Mixed Martial Arts

The immortal sportscaster, Howard Cosell, once said, “The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best, and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.”

The UFC's 27 yr. old, Nottingham England native, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, was thoroughly beaten over the course of five rounds his last time out.

It was a 170 lb. UFC title contest, and Hardy's chance at welterweight fame and fortune was on the line; but instead, the "tough as nails" Brit was made to look like a virtual amateur, by the UFC cage fighter who many experts say, has now evolved into a master craftsman.

Of course I'm speaking of the greatest mixed martial arts welterweight to have ever entered the famed Octagon, French Canadian, and long-standing UFC elite 170-pound mainstay, Georges St-Pierre.

GSP demonstrated his superior wrestling and grappling ability's against the befuddled Hardy, yet, he also demonstrated that his hard-earned Gracie black belt, in the well-known martial arts discipline of jiu-jitsu, may be in need of a quick refresher course.

Either that or maybe Hardy wasn’t kidding when he stated in his post fight interview, that he “doesn’t know the meaning of tapping.”

The Montreal native St. Pierre, at times, attempted to stretch and twist the limbs of Hardy beyond their god given limits.

Hardy however,  remained unfailing.

These MMA “Old West gunslinger” style warriors, such as "The Outlaw" Hardy, are the men I love to write about; they are the single most reason I prefer my current occupation over any other job.

In combat sports, or also in life for that matter, it's these warriors—the men who would rather die in a hail of gunfire, or go out in a blaze of glory—who are held in the very highest regard.

Undoubtedly, or so it-seemed, St Pierre would have had to break the arm of "The Outlaw," before Hardy would have allowed himself to "tap out" in some “white flag-waving” display of cowardliness.

Grimacing in pain, he suffered through the submission attempts like a true cage-fighting soldier, and thankfully he emerged with both arms still intact.

It was an awesome display of “fall upon my sword”-type of courageousness, the type of which, that is seldom seen in today’s paycheck-driven-sports world.

UFC president Dana White was also extremely impressed by Hardy, stating that the brave young Englishman had certainly made many new fans after his courageous New Jersey performance.

In his recent interviews, such as the below posted video, Hardy himself seems to have "taken it all on the chin," so to speak, and accepted his loss to St. Pierre.

Hardy now envisions the UFC 111 losing experience as a "lesson learned the hard way," and say's he will now use it as an inspirational future tool, rather than a career-ending liability.

After the courageous battle with GSP, there were many long-forgotten British outlaws looking down from wherever they may reside in death, at Hardy, and they were undoubtedly smiling.