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Dan Hardy: Koscheck and Fitch had their chance against GSP -- and they got beat up

Quote:

Josh Koscheck has been one of the biggest opponents of Hardy’s position and Dan responds:

He’s just bitching because I’m in this position and he’s not. There are a lot of guys out there and I know Jon Fitch said a few things the other day as well. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion and I’m sure those guys feel like they’re in a better position than me to contend for the belt, but they don’t know me and they don’t know what experience I’ve got and the fights I’ve come through to get to this stage. They’ve all had their chances and we know how those fights ended. Koscheck got beat up, Jon Fitch got beaten up, name it and GSP’s gone through them.

Is it an attempt to take away the underdog position Hardy is so used to fighting in or does Dan present a serious problem to Georges? Dan weighs in:

I think he’s a smart champion, you know the reason he’s got the belt is because he takes people very seriously and he trains hard for all his fights. I don’t think he’s saying that because he doesn’t believe it. I’m sure obviously he thinks he’s within his ability to win the fight comfortably and I think partly the reason why he’s saying that is to kind of cover his own back a little. He’s in a situation where he has to win the fight, if he loses to me that alters the direction that his career is going. It’s a bigger fight for him than it is for me, oddly enough…Georges St. Pierre is in a position where he beat everybody there is to beat and now he’s fighting guys who offer a lot greater risk than there is a gain in the fight – he’s risking a hell of a lot stepping into the Octagon with me.

I’m in a situation where not only can I shock the MMA world, but I can shock everybody, even people within my team. This is the Muhammad Ali in the Thrilla in Manila, the fight he was never supposed to win, or you know, Dan Gable at the 1976 Olympics, or the 83’ Raiders. The ones who have been counted out all the way throughout history that all of a sudden just applied themselves at the right point with the right game plan and the right mentality and shocked the world and people look back and get inspired by those stories, and that’s what I’m doing right now, I’m just creating that story.

I’ve not really had the opportunity or the chance to show people my ground game. I’ll be honest I’m not about winning by submission; I don’t enjoy winning by submission. I’ve got all the respect in the world for people that can take somebody down and submit them, but I like putting a beating on somebody – that’s just in my nature. The reason people don’t see my ground game is because I don’t think like a jiu jitsu guy. My intention is to put fist to face as often as possible and win the fight that way… I think I am very underestimated with my ground game and my wrestling. I’m hoping, well I know that Georges St. Pierre is the guy that can force that ground game out of me.

Georges recently conceded that there are a lot of MMA fighters in the sport, but not a lot of MMA artists, and that was the reason he was going to win on March 27th – Hardy responds:

That’s his opinion, and my opinion is that the thing that is going to get me through this fight is the fight in me – I’m going to be able to go through hell to get to the end of this fight and I don’t think Georges can do that. That’s the difference between an athlete and a fighter. You know I’m not the most athletic guy in the world, I’m probably not the most gifted fighter out there, but I’ll grit my teeth and go toe to toe with anybody. I like those odds – that’s a fifty/fifty chance of landing my shot and I’m all for that…at the end of it I’m there, I’m just chasing glory.

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