LONDON – Following Saturday's "UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama" event in London, UFC president Dana White said he was overwhelmed with a mass of loyal Dan Hardy fans asking him what's next for "The Outlaw."

Fortunately for White, who admitted it was simply far too early to tell, Hardy (23-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) had an answer.

"A headache," Hardy deadpanned.

Unfortunately for Hardy, who suffered a disappointing first-round knockout loss to Carlos Condit in the night's co-main event, there's probably more truth than comedy in the prediction. Hardy was floored with a powerful hook to the dome, and two more shots on the floor left him taking a quick nap.

Following the bout, Hardy was actually transported to a hospital for observation, but he returned in time for the evening's post-event press conference.

"They photographed my brain, and they said there's one rat dancing around in there somewhere, so I'm good," Hardy said.

As is the norm for Hardy, the brash Brit had been vocal about his plans for victory in the weeks leading up to the fight. Hardy believed he was simply too strong on the feet and that his ground game had developed enough to test Condit on the floor.

He never got a chance to test that groundfighting theory, though he insists it was indeed part of the plan.

"I did envision at some point taking the fight to the floor," Hardy said. "I just didn't envision going there on my own, like what happened."

Hardy remained in surprisingly good spirits despite dropping back-to-back fights for the first time since 2006. As for exactly what went wrong, the 28-year-old admits he's not exactly sure yet – after all, that's the kind of thing that happens when you're briefly separated from consciousness.

"I'm going to have to go back and watch the fight," Hardy told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I can remember parts of it. I also remember my coach having a word with me on the way to the hospital saying I wasn't putting my combinations together and stuff like that.

"I got caught. That's why it's a sport. It was a good punch."

While Hardy will now surely tumble down the rankings in the UFC's stacked welterweight division, he remains optimistic about the future. And even in defeat, he was applauded loudly by an adoring O2 Arena crowd once he returned to his feet.

Hardy said the gesture from the English supporters was indeed appreciated.

"It's always nice to have that support," Hardy said. "It's a small minority that always has something negative to say regardless of what happens, but to have 16,000 fans with that support, it makes a big difference.

"Losing is, in my opinion, the worst feeling in the world. I'm sure in the rest of my life I'll come across worse things, but it's right up there with the worst. [The crowd support] softens the blow a little bit – pardon the pun."

It was just one year ago that Hardy was on top of the world as he dispatched of a "Fake Irishman" and handed out a runner-up trophy before his fight against a visiting foe, but things have quickly turned sour for the Team Rough House product.

Nevertheless, Hardy refused to let recent troubles bring him down.

"It's a learning curve," Hardy said. "2010 wasn't my year. I've had two losses this year, and I've only had two losses back-to-back once (before).

"I'll get back on the horse and keep pushing forward. I'll be back."