s a school of thought that says that yourself and Michael Bisping are tools in Dan White’s strategy to capitalise on the UK market. What are your thoughts on this given that you are both on the Birmingham card?

If that is the case then I am honoured that he thinks I have the potential to push the UFC into the UK market, I will do everything I can to help. I think it helps if the fans have someone that they can relate to and myself and Michael are just ordinary guys like most of the UK fans. Michael is a good guy and he is very down to earth, like myself and I think the fans support us because we are real guys in there doing a job and flying the UK colours.

 

You trained with the Shaolin Monks in China. Tell us about that experience and what you took away from that.

It made me realise that I could overcome tough obstacles and that I am a lot tougher than I thought. I came away with a whole new level of mental toughness and a strong work ethic, which has been vital in my career so far. I can push myself harder and know that my body and mind will hold strong under pressure, that’s why I never break in fights.

 

There’s not much margin for error in the UFC and certainly no apprenticeship period. A couple of early losses and a new fighter can easily be forgotten about. How important is it to get off to a winning start?

Its so important because I know I belong. There are so many people watching, waiting for you to fall on your face. There are the people that I have spent the past four years proving wrong and I don’t plan on stopping now. I always thrive under pressure though, so I’m expecting, with the higher level of competition and the fact that there is a lot on the line. The ‘UFC Dan Hardy’ will be a whole new animal. It’s an exciting time and I can’t wait to get in there and start tearing into people.

 

You’re walking into a notoriously competitive division at Welterweight. What are your thoughts on George St Pierre’s current dominance and is there anyone you have your eye on as a key stepping stone towards the title?

Granted GSP has the division locked down at the moment but a couple of years ago, so did Matt Hughes. You can’t stay at the top forever and with the competition getting tougher with each new signing the UFC make, GSP has his work cut out. As you said, the division is stacked and the competition is tough, and any guy on any given day can cause an upset and there isn’t a guy in the division that doesn’t believe he can be the champion. At the moment my money is on Fitch to be the next champ. Maybe not in his next fight, but in the near future. He can keep a hold of it for a while until I have had a few warm up fights…!

 

And do you think the rivalry coming from the recent launch of Affliction is healthy competition for the UFC or will it always be UFC’s poorer relation?

For the fighters sake, it is always positive for there to be competition. There is a lot of money to be made out of MMA and the fighters see very little of it. I just want to be able to live comfortably for the rest of my life after I retire, but only a small percentage of guys will actually be that fortunate. If MMA fighters got half of what boxers got, we would see fitter, stronger, healthier athletes that perform better. With competition from other organisations, we will hopefully see a little more money coming to the fighters so we can look forward to a nice retirement after being punched and choked for the best years of our lives.

 

What do you think you will bring to the UFC and its Welterweight division. What can we expect to see from the Outlaw on his debut and beyond?

I will bring the, “Oooh sh*t… that looked painful” factor to the octagon. I will be the guy that you show your friends and say, “Watch what this guy does to that poor fool”. One thing I can always promise is that I come ready and I come to fight and that is my main concern. I want to fans to buy a ticket because I am on the card and my name alone will guarantee an exciting fight.

 

And finally, your prediction for your debut fight…

I predict that on the night of October 18th there will be a lot of people saying, “Who is this guy?”, with a tough, experienced guy like Gono as my opponent. I can only imagine how exciting this fight will be. I’m expecting a hard hitting, back and forth battle with blood and maybe some broken bones and my hand being raised at the end.

 

Christopher Freeman
chris@mmapreview.com