Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Dan Hardy Embraces Yanks, Trains With Roach

UFC welterweight Dan Hardy considers himself an Englishman in LA.

The 26 year-old Nottingham native spends most of his days with his girlfriend in the City of Angels. Only training camps take him from the city.

In addition to his usual work with grappling guru Eddie Bravo, Hardy is the latest MMA fighter to find Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym. It's also around the corner from his LA apartment, which made directions easy.

"There's always things to work on," Hardy said of the experience. "I'm not perfect at any range, so I've always got to keep working. It's just a good opportunity to work with a guy like Freddie. It's interesting to hear his opinions on MMA, how he sees the range is different from MMA and boxing.

He also worked with Michael Moorer, a multi-title boxing champion and one of Roach's early students that now coaches.

"He's a great southpaw," Hardy said of Moorer. "It's interesting getting his viewpoint on southpaws fighting orthodox fighters, because Marcus Davis is a southpaw as well. I've got some good input from the guys, like controlling the range and landing cleaner shots without getting caught. Kind of similar to my last fight."

Last week, he went to Germany to visit with US troops, and heads back to his hometown afterwards to begin preparation for a contentious fight with Marcus Davis at UFC 99.

"It's just a perfect fight for me, and I think he realizes that his time's come with his hold over the UK," said Hardy. "This is going to be the last fight against a British fighter."

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