Mike Swick changes his tune over Dan Hardy, says he can “definitely win”

UFC welterweight, Mike “Quick” Swick has seemingly done a u-turn on his opinion on UK star, Dan Hardy receiving a shot at the title, saying “The Outlaw” can definitely win the fight and he’s excited to see it.

Speaking via MMAFighting.com, Swick said:

“Hardy can definitely win. Overall, GSP has the better chances to win, of course, but Hardy is getting better and better and, honestly, I am more excited to see this GSP fight versus Hardy than pretty much anyone else you could put GSP in with. I am super excited about the fight; I can't wait to see what happens as a MMA fan. Dan can definitely win this if he takes his chances with his strikes.”

“Dan Hardy definitely deserves his title shot in Newark. I said in a few interviews he didn't but - I want to clear the air - when I said that I was still upset I'd got beat by him at UFC 105. I made that mistake of talking when I was feeling emotional, when I was feeling down and was disappointed in my performance. But it wasn't my true opinion; at least not one I'd actually thought about.”

“I'm a little embarrassed I said that, and want to say publicly Hardy deserves his shot and has a good chance of winning. He's a top fighter. I said on my Twitter I hope Dan does well and good luck to him, that he deserves shot. But obviously no-one picked up on that while the other stuff I said before was everywhere.”

“Has Hardy had a fast route to the title? Yes, but he's taken chances and accepted tough fights when offered to him. It's true: if I had won that fight no-one would be saying I didn't earn it. And do I wish I'd have gotten a faster route to a number one contender fight? Of course. You wouldn't be hearing me complain, or any other welterweight complain, about getting a quicker route to a number one contender fight. He stepped up to fight me and won.”

On his own run of bad luck inside the octagon, Swick said:

“I realize now I need to change up my own style. I have had the same style all my UFC career and smart fighters like Hardy and Thiago, at this elite level, can predict what I was doing if they did their homework. Against Hardy I rushed in, like he knew I would, and he nailed me on the tip of the jaw with a left hook. Then I did same with Thiago and he choked me out while I was stunned. And against Thiago, I was at my best physically but now I know I made the same mistake. When you see me next, there will be some changes to my style and opponents won't be able to predict me.”

Fan have little over two weeks to wait to find out whether the Brit can do the seemingly impossible and derail welterweight kingpin, Georges St. Pierre in Newark. Until then they are treated to a three part UFC Primetime series, set to begin tonight on SPIKE TV.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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