Issue 032

December 2008

At only 25 years of age Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy has won titles, fought in Europe, the USA and Japan, and he has even graced the front cover of this very magazine. One of the UK’s top talents, Hardy is currently preparing for his next fight, to take place in Japan in December. He will fight in the finals of an eight-man welterweight tournament that has already seen him take out the two favourites, King of Pancrase Daizo Ishige (who he defeated in May in the opening round of the competition) and Hidetaka Monma, who Dan stopped with strikes in the third round of their semi-final fight. 

We caught up with Dan one week after his return from Japan, and only hours before he returned to the US, his base for the last three months prior to this fight. 

You’ve just arrived back from Japan and you haven’t got a mark on you. How do you feel about your last fight? 

I feel good, I feel really good. There were a couple of things about the fight that I wasn’t too happy with, with my own performance, but to go out there, travel so far and fight a guy who was quite a bit bigger than me and who is well known in Japan, it’s done a lot for my profile so I’m happy. 

Monma was widely tipped to win by the Japanese. 

I was surprised when I got there how popular he was with the Japanese. I looked at his record, and he was good but not great. I think his popularity has come from his draw with Rodrigo Gracie, because the Gracies are still held in quite high regard in Japan, and I think that did a lot to boost his reputation. 

You mentioned earlier you believe that you weren’t brought in to win. 

No. I get the feeling they were happy I had won the first round, as I would be an easier opponent for Monma in the second round [of the tournament]. I really feel like he was the one they were trying to push through, as they gave him a comfortable fight in the first round and I got the King of Pancrase. It wasn’t the easiest fight that I could have had in the first round. I kind of got the feeling they were looking after him hoping that he would get through to the finals to fight Kikuchi. That was how it looked the tournament had been set up to me. Now everyone is surprised because neither Monma nor Kikuchi got through to the finals! [Akira Kikuchi lost to Yoshiyuki Yoshida by TKO, who Dan will now face in the finals.] 

You also mentioned that you feel like all you do is prove people wrong! 

Ever since I started fighting it’s always been the same thing because people look at me and I’m not as physically gifted as a lot of fighters out there. I’m not as athletic and I’m not as physically strong, but what I don’t have in physical presence I have in heart and determination. That’s what gets me through a lot of fights, the fact that I just refuse to lose. I’ll go out there and I will refuse to give up, no matter what happens in a fight, you can cut me to shreds, you can break my arm, I’m not giving up anymore. I’ve tapped a couple of times in the past and hated that I’ve tapped. Now I don’t give up at all. 

Your submission defence really does seem to be a case of you saying to yourself “I’m not going to tap”. 

Haha, yeah I think a lot of the time you look at a submission and you think if that guy had really tried 110% to get out of that, even if it was brute strength and stubbornness, he probably would have been able to get out of it, especially with the fact that in MMA there is nothing to grip hold of except a sweaty limb. I think if people had a bit more heart and less fear of breaking a limb they could get out of a lot more. In my case a lot of it is technical knowledge as I’ve rolled a lot and I recognise when people are throwing a submission at me, but 50% of it is just stubbornness and me thinking ‘no way I’m not tapping to this, I’ll find a way out’. 

Tell us about your recent training. You’ve been over in LA for some time. 

I’ve been training at Eddie Bravo’s camp, 10^th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, in Legends Gym. I’ve been training at Team Quest as well. A lot of people look at me and think “Dan Hardy is a Thai boxer. His takedown defence sucks and he’s stubborn on the ground and technically not very good”, so that annoys me that people would think that of me. I’ve decided that I’m going to work on the weakest part of my game, which I think all fighters should, which is my wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I picked out two places I thought were best for those. Wrestling for MMA, you can’t get better than Team Quest. As long as I’ve got top position I’m comfortable. Bottom position, personally I think Eddie Bravo’s system is best for tying people up and keeping them busy on the floor without danger of being hit. I’ve put those two pieces together and added them to my game and I’ve improved a lot. 

It seems you really enjoy spending time in LA. 

Yeah, definitely. I always say to my friends, there are so many songs written about California that’s it got to be a cool place. Everyone in California just seems to want to get things done, there is this attitude of ‘if you want to do it, get it done’. In England everything moves a little bit slower, which is kind of discouraging sometimes. In California the positive vibe rubs off on you and you push forward and keep improving, and everyone is positive. I’ve got a lot of friends out there and I just enjoy spending time out there. Everyday is like a holiday but at the same time you can train hard and get results.  

And you’re going back again to train for your next fight? 

I am. Back to the same place, Eddie Bravo’s, and probably Team Quest as well. I’ll be working on my ground game, working on my takedown defence and getting some sparring in with some top guys. 

Is this a precursor to a permanent move? 

I hope so. I’ve got a lot of plans, a lot of things that need to be taken care of, like visas and ways to earn money, because I like to have a regular wage coming in as well as fight purses so I don’t have to worry about money. 

Lets talk about the next fight. It seems that it is as much about the challenge you face as it is about winning that appeals to you. 

The appeal for me is to fight in front of a crowd that appreciates a fight that fights to 100% of his ability, no matter what happens. The Western crowds tend to get a bit down on fighters if they’re not winning, and in MMA there are so many ways to lose you might be having a bad day and still trying to the best of your abilities but you just can’t get things to work for you. The Japanese fans can appreciate that where the Western fans tend to boo you if you’re not doing too good. That, and it’s a challenge to deal with a new culture, the time difference and the different food and everything. All these things have to be taken into account, especially when you are cutting weight as well. It presents a new challenge for me, which I always look forward to.  

You’ve fought your last two fights in Japan. People might ask why one of the UK’s top welterweights isn’t fighting more at home or exploring the opportunities that have come up here in recent months, such as fighting on the UFC. 

I don’t think jumping on the UFC train at the first opportunity is the best option. The UFC is a fantastic organisation to fight for and they’ve done a lot for fighters’ careers and their marketability. The problem is that sometimes fighters get caught up in a big bunch of fighters that are slightly above them and it just ruins their careers. I’m taking my time. I’m only 25, I’m in no rush. 

Will you continue to fight in Japan? 

Yeah, I think after this tournament there will be a lot of opportunities for me no matter what happens. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on losing, but if I do I think there will be so many opportunities because of the two people that I’ve just beaten. I will always enjoy fighting in Japan but I enjoy fighting anywhere in the world, just for the opportunity to showcase my skills in front of a crowd of people that enjoy watching quality MMA fights. 

I’m in no rush to hit the bigger shows and I’m not in it for the money because there isn’t enough of it at this level. My main focus is to be recognised as a top fighter, if that means building up my experience and record in Japan and then hitting the Western market in a big way by taking out one of the top guys in a bigger promotion, then that’s what I’ll do. It really all depends on what’s offered to me, and the timing of it as well, like I may have a commitment to another show. I’m committed to this tournament at the moment, and though I’ve got offers coming through I can’t make the most of them because I’ve already given my word to finishing the tournament. There are a lot of factors, but there will be big things in the future, no doubt. 

Moving to or training in California is very attractive to many people. Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about doing it? 

Just do it! Get a flight and get out there, there are so many opportunities for training and sponsorship, it’s just a fantastic place to be. There are a lot of factors as far as moving goes, and I’m running into those at the moment, but I won’t give up. There are so many benefits to being out there I’ll find a way.