Mind Games: Dan Hardy UFC 99 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
By now it’s no secret that UFC 99: “The Comeback” will feature a heated grudge match between 10-fight UFC veteran, Marcus Davis (16-4) and red-hot British prospect Dan Hardy (21-6, with 1 NC). In fact, it looks to be one of the better fights on an already-stacked card.
Davis needs little introduction to fans on both sides of the pond. The Bangor, Maine, native first got our attention as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2, at a time when he was known mostly for his boxing skills. He compiled a professional boxing record of 17-1-2 on the New England boxing circuit — and has since been referred to as “the most-improved TUF contestant” from the show’s first few seasons.
More recently, “The Irish Hand Grenade” has been a regular on UFC cards held overseas. Starting with UFC 72: “Victory,” Davis has been featured on six consecutive UFC cards in Britain and Ireland, most recently earning a split decision victory over heavy-hitting Chris “Lights Out” Lytle.
Hardy, on the other hand, has fought in the States just twice and not since 2006. He’s best known in his native England, where he has held the Cage Warriors Welterweight World Title and is the current Light-Welterweight Champion and also the U.K. Storm British Champion.
Since signing with the UFC, “The Outlaw” posted a split decision victory over Akihiro Gono at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” and a sensational KO (punch) over knockout artist Rory Markham at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson.” If Hardy continues posting results like that, he’ll soon be a household name amongst hardcore and casual fans alike.
We only have to wait a few more days to see this one hit the history books. It all goes down this coming Saturday, June 13 at UFC 99: “The Comeback” from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. It airs LIVE on pay-per-view (PPV) at 3:00 p.m. ET, or at 10:00 p.m. ET via tape-delay.
We caught up with Hardy to get his thoughts on Davis’ skills and their entire feud, his odd disqualification loss to Yoshiyuki Yoshida from 2007 and how he prepares for his opponents by summarizing all their skill sets into one dangerous attribute that they bring to the table.
Let’s get after it:
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Since signing with the UFC, you’ve earned a split decision victory over Akihiro Gono at UFC 89, followed by a one-minute KO of Rory Markham at UFC 95 in February. First, the Gono fight was a crazy back and forth brawl. You guys both looked to have landed some terrific shots. What did you learn from that fight? What did you take away from it?
Dan Hardy: A few things really. It was quite a tough fight for a first fight in the UFC, because the way he fights, he’s such a spoiler, he can make anybody look bad. I mean, he took Jon Fitch to a decision, so that says a lot.
The thing that I learnt from it more than anything was the fact that … it’s very difficult in the UFC, because you’re always trying to push a pace, and you’re always trying to make the fight exciting, because to a certain extent, your next contract depends on that. So I was really trying to push a pace, but that did kind of play into his game.
I think I could of made the fight a little bit easier on myself if I wasn’t trying to war with the guy. It’s just learning the balance between making the fight exciting and making sure you get a clear win on the judges’ scorecards, should you go to a decision.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): The KO of Markham was particularly impressive. How important was that win for you — not just to get the highlight reel knockout, but also in terms of making a name for yourself.
Dan Hardy: I think after the first fight with Gono, I think there were a lot of people who doubted me. There were a lot of people sayin’ it was a bad decision because the fight was in the U.K. and things like that. I’ve heard that a few times.
A lot of people thought Gono won that fight. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. It really depends on how you interpret the scoring.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Did you think you won the fight?
Dan Hardy: Oh yeah, yeah, I definitely think I won the fight. (For the) people who think that I won the fight because I was fighting in the U.K., the reality is one of the judges was British, and that was the judge that scored it against me. I don’t think people actually realize that it was the American judges who scored the fight for me.
I’ve watched the fight several times, especially since I realized there some controversy around it. At the end of the fight, I felt confident that I won it and that I won it comfortably. Looking back … you could have scored it in other ways, but I still think that I was comfortable with the win.
Moving on to Markham, again people were thinking that the fight’s been set up for me to win, and if it were to go to a decision, I’m going to take the decision. And then there was a lot of talk about the fact that Markham’s first fight in the UFC was a highlight reel knockout with the headkick over Broder Farber. And there was a lot of talk about how tough Markham was and the fact that he was going to come over and knock me out, and that was going to be the end of the Dan Hardy hype.
So it was nice to go out there and make a statement and have the guy that knocks people out getting knocked out. It was a nice way to silence some critics, I suppose.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well it was a sensational knockout. I gotta bring up the feud with Marcus Davis. It’s been all over the internet. Davis has called you a “coward” and a “disrespectful punk.” How exactly did the two of you get started down this path? He swears this isn’t just to promote the fight — he swears it’s real hatred.
Dan Hardy: Oh no, he genuinely doesn’t like me. Without a doubt. (Laughs) There’s no acting in that at all. The reality is, the situation I’m at in my career, I’ve got two fights in the UFC, and I could have quite easily been lined up against some obscure guy that’s never fought in the UFC before, that nobody’s really interested in seeing me fight and beat. And I find it very difficult to motivate myself for a fight if I don’t feel I’m going to gain a lot out of it. Does that make sense?
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Oh yeah.
Dan Hardy: You know, I’d like to feel like I’m progressing up the rankings. So realistically, this isn’t a good fight for Marcus Davis. Because regardless of who you support, you gotta give me a chance in the fight — I’ve won my first two fights over two good fighters, I’m taller, I’m quicker, I’m younger — so it’s a bad fight for him. If he wins, then it’s not really going to do a great deal for him, but if he loses, that’s going to put him a lot further down the line for a title shot than he already is.
So the reason I originally started poking and prodding at him was … I actually learned that the fans wanted to see this fight, because the question was put to me, “Would I like to fight Marcus Davis?” And that was where it all started from. I thought, “Okay, the fans want to see that fight, so I’ll try to make it happen.”
So I started pokin’ him. I knew one thing that would get to him was playing on the Irish heritage thing.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs)
Dan Hardy: The reality is I don’t care where he’s from, I don’t care whether he’s proud of it, I don’t care if he carries a Jamaican flag out, it makes no difference to me. But I knew I’d get a reaction out of him for that.
So I kinda started with that, and he took the fight, and the fight was on. And then he started getting a bit silly with it. He was saying that I was sending private emails and things like that, which was nonsense. I actually posted a statement on the CageWarriors forum regarding this. I gave a few examples of some of the false information he had given out, like I kept missin’ interviews that had been settled for both of us. It was just nonsense.
So I thought, “Okay, if you wanna take this to the next level, then let’s turn it on a bit.” So I started up the Photoshop thread [
http://www.cagewarriors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=332323#post332323]. Which … (laughs) … seemed to really upset him. And then it occurred to me how sensitive the guy is, and how ridiculous he’s being about the whole thing.
And to be honest, now, it’s just I’m pokin’ at him, and he’s gettin’ more and more angry, and he just can’t deal with it. He can’t wait to get in there and get fighting, which is exactly how I wanted it. He’s either going to come in raging like a maniac and make some silly mistake, or he’s try and control himself and burn out under the aggression that he’s trying to hold back.
So either way, it’s not going to work out too well for him. As far as I’m concerned, it’s part of the game, part of the strategy, and I think it’s going to play into my hand.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’ve said that you’re not overly impressed with Davis’ hands and that you think his professional boxing record might be a little bit padded.
Dan Hardy: (Laughs) Yeah.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): And you’ve said that his hands are not “the most dangerous things he brings to the fight.” So my question is, in your opinion, what are the most dangerous weapons he possesses, specifically his style compared to your style?
Dan Hardy: The way I look at fighting, when I go into a fight — for instance, if I use my first two fights in the UFC. I look at Gono, and I try and basically summarize all their techniques, all their skills into one thing that I think is the most dangerous thing that they bring to the table. And for me, Gono was the tricky submissions guy. He was the elusive guy who would catch you in a scramble with a crazy submission that you weren’t expecting, and that was the main thing that I focused on dealing with.
With Rory Markham, obviously, it was his punching power. I was aware that he can punch with both hands, and that was the main thing that I was concerned with going into that fight.
Now with Marcus Davis, my main concern is the fact that he’s just a tough guy. I don’t think that he’s technically brilliant in any area. I don’t think that his wrestling’s that great, I don’t think that it’s anything I can’t deal with. His ground game, his submissions — certainly I’ve got some submissions and stuff — but he’s not exactly been subbing the best guys in the world. And the guys he’s been stopping on the feet are guys that, in my opinion, are not really of UFC standard.
So it’s very difficult for me to give him any credit about his technical ability. He’s technically well-rounded, but he’s not brilliant at anything. Regardless of what he thinks. Fair enough, he’s got a good boxing record, and he has got some skills in his hands. But he’s not fought at a very high level, and if he was that good of a boxer, like I said before, he’d probably still be doing it now.
I can’t take anything away from the guy, because he has got some skills that he brings to the table, and he is going to be a tough fight, because he is a genuinely tough … you know, he’s a battle-hardened guy. He’ll go in there, and he’ll give it everything, and he’ll never back down. And I gotta respect that. But technically, I don’t think that there’s anything that I can’t deal with.
At no point, the UFC fans that are new to watching my fights, they’ve never seen me in the trenches before. And when it counts, I can dig deep, and I’ll still be swinging when I’m on my knees. So that’s something that I’m looking forward to in this fight — that if it does go there, I’m going to at least be able to show people what I’ve got.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Right. Do you think that when it’s all said and done, you guys can bury the hatchet?
Dan Hardy: That really depends on how he deals with the loss.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs)
Dan Hardy: (Laughs) I’m not gettin’ ahead of myself. Obviously, I’m not planning on losing the fight. It really depends on Marcus Davis’ attitude. I’m not one for holding grudges. If he decides that he can deal with the fact that I did all the talking, and then I backed it up, then I’ve got no problem. I’ll buy him a drink, and we’ll shake hands, and that will be it.
I don’t ever think we’ll be best of friends, and I don’t think we’ll ever really see eye to eye, especially (with) some of the things I’ve said about him and the fact that he’s really kind of confirmed a lot of it — the fact that he is very sensitive and things like that. He’s just not really the kind of guy I would enjoy spending a lot of time with. So I don’t think we’ll ever be best of friends, but I certainly won’t be holding grudges, because that’s just a waste of energy.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I’ve read that you train at a bunch of different places in addition to your time at Team Rough House. I don’t know which ones you’ve spent time at for this particular fight, but I’ve heard Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym in L.A., I’ve heard Legends Gym with Eddie Bravo, and I’ve also heard Xtreme Couture. For this particular fight, were you training at a lot of different places? Were you bouncing around a lot?
Dan Hardy: Yeah, I normally start my training camp in America, and then I come back to the U.K. to finish off. This has actually been a 13-week camp, which is quite a lengthy camp. I timed it so I had six weeks in the States, then I had a week where I had a little break and I eased off a little bit — just basically maintaining the state I was at, and that was when I travelled over to Germany to meet the troops — and then after that, I returned to the U.K. for the last six weeks over here.
So yeah, my first six weeks, I was over in California. I was living in Los Angeles, and I was training at Wild Card with Freddie Roach, and Eddie Bravo was working on my jiu-jitsu. And then I had a couple of other guys I brought in. I brought in a guy called Sean Goodrich, who’s a Division I wrestler, just to work on a few things with me.
I’ve returned to the U.K. now, and I’m with my original coaches, the guys I’ve been working with for years, which is Owen Comrie, my Thai boxer, and Nathan Leverton, my jiu-jitsu. So I always like to return to my base. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But I always like to come back to training camp with a new set of skills that I can work on and add to my game, just so I’m constantly moving forward.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I last heard you were a blue belt under Eddie Bravo. Eddie seems like a really interesting character. I’ve seen clips of him on the internet and read articles about him in High Times Magazine and everywhere else. What’s it like training with that guy?
Dan Hardy: Eddie’s a great guy, he really is. Just being around him. He’s just a fun guy to be around. He’s a crazy stoner, and he’s always got something crazy to say. He’s always talking crazy theories and stuff like that. So he’s a great guy to be around, and on top of that, he’s one of the best jiu-jitsu coaches out there, particularly for MMA.
A really good thing about it is the fact that, because he’s so well known and because his style is so recognizable, he always has good guys coming through the gym to train with him as well. I’ve rolled with some of the best grapplers in the world, who have been at Eddie’s for a couple of weeks to work with him a little bit.
For me, that’s one of the best things about 10th Planet [
http://www.10thplanetjj.com/] is not only the fact that they’ve got great coaches and training partners there, it’s that there are always guys coming in and brining new stuff, and that’s always integrating into Eddie Bravo’s game.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): In terms of your standup, what did Freddie Roach help you most with?
Dan Hardy: To be honest, a lot of it was very basic — kinda tightening up my boxing, and giving me a few pointers for generating more power, and then basically get out of the way. Use footwork and speed, because I am quite a quick fighter, and I have got decent footwork.
All the way through my career, I have kind of relied on being able to get in and land shots and get out before the person can hit me back. And really Freddie just worked on that and helped me understand my defensive work a little better, and the footwork as well. And obviously working against a south paw, which is perfect for Davis.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’re currently riding a five-fight win streak, which would be perhaps 10 or 11 if it weren’t for a DQ loss to Yoshiyuki Yoshida at Cage Force 5 welterweight tournament back in December 2007. I actually just watched the fight online. It looked like you threw a front leg kick right on target, and Yoshida just kind of walked right into it, and it hit him right in the nuts. I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen a fighter carried out on a stretcher due to a crotch shot.
Clearly accidents happen, but what are your thoughts on the result — on the fact that it was a Disqualification, as opposed to a No Contest? Did you think that was justified?
Dan Hardy: Well, to be honest, the problem with the language barrier was the fact that I didn’t actually understand what was going on at the time. My intention was to take him into the second round, because as you’ve seen in two of his three UFC fights, he does like to get in there and get the fight done and out, because he is a very fast starter. So my intention was to kind of coast through the first round, let him work a little bit, but not do any kind of real damage to me. Then when the second round started, (I) was to start to work and push him a little bit.
Basically the idea was to catch him with that inside low kick and just kind of break him down with it and upset his footwork. And as he stepped into range, I threw it, and like you said, he basically just stepped onto it and changed levels. Completely unintentional. I really had no idea that I would be libel for disqualification because of that.
I actually thought at one point he was going to get up, and then his corner man shouted something, and he seemed to lay back down again. So I don’t really know. I think they might have understood the rules a little better than me. I think they might have played on those rules a little better than I give them credit for.
But yeah, it was a very disappointing circumstance. I had trained so hard for that, and it was the final — a place where no one ever expected me to get there. I got the King of Pancrase (Daizo Ishige) in the first round, and people didn’t even see me beating him. I knew I had the capability of winning the tournament, and I was very confident. Just to put all that effort in and spend that time working with Eddie Bravo, and spending that time away from my family, putting that work in to then be disqualified, it was very disheartening.
That’s why I got a fight the week after I was back in the U.K. (Laughs) I just needed to get it out of my system and move forward.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Would you like to see the UFC set you and Yoshida up with a rematch some day?
Dan Hardy: If that’s what the UFC thinks would be a good fight for me, then by all means. I would like to get it over … I think a lot of people out there who saw the first round assume that I was being beaten. When in actual fact, part of the game plan was to coast through the first round, as I said. So it was kind of disappointing that I lost the first round and people thought the rest of the fight was going to go that way.
So if the opportunity arises, then I’ll be more than ready to take that challenge. But as it is at the moment, my job is no longer to pick the fights — that’s the UFC’s and the fans’ as well. If the fans come to me and say, “We want you to fight Yoshida next,” and I keep hearing it, if that name keeps cropping up, then I’ll start the talking and start the hype and get that fight on. But other than that, it’s basically up to the UFC.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well I guess I’ll close with this: I’ve read that you were close to graduating with a degree in art and design from Nottingham University. If you weren’t a full-time fighter, what do you think you’d be doing right now, career-wise?
Dan Hardy: I’ve heard this question quite a lot, and to be honest, I think I would have got into tattooing. It was always something that interested me, and I spent a lot of time — still I spend a lot of time — drawing up tattoo designs and things. So I think that’s something I would have gone into.
I would have spent some time as a tattoo apprentice and pursued that career. I don’t really think being an artist thing would have suited me too much. (Laughs) I like to be my own boss. I think a tattoo artist would have suited me.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Dan, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans.
Dan Hardy: Well, my sponsors are on my shorts, so everybody can see who’s supporting me.
I think that the most important thing is that people just watch the fight, UFC 99. I know a lot of people in particular are going, “Oh, Dan Hardy’s a punk,” and this and that. That’s not really an insult at all, because … (laughs) … I am a punk. So just keep watching the fights. If you love me or hate me, I don’t really mind, just watch the fight, keep supporting the sport, and just keep enjoying the growth of the UFC.
That’s it, really. Thanks for the support and thanks for the attention.
