Dan Hardy Talks About Marcus Davis and Psychological Warfare

The fight between Dan Hardy and Marcus Davis seemed to reach a fever pitch when the two squared off at UFC 99 last year, but the war of words didn't end there.

Prior to the fight, Hardy did everything in his power to rile up the Irishman, and he accomplished his goal. A Photoshop contest amongst fans, and some well placed trash talk, brought Davis to a frenzy before their fight ever happened.

Right after the fight, Hardy admitted that it was all part of a strategy to get into Davis' head and earn a shot at the Maine based fighter. Still even though the fight seemed over, Davis fired back just weeks ago via his Twitter account stating, "I hope Dan Hardy dies of AIDS."

The comment was eventually deleted, but Hardy says that Davis obviously didn't know when enough was enough.

"Some people can't see it for what it is. Obviously with Marcus Davis making a comment like that it obviously proves he can't deal with the situation, and he doesn't get it," Hardy commented recently when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio.

"Apparently the Photoshops that I helped create were completely unacceptable, yet he makes a comment like that (and) it's okay? I don't understand where his logic lies."

Hardy admits that psychological warfare goes a long way, and he's become a master of that particular trade.

"Any time you can use any psychological warfare, it's different for every fighter," Hardy said. "The Marcus Davis fight was a blatant, outright, I'm going to punk him, I'm going to make him look stupid, and you're going to get crazy and lose your mind.

"Mike Swick was a little bit more fun, a little bit more jokey, but when it got to the end of the build up of the fight, he'd been expecting me to say all kinds of stuff that he didn't know really how to deal with it. He didn't know how to prepare himself for what was to come."

Hardy's teammate, Paul Daley, has started a similar campaign for his upcoming UFC 113 fight against Josh Koscheck. Daley encouraged fans to Photoshop a new haircut for Koscheck ahead of their fight, and when Hardy was asked if he would possibly put the best photo on his walkout t-shirt for UFC 113?

"Don’t give him any ideas, you know he will," Hardy responded.

Koscheck and Thiago Talk About Their UFC 95 Fight

Josh Koscheck and Paul Thiago talk about their upcoming fight on Saturday night at UFC 95 in London.

Koscheck Will Address Video Game Contract After Yoshida Fight

Reports surfaced last week that UFC welterweight, Josh Koscheck, has still not signed the video game contract that caused his teammate, Jon Fitch, a speedy exit and re-entrance into the UFC just a couple of weeks back.

The contract was for the UFC to have lifetime rights for the fighters to appear in future video games made for the promotion.

The rumors were stating that Koscheck had not signed the agreement and had no intention of doing so, and he may very well exit the UFC after his fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida on Dec 10.

MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with sources close to Koscheck that the rumors about his UFC exit are absolutely false.

According the representatives close to the fighter, he has simply chosen to wait until after his fight to address any and all situations regarding contracts because he did not want a distraction while he was in the final weeks of his training camp getting ready for the fight.

Koscheck has promised to deal with the situation when his fight is finished, but he simply did not want the distraction that would take away his focus from the upcoming fight.

UFC owner, Lorenzo Fertitta, met with representatives from Zinkin Entertainment, who work on behalf of both Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, to resolve the situation with Fitch and sources have indicated that the conversation also included many other fighters on the company's roster regarding the video game contract.

Koscheck trains at the American Kickboxing Academy alongside Fitch and other UFC fighters such as Cain Velasquez and Christian Wellisch. All of the other fighters involved in the dispute are still with the UFC and past grievances have been settled.

All indications are pointing towards Koscheck still sticking with the UFC long after his fight on Wednesday night agianst Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

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Swick Says AKA Is A-OK

UFC welterweight Mike Swick inadvertently got caught in the middle of last week's scandal du jour when he was "exempted" from UFC president Dana White's 24-hour purge of sorts at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, with Fitch and AKA manager "Crazy" Bob Cook brokering a deal with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to bring the number two ranked welterweight back--video licensing agreement signed and all.

The fate of AKA teammates Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, and Christian Wellisch remains unknown, but it appears the spat has opened doors on new negotiations.

It was a jarring series of events, one you'd think would create some awkward situations in the gym. Swick shot down that idea in a recent interview with MMAInsider, saying it's going to be business as usual at AKA.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and their own views, that's why this whole thing happened," Swick said. "I'm on great standing with the UFC and I'm appreciative to be where I'm at to be fighting for them. I'm not against my team, there's no animosity between us. My team and my management have always been supportive in my stance with the UFC.

"It has nothing to do with me and Fitch and Kos or anyone else. We're not against each other."

Swick says he signed the promotional agreement at the center of controversy two days before Fitch was cut, taking him out of the equation.

"No one told me that I need to go against the UFC or I need to go with them," he continued. "I make my own decisions."

Swick's next fight is against Jonathan Goulet at UFC's "Fight for the Troops" event on Dec. 10. The two have a small beef to settle; Goulet called Swick out on the internet, lighting the spark that got the fight booked. Swick is hoping above all else for a stand-up war.

But as for the drama, he's happy it's over.

"I'm appreciate of what I've achieved in my career," he said. "I've been in the sport for eleven years. I'm happy where I'm at, and I don't want to get in any kind of business that's going to go against anyone. I'm just fortunate to be living my dream, and that's all I want to focus on."