Hardy preparing for another title run in LA
For a British fighter, Dan Hardy is sure cornering a lot of Americans lately. After showing up in Mac Danzig’s…
For a British fighter, Dan Hardy is sure cornering a lot of Americans lately.
After showing up in Mac Danzig’s corner at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, last weekend, Hardy was at it again Wednesday in support of Strikeforce lightweight Jeremy Umphries at the Nokia Theatre.
When asked about it, Hardy even jokingly said he may have found a new profession.
Cornerman for hire, said Hardy, after his fighter notched a submission victory on the Strikeforce undercard.
If anyone’s been wondering what the 28-year-old welterweight has been up to since dropping a lopsided decision to Georges St. Pierre in their title fight last March, the answer can be found right here in Southern California.
After the loss, Hardy took off enough time for a vacation to Disney World before heading west to buy a house near Los Angeles with his American girlfriend.
He’s since become a full-time member at the nearby PKG gym while mixing in jiu-jitsu training with Eddie Bravo in Hollywood as well.
I had a little vacation, came back here around April 20 and have been training ever since, Hardy said. I was eager to get back. Obviously, there were a lot of things highlighted in my last fight I knew I needed to work on.
I know I’m not too far off. I can get there and I really want to improve on those areas.
Hardy referred to the St. Pierre loss as a “tough fight,” saying he basically “got pinned for 25 minutes.”
But despite being clearly out-wrestled in that fight, Hardy said, his main focus in training is still finding new ways to finish fights and not trying to catch up his wrestling skills.
I’m never going to be a great wrestler. I’m cool with that, Hardy said. My focus is on finishing fights, and it’s very difficult to finish a fight with wrestling. I want to get in there and take a fight from my opponent not control him for 15 or 25 minutes.