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09/03/10 - Swick says Hardy "can definitely win" against GSP
Mike Swick says Dan Hardy “can definitely win” against Georges St. Pierre when he challenges the Canadian for his welterweight title at UFC 111. Swick, who lost a unanimous decision to Hardy at UFC 105, also says he has changed his mind about Hardy getting a title shot “too soon”.
“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,” Swick revealed today.
“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 has 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.”
Regarding Hardy’s chances against St. Pierre, who has dominated the recent opposition that has come his way and has just two losses on his record, Swick says he is “super excited” about the clash and feels that “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 v 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," he said.
“His hooks are always flush. He really does land those things flush every time. He’s a big puncher. Looking back, I was lucky enough to get out of the first round in Manchester. He countered me right away and hit me twice on the tip of the jaw. I wasn’t knocked down, but I was seriously hurt. That was basically the fight for me. My gameplan was out the window, the strategy was gone because my balance wasn’t there. It sort of baffled me he could land those shots over and over.
“My balance was off from those punches and I just didn’t perform to my best while he showed up and did what he was supposed to. He’s a counter-puncher, but I was in the position of having to chase him to get back into the fight. Otherwise he would have waited to for me to make other mistakes. He can’t do that against GSP, he has to land his stuff and not wait for GSP to make a mistake he may never make.
“Obviously, the worry is the wrestling for Hardy because GSP is so good at takedowns and, while Hardy isn’t bad at wrestling, Marcus Davis did show you can take him down. But I wish Dan good luck. Beyond all this stuff on the internet, I know Dan’s a great guy and it would be good to see him do well.”
What’s that? Did Swick just wish Hardy well? He did. Despite the brief animosity that surrounded their fight at UFC 105, and his subsequent talk of Hardy not deserving the title shot, Swick says the bad feelings were all strictly business and have now abated.
“Behind all the talk, I know Dan’s a very good guy. We didn’t have problem before or after our own fight, so there’s no need to talk all this stuff now. I wish him the best. It would be very exciting for the division to have him as champion. Obviously I’d love a rematch for myself but anytime a division is shaken up its great for the sport.”
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