UFC's Dan Hardy - Shaolin Temple trained!

[Frost]

i didnt like how hardy whipped out the tkd and kf training in that episode

its obvious he still doesnt keep up his tkd training look how long ago he started it and hes onlya 1st degree?and he only did two months of kung fu

he has alot more tkd than kung fu in his background, but he is all thai and BJJ now, of course a different angle sure helps the marketing process, but thats all it is trust me he is about as much a kung fu guy as tyson is

[Frost]

I'm just happy to hear of someone coming from something other than BJJ and MT.

If you trained Wing Chun on the rooftops of Hong Kong for that time, Lucas, that would definitely be something to add to your martial vitae. Two months training at Shaolin is pretty intense, certainly not something to just pass off as trivial.

Sorry but his background is thai and BJJ (with some TKD when he was younger), unless rough house and LSF have suddenly started teaching shaolin...its a nice marketing gimic though

And when all he actually uses is BJJ and Thai in the cage and no kung fu, and kung fu is nowhere near his camp when its fight prep time, then you can pass it off as just marketing

[Lucas]

i personally believe youre a stylist of a certain art when youve been at it an kept it up for years

dang i guess i shoulda added a smirky face.

[GeneChing]

I guess you missed my .

Hardy spent two months at Shaolin. That's enough for me. Few people here have done that. Does that mean he'll take Shaolin into the Octogon? Not likely. Nevertheless, two months at Shaolin make for some great character building. And if there's one weapon you must take into the cage, it's character.

You can read all about it - directly from Dan himself - in Dan Hardy: An Outlaw in Shaolin Temple by Melissa Leon-Guerrero Do, in our latest issue, the May June 2010, which is being shipped now.

[Lucas]

its all about impact. mentally and emotionally his time shaolin had an effect on him that helped give him the will to enter the cage. may not be shaolin wushu hes bringing, but definately a part of shaolin spirit has fought with him. oh ya, and marketing.

[GeneChing]

...but society is to blame.

I hope Hardy wins mostly because I want this issue to sell well. I want every issue to sell well. It's all about promoting CMA (and keeping myself gainfully employed).

[David Jamieson]

...but society is to blame.

I hope Hardy wins mostly because I want this issue to sell well. I want every issue to sell well. It's all about promoting CMA (and keeping myself gainfully employed).

You have to start working the shaolin angle somehow with GSP I guess.

maybe offer him a trip and some training? Run a raffle? I don't know, but nobodies taking GSP out just yet.

[GeneChing]

At least he went the distance. And Hardy is young. He'll have other chances...

There's interview video on this - follow the link.

Updated: March 28, 2010, 9:06 PM ET
St. Pierre unhappy with performance
By Franklin McNeil
For ESPN.com
Hardy On UFC 111 Loss To St. Pierre
UFC welterweight Dan Hardy looks back on his unanimous decision loss Saturday to champion Georges St. PierreTags: Mixed Martial Arts


NEWARK, N.J. -- On a night when he again proved to be the best 170-pound mixed martial artist, Georges St. Pierre was not a happy man.

He manhandled Dan Hardy to retain his UFC welterweight title Saturday at the Prudential Center, repeatedly taking down the challenger. St. Pierre nearly submitted Hardy on a couple of occasions en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.

It was an easy fight to score: The judges had St. Pierre winning by margins of 50-44, 50-43 and 50-45. ESPN scored it 50-44 for St. Pierre.

It wasn't so easy for St. Pierre. "I'm not happy about my performance," the Canadian said. "I wanted to finish, to have a clean win.

"This fight will not be remembered. I want to win my fights in beautiful fashion."

At no time did Hardy, 23-7-0 (one no-contest), pose a danger to St. Pierre. Even during stand-up exchanges, which were rare, St. Pierre used jabs or kicks to keep Hardy off balance and set up takedowns.

Wherever the action took place, St. Pierre was in total control. It was a performance just about any other fighter would have found satisfying, but not St. Pierre.

His goals entering this fight were to put on a mixed martial arts clinic and end the session early. He failed to accomplish either at UFC 111.

St. Pierre had a couple of opportunities to end this fight in beautiful fashion and send the sellout crowd of 17,000 home early. One of those opportunities came in the fourth round, when he caught Hardy in a kimura.

The hold was tight, and pain was etched all over Hardy's face. It appeared that unless Hardy tapped, his arm would snap.

Hardy refused to quit, however, and eventually escaped. He got to his feet briefly, but St. Pierre easily took him down again. Seconds later, the round ended.

His inability to finish Hardy eliminated any satisfaction that St. Pierre might have garnered from his 20th professional win. (He has only two losses.) Technical errors by St. Pierre put the result of this fight in judges' hands.

A true mixed martial artist finishes what he sets out to accomplish in a cage. St. Pierre, a self-described martial artist, failed to meet his goals.

"I tried sometimes to power out of some armbars and kimuras and forgot the technical elements of it," St. Pierre said. "Sometimes those little details make the difference.

"When I had the kimura, I made a mistake, a technical mistake. The armbar was not as tight as it should be."

St. Pierre did not perform better in this fight than in his previous bout -- a unanimous decision win over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July 2009. Each fight, St. Pierre is driven to perform better than before -- it's a battle he wages with himself. Against Hardy, he lost that personal battle.

"I won, but I did not beat the performance of my last fight," he said.

On the other hand, Hardy has a newfound respect for St. Pierre. And despite the disappointment of falling short, he remains upbeat.

"I can see why he is the champion. He is a very strong athlete," said Hardy, who suffered his first loss in UFC. "I wasn't quite there tonight, but I will be back."

Hardy was beaten easily and booed by those in attendance in the later rounds, but he gained respect afterward for not quitting. Although his physical limitations were well documented, his never-say-die attitude was never more visible than against St. Pierre.

Hardy took his lumps but never wilted. He gave everything he had in his limited arsenal, including that no-quit mentality.

"One thing I do have above everything else -- I might lack technicality, I might lack strength -- there is no quit in me," Hardy said. "I don't give up. … I don't know the meaning of 'tap.'"

He appreciated the smallest of victories, like surviving that fourth-round kimura. However, simply going the distance with the champion won't cut it in UFC. If Hardy plans to seriously contend for the 170-pound title, he must develop a takedown defense.

"Dan Hardy came in to fight the best 170-pound fighter in the world," UFC president Dana White said. "When you show up to fight [St. Pierre], you better have some takedown defense.

"I think Dan Hardy has a great future. He has a big hole in his game, and that's his takedown defense. … Dan needs to work on his wrestling."

Hardy likely will return to Nottingham, England, to work on defending takedowns. St. Pierre, meanwhile, already has begun fine-tuning his game.

Immediately after leaving the cage with his belt, St. Pierre conversed with his trainers to find out what he did wrong. He got the answers, but none improved his spirits.

Being a mixed martial artist is a way of life for St. Pierre, physically and mentally. He made several technical errors against Hardy, and they spoiled his evening.

St. Pierre is now on a mission to have a clean win the next time he steps inside the Octagon. If he succeeds, he will again be a happy man.

There's Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, I suppose...

[David Jamieson]

At least he went the distance. And Hardy is young. He'll have other chances...

There's interview video on this - follow the link.


There's Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, I suppose...

It wouldn't hurt to have GSP in your magazine, even if the connection has to be made with mma, his MT background. Maybe there's something in his life that made him admire the shaolin way. I mean, I don't know a single martial artist anywhere who hasn't heard of Shaolin and doesn't think taht at one time, those monks were the baddest asses there ever was.

Couldn't hurt to call him up. I know he enjoys traditional stuff.

[goju]

i wasnt suprised hardy lossed at all

darn i should be a betting man i woudl havemade some good money off of these fights

[Siu Lum Fighter]

Too bad. I wanted to see Hardy win just 'cause he's representin' tradition CMA's. I guess he should have studied the real Shaolin (Bei Shaolin, aka Bak Siu Lum ). I have to admit I've always admired GSP though. I'd love to see a fight between him and Anderson Silva. Now that would be a clash of the titans!

[Frost]

Too bad. I wanted to see Hardy win just 'cause he's representin' tradition CMA's. I guess he should have studied the real Shaolin (Bei Shaolin, aka Bak Siu Lum ). I have to admit I've always admired GSP though. I'd love to see a fight between him and Anderson Silva. Now that would be a clash of the titans!

i think he was reping traditional TKD and thai more, i am sure his 2 months in shaolin had an effect on him but it was more spiritual than anything to do with fighting or training (he is in fact very religious)

Silva would negate two of GSPs best weapons, his strength and ground game, silva walks aroundabout 220 i believe and its all muscle he would be too big for GSP (and if henderson had trouble taking him down and holding him down then GSP would have fits)

[goju]

i am sure his 2 months in shaolin had an effect on him but it was more spiritual than anything to do with fighting or training (he is in fact very religious)

GASP!!!!! i thought i was the only one who believed this lol

yeesh i wandered over to sherdog a while back and posted this ina thread and it got jumped on and attacked for pages on end

[Frost]

GASP!!!!! i thought i was the only one who believed this lol

yeesh i wandered over to sherdog a while back and posted this ina thread and it got jumped on and attacked for pages on end

well if it had any impact on him it would have been mental/spiritual, i have never chatted to him about his time their so not too sure how big an impact it was, but i have sen his fight prep and it has nothing to do with CMA

[goju]

well if it had any impact on him it would have been mental/spiritual, i have never chatted to him about his time their so not too sure how big an impact it was, but i have sen his fight prep and it has nothing to do with CMA

yeah that was obvious just watching the countdown episodes lol

and like has been said its only two months you arent going to able to use much of a style in that little of time