Dan Hardy States He Will Beat Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111: Is it Possible?

Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy could not be any more different.

St. Pierre is the well-mannered, consummate athlete. He’s clean-cut, trains hard, and always says the right thing.

On the other hand, Hardy is an experienced brawler. He also has the dyed Mohawk hair, the street fighter mentality, and he says whatever is on his mind—especially if it helps build a fight. Just ask Marcus Davis.

Some nine months after losing to Hardy, Davis still harbors a tremendous amount of resentment. He even went as far as to write on his Twitter account, “I hope Dan Hardy dies of AIDS.”

“I just kind of feel sorry for the guy,” Hardy said, when asked how he reacted to Davis’ harsh comments. “He got trash talked. He got beaten in the fight. He’s very bitter. I’m sure he wakes up every day and still hates me.

“The sooner he can put it behind him the better—or it will be an issue for him. I think I beat him at UFC 99, but it seems like I’ve beaten him every day since as well.”

Since beating Davis in his first high-profile fight, Hardy has certainly never looked back. Hardy went on to defeat the favored Mike Swick to claim the No. 1 contender spot for the Welterweight title.

Now Hardy prepares for the biggest fight of his career. He’s set to face St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title. The clash is set for Saturday, March 27.

The hype for the fight has gotten so big that the basic UFC countdown show was not enough. St. Pierre and Hardy are being featured on the promotion’s three-part UFC Primetime show.

“It’s pretty strange,” Hardy said about having the cameras following him around all the time. “They’re at all my training sessions filming stuff, and they even film a lot of stuff away from the gym.”

The show definitely depicts St. Pierre and Hardy as opposites. St. Pierre is shown as the focused champion who knows what needs to be done in order to win. Meanwhile, Hardy is publicized as the conniving challenger that is willing to take any advantage that could possibly come his way.

A perfect example of this took place in the first episode of Primetime. At the end of the show, the UFC showed Hardy working out with the last person to defeat St. Pierre, Matt Serra.

“I thought I was just going to pick his brain for a bit,” Hardy said. “I didn’t know that I’d be able to roll with him and train with some of his guys. He’s giving me a lot of time—four or five times a week.

“The guy has a wealth of knowledge from all of his fights. Obviously, he’s been in there twice with the guy I’m fighting, so yes, I’m picking up a lot from the guy. I’m getting some extra feedback from Matt and working that into the game plan, so that is very useful.”

With his propensity to hype fights, Hardy loves the extra attention he is getting with the television series.

“It’s exciting,” Hardy said. “I can’t wait to watch the next show. I can’t wait to see how it’s been edited and how I will look on TV. Someday, I can show it to my kids and grandkids so they’ll know that I was someone and not full of BS.”

However, most of the attention to the title fight is due to the champion and one of UFC’s biggest drawing cards, St. Pierre. St. Pierre has looked tremendous in defeating Serra, Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, and Thiago Alves in his last four fights.

None of the opponents ever had St. Pierre in any trouble.

“I think he’s looked good,” Hardy said about St. Pierre. “He’s got a very definite style now. You pretty much know what he’s going to do. I don’t think there will be any surprises. I can gear my training towards that.”

What Hardy is obviously referring to is St. Pierre’s supreme wrestling skills. In recent years, St. Pierre dominated amateur stars Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes on the mat. 

“I’m working on my wrestling,” Hardy said. “It’s an area of the game we’re lacking a little bit in the U.K. so I am playing catch-up, but I will be ready.”

On the other hand, one area in which Hardy feels he has the edge over St. Pierre is standing and trading.

“I’ve been a striker for years,” Hardy said. “I started Taekwondo at six, and I’m willing to trade a few punches. I’m not afraid of a war.”

Besides MMA, Hardy has gained experience fighting in some not-so-conventional circles.

“Yeah, I had my share of street fights,” Hardy said. “In England, it’s a popular pastime. It’s a regular Friday or Saturday night out. You finish with a couple of pints and then end up with a brawl in the street.”

For Hardy to take the next step in his career and win the championship, he will have to turn the fight into a wild striking match. St. Pierre will not likely stand right in front of Hardy like Davis and Swick did.

“I’m thinking it’s going to be a great fight. The first couple of rounds are going to be a real war. We’re both going in there with a point to prove.

“In the third round, I plan on catching him clean with something and leaving with the belt.”