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  - HARDY BUILDING EXCITEMENT, WELCOMES DAVIS BOUT
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - by Mitch Gobetz - MMAWeekly.com
Dan Hardy may be well known in the United Kingdom, but after his extremely impressive knockout victory over Rory Markham at UFC 95 this past weekend, fans worldwide got a taste of the panache and exciting style that he brings to the Octagon.
Markham came out aggressive against Hardy, and that was his downfall. Hardy countered a combination, completely stunning the Miletich trained fighter. While Hardy wasn't planning to knock him out so early, he isn't completely surprised at the outcome either.
"I wasn't planning on landing that knockout shot that early on,” he said following his victory. “My intention was to kind of draw him in and get him to make a few mistakes. He's a very aggressive fighter. He has that one thing that he's very good at and that's putting people to sleep. So, my intention was to really kind of keep him on his toes and keep him guessing, throw a few fakes. I think I landed two kicks and two punches, but I faked a lot more. My intention was to fake, make him throw something because he really commits to his punches and that's basically what happened. When I caught him with that jab, I could see it in his eyes that he was like, he's ready to step it up. And when he came after me, I was expecting to knock him out with the overhand right to be honest, but the left hook just follows up from that nicely and happened to catch him."
Not only did the left hook catch Markham, it caught the attention of millions of fans watching in the United States. Hardy was on the main card for this event and with his ostentatious hair and explosive punching power, the fans watching in the United States finally caught a glimpse a new breakout star in the welterweight division.
The 170-pound division in the UFC is perhaps one of the most stacked in all of mixed martial arts. So far, Hardy has already taken out two very tough opponents in Markham and Akihiro Gono. While he hopes to be keep getting top-named opponents, he has no problems just getting in the gym and preparing for whatever name is picked for him to fight.
"That's really up to the UFC,” responded the English fighter. “All I do is train and fight. I think I proved that I could get the job done. It was nice to fight on the main card. I'm pleased with the exposure. I'm excited about the fact that America now knows who I am. It's up to the UFC. I'm just appreciative of being here and being a part of this.
"I'm just happy with what the UFC's got planned for me to be honest,” he continued. “I don't really give that too much thought. I get the phone call from Mr. Silva (UFC matchmaker) and he says, how about this guy? And I go, okay. That's the next victim."
One possible fight that fans would be sure to enjoy, as well as Hardy, would be against Marcus Davis. Davis is notorious for his exciting and explosive style, which happens to mirror Hardy. He has been able to build himself up in the United Kingdom and Ireland over the last year and half and has earned the respect of many of the fans. That doesn't matter to Hardy and he would like to remind Davis that he is the authentic hometown kid.
"I certainly think it would make an exciting fight without a doubt. Marcus is a great fighter to watch. I'm a fan of his. I like watching all of his fights. He's had a few fights in the U.K. now and he's kind of built himself a little fan base, but he's not English. He's not Irish. I was born here and I've been bred here. I don't mind taking on that challenge and showing him that this is my home and not his."
Fans can only hope that a fight like that will happen sooner rather than later.
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