How much can we congratulate Dan Hardy for beating Amir Sadollah?No offense to Sadollah, but he should have no illusions about the matchmaking for this fight. It was a gift to Hardy to get a big win for the hometown hero against a strong but very …
How much can we congratulate Dan Hardy for beating AmirSadollah?
No offense to Sadollah, but he should have no illusions about the matchmaking for this fight. It was a gift to Hardy to get a big win for the hometown hero against a strong but very beatable opponent.
That’s not to say that Dan Hardy isn’t improving, though.
While he could’ve tried to grit it out on the feet and slug his way to another win, the British star made a practical decision and showcased some decent wrestling against the skilled Sambo practitioner.
That’s commendable, but it also wasn’t as exciting as his last five fights.
If Dan Hardy had been fighting anywhere outside England, you wouldn’t have heard such a huge crowd reaction. All the cheers from Hardy’s fellow countrymen made the co-main event feel a lot bigger than it really was, especially in the later rounds.
Then again, Hardy was 1-5 in his last five fights before tonight, so this new balanced combat style might be best for him in the long run.
In fact, Dan Hardy’s seven takedown attempts in this fight were more than he’s done in his five previous fights combined. He also kept pressing them when he really didn’t have to after finding his comfort zone and getting the better of Sadollah in exchanges on the feet.
That’s an especially good thing to see given Hardy’s past attitude toward the ground game.
Hopefully, “The Outlaw” will continue to improve his wrestling and takedowns, because against an NCAA-level grappler or a true submission expert, he’ll get eaten alive.
Seeing Dan Hardy round out his MMA game should be comforting to his fans. He’ll save his chin a few more bashings down the road, especially against fighters with bigger, sharper punches.
(As good as Hardy can be, there’s little chance he’ll win a shootout with the likes of Martin Kampmann, Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, Jake Ellenberger or even Josh Koscheck.)
Moreover, AmirSadollah is the kind of fighter who usually manages to drag everyone he faces into tepid battles of attrition, so maybe I’m wrong about this whole thing. But either way, Dan Hardy may be well served to continue becoming less of a “stand and bang” fighter and more technical further on into the remainder of his career.
Amir Sadollah has had quite a UFC career. After defeating CB Dollaway and becoming the winner of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, Sadollah immediately became a fighter with a target on his back, and he has responded more often than not. Outside of…
After defeating CB Dollaway and becoming the winner of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, Sadollah immediately became a fighter with a target on his back, and he has responded more often than not.
Outside of a controversial knockout loss to Johny Hendricks in his first fight after winning the reality show, Sadollah has been one of the toughest fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division to finish, something that didn’t change in his loss to Dan Hardy at UFC on Fuel 5.
Sadollah was able to stand and trade with a much more powerful striker in Hardy, and he actually won his fair share of the exchanges in the striking department, but Hardy’s raw power in his lead left hook made it seem that he was getting the better of Sadollah.
The fight changed for the worse for Sadollah when he went to get the fight to the mat, an area where many thought he would have the advantage due to his crafty guard and underrated submission skills.
However, Hardy turned the tables on Sadollah and was able to stuff the takedowns of Sadollah and come back and land a few of his own.
The tough loss to Hardy is going to push Sadollah back a bit in the welterweight rankings, but it’s the inconsistency in Sadollah’s record that is going to become an issue soon.
There’s no doubt that Sadollah is a company man and has put on some fun performances during his run inside the Octagon, but his overall UFC record is just 6-4 and with a 1-2 run in his last three fights, Sadollah could be fighting for his job the next time he walks into the cage.
A fight with prospect Stephen Thompson has potential to be fun, but if the UFC wants to give Sadollah an opponent that can match his star power then YoshihiroAkiyama is the way to go.
A fight between Sadollah and Akiyama would be a ton of fun to watch, but, more importantly, it would prove which one of these fan favorites doesn’t belong inside the Octagon anymore.
It’s a tough situation for Sadollah, but the time has come for him to prove he’s still a threat at 170.
“The Outlaw” returned to his old stomping grounds in Nottingham, England, and Dan Hardy made sure his hometown fans left the arena with a reason to celebrate. Hardy looked like a brand new fighter in his win against Amir Sadollah, utilizing…
“The Outlaw” returned to his old stomping grounds in Nottingham, England, and Dan Hardy made sure his hometown fans left the arena with a reason to celebrate.
Hardy looked like a brand new fighter in his win against AmirSadollah, utilizing his wrestling far better than we’ve ever seen him inside the Octagon, and keeping his striking on point as well.
In his first fight since he snapped a brutal four fight losing streak, Hardy proved he’s doing everything in his power to get back into title contention at 170 lbs.
What We’ll Remember about This Fight:
First and foremost, I think the Nottingham crowd is what made this fight so much fun.
Hardy and Sadollah got into a few fun exchanges, and neither fighter did anything to embarrass himself, but the live crowd was so hot that it gave a fight between two mid-level welterweights a big fight feel.
Their overwhelming support for Hardy was one of the cooler things we saw all day, and it made a key win for “The Outlaw” even more enjoyable for the rest of us.
What We Learned about Dan Hardy:
Slowly but surely, Dan Hardy is improving his ground game.
After getting rag-dolled in his UFC 111 title fight against Georges St-Pierre, Hardy has slowly been showing that his ground game is getting better, and he used his new found takedown skills for the first time in his UFC career.
“The Outlaw” has always been known as a threat on the feet, and if he can start forcing his opponents to worry about him taking the fight to the mat, he’ll only be more successful.
What We Learned about AmirSadollah:
A lot of people expected AmirSadollah to get knocked out by Dan Hardy, but the former Ultimate Fighter winner proved that his striking is some of the most underrated in the welterweight division.
Sadollah landed a ton of clean sots against Hardy and won quite a few exchanges on the feet, but the surprising takedown ability and hard left hook of Hardy seemed to throw Amir off of his game a bit.
Sadollah arguably did enough to take the first frame, but the next ten minutes belonged to “The Outlaw”.
What’s Next for Hardy:
Hardy showed off some improved wrestling ability in this one, but he still needs to prove he can shut down the grappling of a solid wrestler.
We know Matt Riddle has beef, and he could provide a nice test for the Nottingham native on the mat.
Sounds perfect.
What’s Next for Sadollah:
Sadollah is consistently in tough fights, but he can’t seem to get the right amount of momentum going to makes some waves at welterweight.
Due to his win on season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, Amir is going to be a name on the radar for a lot of up and coming 170 lb fighters, and I think someone like Stephan Thompson would provide a fun fight and a stern test for Sadollah.
When did Dan Hardy turn into an NCAA All-American wrestler with a potent power double? OK, so that might be a slight exaggeration. Still, I think you get the point. It would appear that Dan Hardy has learned how to wrestle.The Brit put his considerable…
When did Dan Hardy turn into an NCAA All-American wrestler with a potent power double?
OK, so that might be a slight exaggeration. Still, I think you get the point. It would appear that Dan Hardy has learned how to wrestle.
The Brit put his considerable MMA skills on display in his decision victory over AmirSadollah tonight at UFC on Fuel 5.
Before we get carried away, it’s worth pointing out that Sadollahdoesn’t exactly boast BJ Penn-like takedown defence. The TUF 7 winner has been on his back more often than, well…I’ll avoid any obscene metaphors, but I think you get the picture
I said yesterday that we probably wouldn’t learn anything new about “The Outlaw” during tonight’s contest, but I may have spoken a little too soon.
While I was right not to expect the Nottingham native’s sprawl to be put to the test, we did witness a more complete game from Hardy.
It wasn’t just that he seemingly took Sadollah down at will, but rather it was the way that he mixed up his strikes with some brilliantly timed level changes.
Perhaps more impressive still was the potency of Hardy’s ground-and-pound from the guard. His elbows were highly effective—one might say Jon Jones-esque. Indeed, Sadollah’s face looked like it had been assaulted by an ice pick.
“The Outlaw’s” standup looked as sharp as one might expect. He used his angles well to counter the more linear attack of his opponent, while putting together some crisp combinations, particularly in Rounds 2 and 3.
Hardy is arguably still a touch left-hook happy at times, but one can hardly blame him for enthusiastically throwing out that powerful left paw when it lands with such frequency. Moreover, he complemented his primary weapon with some beautiful right hands.
One glaring issue is the Brit’s aversion to any sort of head movement. Although he has a formidable chin, offering a stationary target to a skilled striker not only looks bad in the judges’ eyes, but it can also lead to an early night if the opponent carries sufficient power (see: Hardy’s bout with Carlos Condit).
That issue aside, “The Outlaw” looked outstanding in his victory over AmirSadollah tonight. We got to see the fighter that so many of us have grown to appreciate over the years, in addition to the pleasant surprise of some much-needed new wrinkles to his game.
The future looks brighter than ever for Dan Hardy.
The UFC makes its first (and only!) U.K. stop of 2012 today, with a card that’s low on star power but high on potential fireworks. If you’re reading this right now, it means you’re at least sort-of interested, and that’s good enough for us. So which heavyweight main-eventer is about to put himself “in the mix”? Can Dan Hardy string together his first back-to-back wins since 2009? Will Matt Wiman be just another notch on Paul “Sassangle” Sass‘s sassbelt? And WTF is wrong with Kyle Kingsbury, anyway? The answers to most of those questions will be revealed shortly.
Handling liveblog business for the UFC on FUEL 5 main card broadcast is George Shunick, who will be stacking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m PT. Let us know how you feel in the comments section, and refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. And as always, thanks for spending part of your weekend with us.
The UFC makes its first (and only!) U.K. stop of 2012 today, with a card that’s low on star power but high on potential fireworks. If you’re reading this right now, it means you’re at least sort-of interested, and that’s good enough for us. So which heavyweight main-eventer is about to put himself “in the mix”? Can Dan Hardy string together his first back-to-back wins since 2009? Will Matt Wiman be just another notch on Paul “Sassangle” Sass‘s sassbelt? And WTF is wrong with Kyle Kingsbury, anyway? The answers to most of those questions will be revealed shortly.
Handling liveblog business for the UFC on FUEL 5 main card broadcast is George Shunick, who will be stacking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m PT. Let us know how you feel in the comments section, and refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. And as always, thanks for spending part of your weekend with us.
Welcome, fight freaks, to this stackedrelevant British card on Fuel TV. I expect most of you will be getting your updates on the internet for this event, considering half of you don’t have Fuel TV, and the other half can’t find it. Fortunately Potato Nation, that’s why we’re here. Now, on to the fights!
Prelim Results (as if you care):
Robbie Peralta def. Jason Young via Round 1 TKO
Gunnar Nelson def. DaMarques Johnson via Round 1 Submission
Brad Tavares def. Tom Watson via Split Decision
Akira Corassani def. Andy Ogle via Split Decision
Jimi Manuwa def. Kyle Kingsbury via Kingsbu’s eye being battered into oblivion (Round 2)
Now that that’s out of the way, on to our first fight.
Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig
Round 1: The fighters touch gloves. Mills works dirty boxing the clinch, lands a knee and takes Ludwig down. Passes to side control. Ludwig sweeps, stands, eats a knee and is back underneath, pondering the futility of his actions. Mills working elbows from side control. Ludwig regains guard, Mills lands elbows. Ludwig goes for an armbar, Mills stands and misses a huge right hand. They stand, Ludwig collapses and points to his knee and it’s done. Replay shows his knee just gives out. Possibly a torn ACL.
Che Mills def. Duane Ludwig via knee implosion of Round 1 Very disappointing for Ludwig. Che Mills doesn’t look terribly thrilled either. Hopefully Ludwig will be able to recover and get back to fighting soon. He’s an entertaining guy who always brings the violence. Mills says he loves to fight for the fans and, ever receptive to transparent flattery, the mob showers him with adoration. First win for a British fighter so far.
Next up is a fight from the prelims: Robbie Peralta and Jason Young. I predict a 23 second knockout for Peralta. 23 seconds later, Robbie Peralta gets the knockout. Damn, I’m good.
Next up, British rising star John Hathaway takes on British submission specialist John Maguire. I’ll go out on a limb here and predict the Brit will take this one.
John Hathaway vs. John Maguire
Round 1: The welterweights touch gloves. They feel each other out for the first 30 seconds. Hathaway attempts a high kick, which is blocked. 1 minute in, little action. Hathaway lands a low kick. Hathaway moves forward, lands a few punches and a knee. They reset. 2 minutes in, nothing of significance has landed. Nice counter left by Maguire. Hathaway almost lands a head kick. Goes high again, and is blocked. Neither guy looks comfortable in their stand-up. Hathaway lands a take down, but his momentum sends him flying into the fence, well past Maguire. They stand. (Ugh.) Maguire lands a few nice shots. Maguire shoots, but Hathaway hits the switch and… they stand. The bell sounds. 10-10, really, but if I had to guess I’d say the judges lean Hathaway because he controlled the center of the Octagon.
Round 2: Hathaway telegraphs a right and misses wildly. Lands an inside leg kick. Hits a head kick! Hathaway leaps in a clinches with Maguire along the fence and takes him down. He’s in half guard, landing short hammerfists to Maguire temple. Maguire controlling his posture, attempts to sweep him. Hathaway stands, lowers into guard. Maguire attempts a triangle, now working out of half butterfly guard. Hathaway landing short shots, Maguire still controlling his posture. Hathaway stands, goes back into half guard. Now mixing shots to the body. Maguire regains guard, Hathaway stands again, then takes a knee and grabs half guard. Landing more punches, passes to side control. Hathaway landing shots to Maguire’s head, and Maguire is beginning to tire. Hathaway is relentless, if not terribly violent. He stands and the bell sounds. 10-9 Hathaway.
Round 3: The fighters touch gloves again. Hathaway misses a front kick. He’s pressing forward, though, and Maguire has no answer for him on the feet. Hathaway lands a knee against the cage. Maguire lands a left, but he hasn’t put together combinations and he’s having trouble getting inside on Hathaway. Hathaway isn’t landing anything of substance, though, but he’s controlling the fight. Hathaway finally lands a right hand following a blocked head kick. This is becoming a glorified sparring match. Maguire shoots and lands a takedown! Passes to side control. Can the gypsy jiu-jitsu expert get a submission with one minute left? Hathaway recovers half guard, now full guard. Hathaway throwing elbows from the bottom. They exchange, with Maguire seemingly content to sit in full guard. He stands and Hathaway lands upkicks as the bell sounds. 10-9 Hathaway, who should take the unanimous decision.
John Hathaway takes the unanimous decision (30-27′s all around). No surprises there. Hathaway looked unimpressive in victory and Maguire looked even more unimpressive in defeat. British MMA, people! At least it isn’t Ultimate Ball.
Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman
Round 1: Two exciting lightweights about to square off. Sass’ ground game ain’t nothing to fuck with. They touch gloves, Sass grabs the single. That was quick. Working from full guard, he maneuvers them to the fence. Sass lands body shots as Wiman controls his posture. Nice elbows from Sass. Wiman answeering from the bottom. Sass goes for a leg lock, but can’t get it. Now he goes for an omoplata! Wiman escapes. Sass sweeps and gets the takedown. Sass goes for another ankle lock, abandons it. Now Sass is caught in a triangle! But he escapes. Wiman throwing elbows. Sass lands some huge shots from the top! Wiman going for an armbar. Sass throws a knee while defending. Wiman gets the armbar! That’s it, Wiman beats Sass at his own game. Easily the best fight so far.
Matt Wiman def. Paul Sass via armbar in one round. Matt Wiman is holding back tears in the post-fight interview. Not because he’s overwhelmed by emotions, but because interviewer Jon Anik smells like onions. Then he makes silly faces at cameras.
Now we’re treated to another prelim fight: Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson against DaMarques Johnson. Solid, entertaining affair that showed just why so many people are talking about Nelson as he submits Johnson with a rear naked choke in the first round. Dude fights with the calm, cold demeanor of certain other fighter from the northern wastes. He just needs a sweater with mystical violence-enhancing abilities.
Up next is possibly the most exciting fight of the night – which is saying something after Wiman vs. Sass – as Brad Pickett takes on Yves Jabouin. Really excited for this one. I think I’ll call my friends using my MetroPCS service while I reach for a NOS energy dri- oh god, these commercials are destroying my brain.
Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin
Round 1: Fighters touch gloves, Pickett moves forward. Then he gets poked in the eye. He says he’s OK. Pickett swinging wildly while Jabouin going for kicks. Pickett lands a jab. Jabouin lands a high kick, followed by knees and kicks. Pickett lands a left hook. Jabouin land a kick. They exchange with both landing. Big knee from Jabouin, but Pickett lands counter hooks. Pickett lands an uppercut, followed by a hook. Jabouin lands a right straight. Pickett goes flying in with a hook. Right to the body by Pickett, Jabouin lands a spinning back kick, stuffs a takedown. OH MY GOD! Pickett lands a HUGE uppercut and Jabouin is OUT! Wow. Pickett plays to the crowd, possibly attempting to incite a riot. Replay shows Pickett followed up with two violent shots. No doubt there – Jabouin is out cold. KO of the Night, no doubt.
Brad Pickett def. Yves Jabouin via first round KO. Very thankful Pickett ended that fight in the first round – live-blogging bantamweights is not easy. Replays show Pickett did the Gangnam dance after the fight. Someone get a .gif of that ASAP. Well, that was satisfying. Pickett puts on his trilby hat, gives his interview in barely comprehensible Brit-speak, and leaves the cage. Like a boss.
Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah
Woah, we get walkouts for this one! Amir walks out to unidentifiable dance music. The original MMA hipster enters the cage, and the lights go out right before Dan Hardy’s music hits. Hardy comes out with the trademark bandana and “England Belongs to Me” by the Sex Pistols Cock Sparrer. (Dur.) The crowd eats it up and sings along.
Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah
Round 1: The crowd chants “Hardy!” as Bruce Buffer announces the fighters, before booing Amir. (I’m not typing “Sadollah” over and over.) The Hardy chants come back for the staredown. Fight starts, they don’t touch gloves. Amir takes the center of the Octagon. Amir lands a kick and eats a counter. Hardy blocks some shots. Amir lands a low kick. Then another. Inside leg kick Hardy. Amir goes for a head kick and misses. They exchange, neither connecting with anything hard. Hardy lands a left hook. Then another. Low kick Amir. Inside leg kick Amir. Big right from Hardy. Another inside leg kick from Amir. Hardy is looking for the left hook and lands it. Misses with a right, but lands a jab. Amir returns the favor as the crowd chants “Hardy”. Sadollah gets a body lock and pushes Hardy into the fence. They exchange knees, and Hardy reverses position. Hardy lands an elbow and they exchange knees some more. They separate. Big shots from Hardy! Hardy grabs a Muay Thai clinch, lands some knees and they’re back on the fence. Another big elbow from Hardy. Amir counters with dirty boxing. The round ends as Hardy attempts a hip toss. 10-9 for the Brit.
Round 2: Hardy checks a kick, lands a knee as Amir comes in. High kick blocked by Amir. Hardy lands a low kick. Nice counter left by Amir. Hardy snapping that left hook. Cross by Hardy. Right to the body by Hardy followed by an inside leg kick. Big right hand by Hardy. He’s in total control this round. Hardy lands a double leg! (What? Is this the real Dan Hardy we’re watching?) Sadollah stands, Hardy presses him against the fence. Amir trying to get a body lock, but he can’t get off the fence. Wait, yes he can. He reverses position. But then Hardy returns the favor. Nice left by Sadollah. They separate. Low kicks from Sadollah. Another double leg from Hardy! Throws an elbow to the body, Sadollah working from half butterfly guard. Now full guard. Ground and pound from Hardy. Sadollah angling for an armlock. Hardy landing hammerfists, almost in side control. The bell sounds, another round for Hardy.
Round 3: Counter left from Hardy. Hardy backing Amir up, but not laning too much. They exchange kicks. Hardy goes for a takedown, but Amir defends along the fence. They’re in the clinch again. Hardy lands a knee. Amir goes for a trip, doesn’t land it, but he switches position on the fence. They break. Hardy lands a left hook, dives in for a superman punch and Amir ducks and goes for a takedown. Hardy defends and they’re on the fence. Hardy looks like the fresher fighter. Amir goes for a head kick and slips. Hardy charges forward, grabs a body lock and nails the takedown. Hardy lands shots while Amir attempts triangles and armbars. Hardy lands some short elbows as he defends. Amir has trouble maneuvering with the fence in his way. More elbows from Hardy. Big ones now. Amir is cut. Hardy continues to punish him. Amir rolls out, shoots for a single. Hardy answers with a knee. Hardy lands a big combo punctuated by a left hook. Dominant round for Hardy, who should take all the rounds on the scorecards.
Hardy takes the decision 29-28 on two cards and 30-27 on the third. Hardy screams “OYYY-OYYYY!” or something in the microphone. The mob responds in kind. Hardy showed a new wrinkle in his game today, and it paid off for him. For Sadollah, it was a rough night, but still a solid fight. Hardy dances with his cornermen and leaves the ring. Those cheeky Brits. Next up: THE MAAAAAIIIIIINNN EVENT. OF THE EVENING!
Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic enters to Linkin Park, despite not being a prepubescent suburban white kid from 2002. -100 for you, sir. Stefan Struve enters to… Godsmack. The state of MMA entrance music is not looking too good right now.
Round 1: The fighters high five. Miocic takes the center of the Octagon. Immediately, it appears Miocic will have trouble closing the distance. He throws a left hook, right cross. Both blocked by Struve. Doubles up on the jab, but Struve backs away. Lands a body shot. And another. Inside leg kick by Miocic. He goes to the body again. And again. That looks like his gameplan. Struve moves forward, lands a left hook. Jab by Miocic. Miocic is beginning to get inside. Inside leg kick Miocic. Then an overhand right. Struve throws a head kick, thena flying knee. Miocic works the body some more. Knee by Struve. More shots to the body by Miocic, followed by a right. Struve hits a knee, Miocic takes him down but jumps out of a leglock attempt. They stand. Head kick Struve, but Miocic counters. Struve misses a knee. Another shot to the body. Miocic catches a kick, but misses the counter. More body work. Jab by Struve, then a knee. Big leg kick from Struve. Big jab from Miocic. The bell sounds, 10-9 Miocic.
Round 2: Inside leg kick Miocic. Big kick to the body by Struve. Miocic doubles his jab, but gets kicked in the balls on the way in. After a brief break, the action resumes. Left hook, cross form Miocic. He follows up with uppercuts. Inside leg kicks from both men, and Miocic escapes a clinch attempt. Struve is looking to take this fight down. jabs from Struve. Body shot from Miocic. Left hook from Struve, who is loosening up. Body shots from Miocic. Struve now rushes forward. Miocic is hurt. Struve throwing uppercuts. They break. Miocic still isn’t 100%. Struve landing uppercuts again. Miocic is retreating. But lands a BIG left hook. BIG right hand from Miocic. Both guys have been hurt. Miocic is wobbly, but landing heavy shots. Right from Miocic. Big combo from Struve! Body shot from miocic. Miocic slipped, Struve takes advantage and unloads on Miocic. Miocic stays on his feet, but he’s out of it. Herb Dean steps in and that’s all she wrote. Legit stoppage. Struve wins via TKO.
Stefan Struve def. Stipe Miocic by TKO in the second round. Struve looks much improved on the feet, at least when he actually decides to set his offense up with a jab. When he started doing that in the second round, he became a completely different fighter. Still, for a guys who’s so tall and has such a long reach, he really needs to find a way to be less hittable if he wants to contend for the title any time soon. As for Miocic, this is definitely a setback. He landed some serious shorts, but he couldn’t really get past Struve’s jab. That was the beginning of the end.
Speaking of the end, that’s it for the fights! You may now return to your normally scheduled Saturday programming of imbibing massive quantities of alcohol with your fellow amoral miscreants. Goodnight Potato Nation!
Out of 20 fighters competing this Saturday in the UFC on Fuel TV card, Dan Hardy has the worst record in his last five fights.Although he won his most recent brawl against fellow slugger Duane Ludwig, it wasn’t a fight made to advance Hardy up the rank…
Out of 20 fighters competing this Saturday in the UFC on Fuel TV card, Dan Hardy has the worst record in his last five fights.
Although he won his most recent brawl against fellow slugger Duane Ludwig, it wasn’t a fight made to advance Hardy up the rankings or get him back into the title hunt.
Essentially, all it did was give Hardy’s win-loss ratio a small bit of breathing room.
Single-win streak aside, that still doesn’t change some particularly damning facts:
In the last three years, Hardy has posted a 1-4 record in the UFC
Out of all George St. Pierre’s former title challengers, Hardy is currently the lowest-ranked (active) welterweight
Hardy was almost the second fighter in UFC history to lose five straight fights
Although ‘The Outlaw’ had the good fortune of losing an exciting “Fight of the Night” battle with Chris Lytle, that hasn’t stopped some fans and critics for noting the supposed unfairness of Hardy’s extensive lifeline with the UFC brass.
But even though the British standout remains a company favorite, can he afford to lose to AmirSadollah—especially in his hometown of Nottingham, England?
Of course, no UFC fighter can really afford to lose a fight. But most main event players like Dan Hardy get extra leeway that other fighters, like “one-and-done” preliminary talent and mid-tier journeymen, simply don’t have.
Question is, how bad will it look if Hardy loses to the comparatively under-experienced Sadollah?
Considering that Sadollah, the heavily-promoted Ultimate Fighter wunderkind, is little more than the UFC’s welterweight gatekeeper, it would look awful if Hardy found himself losing a tepid split or unanimous decision, trapped on the wrong side of volume leg kicks and superior grappling.
Where Hardy at least had the option of suffering an exciting loss if he came up short against Ludwig, the strong-but-middling Sadollah represents no such upside. If Dan Hardy loses on Saturday, he’ll run the risk of looking terrible in the process.
Make no mistake, the UFC would love it if Hardy came blitzing out of the gate, belting Sadollah with hard shots, and fighting him off in the clinch. Nothing would get the Nottingham crowd more riled up, and it would generate more cheers than the main event.
Moreover, Sadollah is just flawed enough that Hardy could dominate him. But if he loses, don’t expect Dana White to entertain the thought of cutting one of their most popular international faces.
Make no mistake, Dan Hardy should be able to beat AmirSadollah. After all, he hasn’t legitimately lost to a welterweight outside the division’s “top 25” since 2006. At the very worst, it would most likely take another four-loss streak before the UFC brass ever considered dropping him.
[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, & PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]
How much can we congratulate Dan Hardy for beating Amir Sadollah?
