Dan Hardy is one of the biggest smack talkers in the game. He flat out challenges his opponents to stand and trade with him. Tonight, it all backfired on him. Carlos Condit wasn't suckered into a reckless slugfest. Instead, he used a well-rounded striking game and exhibited smoother boxing to find an opening that nearly put Hardy to sleep. In the final minute of the opening round, "The Natural Born Killer" landed a huge left hook and dropped Hardy to his back. The stunned Hardy then took a right to the middle of his face and another left across his chin.
Before Condit, did permanent damage, referee Dan Miragliotta tossed him from the helpless Brit. In front of a pro-Hardy crowd at UFC 120 in London, Condit scores a huge TKO win at 4:27 of the first.
"I was worried about his left hand. I know he's got a lot of power," Condit told UFC analyst Joe Rogan.
The normally loquacious Hardy didn't have much to say seconds after being knocked out.
"I got punched in the face," Hardy said succinctly as the crowd at the O2 Arena chuckled. "Sorry guys. That's why it's a sport. You can win or lose at any point. I'll go home and watch it, and see where I went wrong and learn from it. "
Condit (26-5, 3-1 UFC) also hauled in a $60,000 bonus for knockout of the night. Before you go slamming Hardy, keep in mind, the match could've easily gone the other way. That's how narrow your margin of error is when you step in the Octagon.
On the finishing series of punches, both Hardy and Condit threw right hands that missed and followed with left hooks. Condit's left hook landed flush and a split second earlier as Hardy's punch grazed his neck.
Against a guy with a reputation for having a granite chin, this is a huge victory for Condit. Hardy (23-8, 4-2 UFC) also fought for the 170-pound title his last time out, losing a decision at UFC 111 to UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. Does that mean Condit should be in the running for the winner of GSP and Josh Koscheck? He probably should be.
Were it not for a tight decision loss to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut, Condit could very easily be unbeaten with Zuffa's bigger promotion. He was 170-pound champ with the WEC, its smaller promotion. Condit was 5-0 there before the WEC eliminated the weight class.
GSP defend his title against Josh Koscheck in December. If Koscheck wins, Jon Fitch has been consistent in saying that even for the title, he won't fight his American Kickboxing Academy teammate. Condit has no such issue with St. Pierre. They both work with trainer Greg Jackson and his camp based in Albuquerque, but Condit stated during the UFC 124 postfight press conference that if he was offered the fight, he'd take it GSP. That's the kind of thing the UFC likes to hear.
Another feather in Condit's cap is the consistency of his performances since his move over to the UFC. He's an action fighter who's now nabbed three postfight awards. The 26-year-old also has 25 finishes in his 26 wins.
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