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| English welterweight Dan (The Outlaw). THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho-UFC-Josh Hedges |
LAS VEGAS - And so it begins.
Welterweight challenger Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy fired the first salvo Saturday as he looked ahead to his as yet unscheduled mixed martial arts title bout with UFC champion Georges St. Pierre of Montreal.
Hardy, who is a master of getting under his opponent’s skin, called St. Pierre nice but boring in a meeting with reporters Saturday.
Asked if he was going to tone down the trash-talking now that he is facing the champion, the answer appeared to be a clear no.
"I’ll definitely have some things to say about him," Hardy said. "Another thing I’ve realized about this fight is I’m not going to be the good guy. You can’t say anything bad about Georges St. Pierre, he’s just such a nice guy. To the point where it’s a little boring, in fact. Because he never says anything nasty about anybody.
"I never say anything intentionally to upset people, like in a negative way. . . . I’m just saying things that are going to make me laugh and make the fans laugh and I’ve got plenty of things that I’m going to be saying about him, definitely.
"Someone’s got to hype the fight up because he’s just going to smile and bow every time you say anything about him. And it’s kind of boring, you know. So I’ll have to say a few things just to make sure the fans know that we’re fighting."
The 27-year-old English fighter earned his title shot by beating Mike (Quick) Swick last weekend in Manchester. There is no official date set for the bout but March seems likely.
Hardy worked American Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis into a lather prior to their UFC 99 clash in June, calling him a "fake Irishman" among other things. And he annoyed Swick with his pre-fight confidence prior to UFC 105.
Hardy even gave Swick a gag "runner-up" trophy at the pre-fight news conference. Swick promised to return it after beating the Brit and his cornermen brought it to the cage hoping to return it. But Hardy had other plans.
St. Pierre (19-2) has already beaten some of the 170-pound division’s elite fighters, defeating Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves as well as former champions Matt Hughes and Matt (The Terror) Serra.
Hardy (23-6, with one no contest) has made his way to the front of a somewhat thin contenders’ line by winning four UFC fights in 13 months. While he acknowledges St. Pierre’s considerable skills, he says he has nothing to lose.
"I’m fighting the best in the world, it’s going to be a great fight, I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got. If the timing’s right, I’ll walk away with the belt. If it’s not, I’ll come back a few months down the line and have another go.
"I know I’ve got the skills to beat him. And it’s just a case of getting in there and doing it. Obviously he’s a tough opponent, there’s a lot of things that I’m going to have to work on in order to get the win. But it’s only going to make me better. - it’s only going to push me forward and force me to my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu and things like that.
"In a kickboxing match, it’s mine all day. I’m confident of that. But it’s going to push me to work on things that need work on anyway and it’s going to give me a good gauge of where I am in the sport. Twenty-five minutes is a long time to keep my hands off his chin. I could always walk away with that belt and surprise everybody."
Hardy said opponents have shown St. Pierre too much respect, holding back on their striking out of concern he will take them down. Hardy said fighting GSP, you have to accept that he will do just that. So he plans to throw his punches full strength and not be concerned about the consequences.
"I’m not worried about being on the ground with him. I’m confident I can either defend myself well enough to not take any damage and get back to my feet."
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