Dan Hardy
Template:MMAstatsbox Dan Hardy is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2004, Hardy fought in various promotions such as Cage Force and Cage Warriors before signing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2008. He is the current Cage Warriors welterweight and light-welterweight champion.[1]
Mixed Martial Arts
Hardy had been training in Tae Kwon Do since he was six years old. Hardy began training because he wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.[2] He moved on when taekwondo went down the Olympic route. He wanted real fights, so switched to Thai boxing instead.[2] Hardy only became interested in Mixed Martial Arts after spending two months in China training with the Shaolin monks in 2002.[3] He then came back to England and competed in amateur MMA tournaments until his professional debut in 2004.[3]
Hardy trains out of the Rough House Gym alongside Paul Daley, Andre Winner and Dean Amasinger.[4] Hardy has also spent time training at Xtreme Couture and the Wildcard Boxing Gym.[3] He received his Blue Belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu from Eddie Bravo.[5]
Career in the UFC
Hardy made his UFC debut at UFC 89, defeating Akihiro Gono via Split Decision.[6] Gono was left swollen and bloody by several of Hardy's left hooks.[7] Gono rocked Hardy on more than one occasion.[8] In the third round Gono pushed Hardy to the canvas, and while there landed an illegal knee to the face of the downed fighter.[7] Causing the fight to be stopped for a lengthy period. Hardy recovered and went on to win the split decision. The judges saw the bout 29-28 (twice) for Hardy, and 29-28 for Gono.[8]
Dan Hardy beat Rory Markham at UFC 95 in the first round (1:09) by KO with a clean counter left hook.[9] A follow-up shot on the mat brought in Kevin Mulhall to stop the fight.[10] In his post-fight interview, Hardy retorted to Markham's pre-fight accusation that he had weak hands by exclaiming to the ecstatic crowd, "No punching power? What do you have to say about that?”[11]
Fight with Davis
Dan Hardy fought and beat via split decision Marcus Davis at UFC 99 on June 13, 2009. The grudge between these two men began with the Irish-American Davis fighting in the UK against local fighters and defeating them all in spectacular fashion. Hardy stated that the UK was his home and he did not want Davis in it, building a fan base. It started to get personal when Hardy began openly insulting Davis calling him a fake Irishman, and stating that Davis' website looked like a St. Patrick's day gift shop blew up.[12] Then on an UK underground MMA website, Hardy encouraged fans to post photoshopped pictures of Davis in a homosexual fashion. The pictures upset Davis, causing him to confront Hardy at a UFC 99 press conference. The two continued to argue, but finally agreed to settle it in the cage.[13] After a three round war which could have gone either way, the judges at UFC 99 awarded the fight to Dan Hardy. Marcus Davis stormed out of the cage ignoring Hardy’s attempts to make peace. Davis told reporters that he wants a rematch with Hardy in Ireland or Boston.[14]
Personal life
Hardy is a fan of hardcore, punk and metal music, to the point where he is sponsored by Nottingham-based metal record label, Earache Records. [5] He has a passion for Art rarely spending a day without a sketch pad in his bag until the age of 22.[15] He gave up his degree in art and design in his final year at Nottingham Trent University to pursue MMA full time.[15]
Mixed martial arts record
| 29 matches | 22 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 0 |
| By submission | 4 | 3 |
| By decision | 7 | 2 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 22-6-0-1 |  Marcus Davis
|
Decision (Split) | UFC 99: The Comeback | 13 June 2009 | 3 | 5:00 |  Cologne, Germany
|
| Win | 21-6-0-1 | Rory Markham
|
KO (Punch) | UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson | 21 February 2009 | 1 | 1:09 |  London, England
|
| Win | 20-6-0-1 |  Akihiro Gono
|
Decision (Split) | UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben | 18 October 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Birmingham, England
|
| Win | 19-6-0-1 | Daniel Weichel
|
TKO (Elbows) | UF - Punishment | 3 May 2008 | 2 | N/A | Doncaster, England
|
| Win | 18-6-0-1 | Chad Reiner
|
TKO (Punches) | CWFC - Enter the Rough House 6 | 19 April 2008 | 3 | 2:10 | Nottingham, England
|
| Win | 17-6-0-1 |  Manuel Garcia
|
Submission (Punches) | CWFC - Enter The Rough House 5 | 8 December 2007 | 1 | 2:21 | Nottingham, England
|
| Loss | 16-6-0-1 | Yoshiyuki Yoshida
|
DQ | GCM - Cage Force 5 | 1 December 2007 | 2 | 0:04 | Tokyo, Japan
|
| Win | 16-5-0-1 | Hidetaka Monma
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | GCM - Cage Force 4 | 8 September 2007 | 3 | 0:29 | Tokyo, Japan
|
| Win | 15-5-0-1 | Daizo Ishige
|
Decision (Unanimous) | GCM - Cage Force EX Eastern Bound | 27 May 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan
|
| Win | 14-5-0-1 |  Willy Ni
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | CWFC - Enter The Rough House 2 | 28 April 2007 | 2 | 0:39 | Nottingham, England
|
| Win | 13-5-0-1 |  Alexandre Izidro
|
TKO | CWFC - Enter The Rough House | 9 December 2006 | 3 | 4:56 | Nottingham, England
|
| Win | 12-5-0-1 | Danny Rushton
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | CWFC - Showdown | 16 September 2006 | 5:00 | Sheffield, England
| |
| Loss | 11-5-0-1 |  David Baron
|
Decision | 2H2H - Road to Japan | 18 June 2006 | 2 | 3:00 | Holland
|
| Loss | 11-4-0-1 | Forrest Petz
|
Decision (Unanimous) | FF 2 - Fightfest 2 | 14 April 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Canton, Ohio
|
| Win | 11-3-0-1 |  Diego Gonzalez
|
TKO (Cut) | CWFC - Strike Force 5 | 25 March 2006 | 3 | 0:19 | Coventry, England
|
| Win | 10-3-0-1 | Matt Thorpe
|
Decision (Split) | CWFC - Strike Force 4 | 26 November 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Coventry, England
|
| No Contest | 9-3-0-1 | Diego Gonzalez
|
No Contest | CWFC - Strike Force 3 | 1 October 2005 | 2 | 1:19 | Coventry, England
|
| Win | 9-3 |  Sami Berik
|
Decision (Unanimous) | CWFC - Quest 3 | 17 September 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Sheffield, England
|
| Win | 8-3 | Lautaro Arborelo
|
TKO | CWFC - Strike Force 2 | 16 July 2005 | 3 | 3:52 | Coventry, England
|
| Win | 7-3 | Alexandre Izidro
|
Decision (Unanimous) | KOTC - Warzone | 24 June 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Sheffield, England
|
| Win | 6-3 | Stuart Barrs
|
TKO | UK - Storm | 18 June 2005 | 2 | N/A | Birmingham, England
|
| Loss | 5-3 | David Baron
|
Submission (Triangle Choke) | CWFC - Strike Force | 21 May 2005 | 2 | 3:10 | Coventry, England
|
| Win | 5-2 | Andy Walker
|
TKO (Strikes) | CWFC - Quest | 8 April 2005 | 1 | N/A | Yorkshire, England
|
| Win | 4-2 | Lee Doski
|
Submission (Injury) | FC UK 1 - Fight Club UK 1 | 29 January 2005 | 2 | N/A | Sheffield, England
|
| Win | 3-2 | Aaron Barrow | KO | CWFC 9 - Xtreme Xmas | 18 December 2004 | 1 | 0:13 | Sheffield, England
|
| Loss | 2-2 | Pat Healy
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | AFC 10 - Absolute Fighting Championships 10 | 30 October 2004 | 1 | 3:50 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
|
| Win | 2-1 | Andy Melia
|
Submission (Strikes) | CWFC 8 - Brutal Force | 18 September 2004 | 2 | N/A | Sheffield, England
|
| Win | 1-1 |  Paul Jenkins
|
Decision (Majority) | FCFN 2 - Full Contact Fight Night 2 | 14 August 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Portsmouth, England
|
| Loss | 0-1 | Lee Doski
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | EB 7 - Extreme Brawl 7 | 6 June 2004 | 2 | 4:59 | Bracknell, England
|
References and footnotes
- ^ "Featured Champs, Cage Warriors". Cagewarriors.com. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ a b Whoops! Browser Settings Incompatible
- ^ a b c Interview with UFC newcomer Dan Hardy | Five Ounces of Pain
- ^ http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/sport/Injured-soldiers-inspiration/article-981399-detail/article.html
- ^ a b MuscleTalk Interviews Dan Hardy
- ^ Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy
- ^ a b UFC 89 Play-by-Play
- ^ a b UFC 89 LIVE RESULTS, PLAY-BY-PLAY, & PHOTOS - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more
- ^ Sanchez lays claim as force at 155 pounds, Hardy impressive at UFC 95 | MMAjunkie.com
- ^ Cagewriter - Mixed Martial Arts - Yahoo! Sports
- ^ UFC 95: Hardy v Markham | Setanta
- ^ "Hardy's digs getting under Davis' skin". ESPN. 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ "Dan Hardy's UFC clash with Marcus Davis set to produce fireworks". The Telegraph. 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ "Marcus Davis fuming over UFC 99 loss skin". 2009-06-13.
- ^ a b Dan Hardy aims to weather Rory Markham's assault - Telegraph