Dan Hardy is gonna kayo GSP?

[F l i c k e r]

i mean he has power but he throws wide punches and doesnt put all of his weight behind them.... mike tyson had trex arm awesome but he threw his entire body behind his power punches and kept them tight

lol, he's a midget. He's smaller than Urijah Faber and KID (I think). His punches are going to look weird, a person could probably put their hand on his head and avoid every punch he throws at the same time.

[tocayito1]

lol, he's a midget. He's smaller than Urijah Faber and KID (I think). His punches are going to look weird, a person could probably put their hand on his head and avoid every punch he throws at the same time.

hahahaha you win the argument...theres no way in hell i can say anything to that

[jakkups]

You have to admitt that he at least has better stand up than everyone else in the WW division.

KO power does not = Great stand up. (just clearing that up right now)

Hardy may not have 1-punch kayo power but the man's stand up is really really crisp. His technique is great, his kicks are second to none in the WW division. He just relies on that damn lead left hook too much. And he one-shots way too much too.

I do agree that his technique is good enough to outwork guys in standup exchanges with regards to the pure standup aspect. I also agree thast KO power doesn't mean you have great standup. If anything it's one of those intangible's that some fighters have at their disposal much like a guy who has a great armbar. But I still don't feel he has good standup let alone the best in the division. The way I look at stand up in MMA is different to the way I would look at it in boxing or kickboxing perse.

A pure boxing/kickboxing match between Hardy and GSP is gonna favour Hardy more than GSP, I have no doubts about that. But in an MMA fight it's gonna be to GSP's advantage. The thing with Hardy's standup is that it doesn't lead him anywhere else, it just keeps average fighters he's been fighting at bay because they have no way of being able to take the fight in a different direction. To me it's not what I see as good standup skills, in fact it's a pretty one-dimensional attack and it's at the same pace and rhythm which isn't necessarily a good thing.

Where GSP differs is that his standup opens up other options for him and he can dictate where the fight goes and at what pace it's fought at. In MMA that's the far better standup game to have because it takes care of two things. It makes guys who are predmoinantly strikers think twice about what and when they are going to throw. And, due to his strengths elsewhere it allows him to choose whether or not he wants to keep it standing or he wants to take it to the ground.

Hardy's issues are exactly what you mentioned. His habits. He relies on the left hook too much and when he kicks he leaves his leg out there too long and hasn't got enough leverage on anything to make a guy like GSP feel discouraged about coming in for a takedown. It's these habits which IMO are gonna be his undoing in the fight because as much as fighters say they're changing things up and that they are gonna do something new 90% of the time they get in there and once they take a shot they will immediately revert to what they are comfortable with. Hardy falls into this category and what makes it harder for him is the other 10% of fighters who can adjust and/or impose their strategy/will on an opponent are guys like GSP.