A couple of weeks after his defeat to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111, Welterweight contender, Dan Hardy, insists that he’s not far away from another title shot. Although he didn’t take home the belt that night, Hardy believes that he did get a win in the court of public opinion.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world. Even the result now. I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and obviously I’m not ready to be the champion just yet. But there are a lot of positives to gain from it. Obviously one of them is the fans are now a little more aware of me and the fans that were aware of me before now, most of them, have a new respect for what I’m willing to do when I’m in there.”

While he willingly gives credit to St. Pierre, Hardy does think that the champion’s “safe” approach to fighting ultimately does a disservice to the fans.

“(St. Pierre) took the win from me but he didn’t take the fight from me. I wasn’t beaten mentally or physically. I don’t know, it must be frustrating for the fans and it’s frustrating for me because I know that GSP has the kind of potential to make more of a fight out of it. But he’s very good at wrestling and he chooses to stick with the safe option to keep his belt. I mean you can’t hold it against him. It’s not what I would do in his situation but I’m not in his situation right now, so I can’t really make those calls.

For now it’s back to the drawing board.. With a few tweaks here and there, he believes it’s only a matter of time before he gets another shot.

“I certainly don’t feel like I’m miles away from winning the belt. I know I’ve got work to do but I’m confident that it’s within my ability to do it and get the belt.”

Does Hardy have a point or should he let it go and focus on his next fight? Is St. Pierre frustrating his fans by playing it “safe”? Will we see a new and improved Hardy in his next fight? It’s difficult to say. A brawler can be taught wrestling, but will he remember his training when there’s an opportunity to punch someone in the face?

(source: MMA Mania)