Dan Hardy is a fighter the UFC wants to make into a star, and so he's the subject of the latest series of UFC video blogs (Part 1 above, Part 2 below). On November 14 at UFC 105, he'll fight Mike Swick and get the chance to show whether his fighting skills warrant the promotion he's getting.
Hardy is a charismatic, likable guy, he has an exciting fighting style, and he's from England, where the UFC is working hard to build its audience. That's why the UFC is promoting him, and why the UFC will likely give him the next shot at welterweight champion Georges St Pierre if he beats Swick.
But is he good enough? I'm not sure. Hardy is a good striker, and when I've interviewed him I've come away impressed with how seriously he takes his preparation: He studies tape so obsessively that before he steps into the Octagon he can basically give you a complete play-by-play of his opponent's previous fights.
And yet Hardy still has a lot of work to do, especially with his wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu skills, and I think if he does earn a title shot, GSP is just going to take him down and dominate him on the ground. I don't blame the UFC for promoting the 27-year-old Hardy as a future star of the welterweight division, but I don't think he's ready to be a No. 1 contender just yet.
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