UFC 111 - Dan Hardy agrees all the pressure is on St. Pierre’s shoulders

UFC welterweight number one contender, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy has been speaking ahead of the biggest fight of his career against Georges St. Pierre, agreeing with what his fellow peers have said about the pressure being firmly on the shoulders of his opponent.

Speaking to MMAWeekly.com, Hardy said:

“I'm being counted out by about 98 percent of people in the world. The betting lines have got me as a huge underdog, but I'm going into this fight with nothing to lose at all. That's the difference, I can go in there and take risks, and I will take risks cause that's the way I fight. I'm not there to eek out a decision, I want to knock him out, and that's what I'm planning on doing.”

“I've got four fights in the UFC now, and every time I was supposed to get my ass kicked. It hasn't happened yet, so the underdog situation works pretty well for me because I'm coming out on top every time.”

Hardy was also asked about was many people described as a “lucky punch” landed by Matt Serra on St. Pierre when the pair met in 2007, an assessment the Brit completely disagrees with.

“I don't believe in lucky shots. If somebody throws a shot, they mean to land it, and they mean to hurt the guy. And Serra did exactly that. He threw a good punch, he landed it cleanly, and GSP looked like Bambi. His legs were gone, and you can't take that away from Serra.”

“He's a great athlete and he goes in there to win, but the difference between me and him is, he's a great athlete, but I'm a fighter. My intention is to go in there and have a good fight, and see what happens, and part of that is taking risks. I think that's the part that GSP's lost; he's not willing to take that risk anymore. He don't want to put himself out there in case he loses his belt again. He doesn't do it impressively, he doesn't dominate anybody, and give anyone a serious beating, but he gets the job done.”

“I'm in a similar situation to where GSP was the first time he fought Matt Hughes. The difference is I've got a lot more belief in myself, and I'm not looking at GSP like ‘oh he's a legend I can't beat him.’ I'm looking at GSP like he's the next guy on my record that's going down."

“He's under a lot of pressure in this fight, way more than I am, cause he's fighting a British guy, who's had four fights in the UFC, come from nowhere, and I'm stepping in there with a damn good chance of putting him to sleep, and he knows that. All the pressure is on him. If he loses to me, that's a pretty big dent in his legacy and he don't want that.”

Hardy will have a chance to start his own legacy on March 27th when he squares off with St. Pierre in the middle of the octagon for the very first time. After four impressive wins since joining the UFC, the Brit has certainly made his mark and will be full of confidence going into this one. Like he said, what does he have to lose?

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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