Winning is always more preferable than its alternative, but Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy seems to fight by this MMA credo: “It’s better to lose striking than to win by grappling.”
He is the reincarnation of Patrick Smith, the veteran of then tournament-format UFC I and II (and just for this article, let’s disregard the post-UFC II Smith).
One of the best strikers and first batch of fighters of the UFC, Smith was submitted via heel hook by Ken Shamrock in UFC I on Nov. 12, 1993.
A fast four months later, he won two matches by submission (guillotine choke) and one by KO (elbow strikes) before losing to Royce Gracie in the finals. (Royce took down Smith and then mounted and repeatedly punched his face, forcing the latter to tap. This win was also later claimed by Royce as proof that he preceded Mark “The Hammer” Coleman in the ground-and-pound department.)
Smith is past and retired, while Hardy is present and still active—so far. Still, I’m giving Smith more benefit of the doubt—that he earnestly crammed all the grappling skills he could acquire inside the four-month interval between UFC I and II.
As for Hardy, from the time he decided to embark on an MMA fighting career up to this weekend’s tiff versus Chris Lytle, I’m not so sure about his sincerity to amp his grappling game. But I’m certain that this doubt is shared by the majority of MMA fans.
Some may argue that he earned a colored belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu somewhere, but couldn’t it be evidence of a token appreciation for grappling? A grudging acceptance of its relevance?
And wrestling is a skill that he’d rather talk about than learn.
If there exists a secret honor society of strikers, the martial arts’ version of the Illuminati, then Hardy must be vying for its membership and highest honors.
Perhaps his entitlement to this exclusive cabal will be earned only by surviving this initiation rite: winning MMA fights through striking, first and foremost, as if there is no other method.
Hardy, for the mixed martial artist he has become, is zealously living and dying by the sword of the striking arts. And with that weapon, he has charged at windmills personified by elite and complete fighters.
Bearing three consecutive losses leading to this Saturday night’s fight, Hardy still stubbornly insists on his inordinate preference for striking on his feet.
It was his idea to call out former pro boxer Chris Lytle, and thus the urgent request granted this coming UFC Live in Milwaukee.
Anticipating what could be his retirement fight in the UFC, or perhaps from MMA, he promises to “ win in a blaze of glory or go out on my shield.” It is safe to say that that blaze will be lit by the strikes of his fists, elbows, knees and feet—standing loud and proud.
Win or lose, he’ll go out on his shield wrought by steel loyalty to the striking arts, a philosophy that has unmistakably defined him as a fighter.
Such idealism at its best is virtuous in the spiritual sense. Transcendental in that it goes beyond what is self-serving, nobly sacrificing self-glorification, even winning, to exalt a higher and collective (secret?) cause.
At the very least, it has its entertainment value, the kind we indulge in from a comedy of the absurd.
Here’s praying that the agitated sectors in England would rather settle down for a peaceful alternative this Saturday night: watching their compatriot raise hell in the context of competitive sports, and hopefully win.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com