Dan Hardy: Learning to live with life outside the Octagon

Jon Turner 10:11 20/03/2014
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  • Punching power: Hardy fighting Duane Ludwig in 2012.

    Dealing with retirement as a professional athlete does not come easy to most. The irrepressible desire to compete never fades and post-sport careers often fail to fill the void created by the absence of elite competition.

    Coming to terms with this crossroad is even more difficult to handle if it’s been enforced by a medical condition or injury. There is often a feeling of unfulfillment and dreams being dashed.

    Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Dan Hardy is one such athlete who has endured a premature end to his career. The British welterweight was preparing for ‘UFC on Fox 7’ in April last year when, during a routine medical, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome – a rare heart condition, that can cause the heart to beat abnormally fast. The diagnosis effectively ended Hardy’s days as a UFC contender. 

    “I still have moments when I’m a bit down about it. I dedicated my whole life to Martial Arts and I don’t really feel that I have been given a good reason to stop, so at times it is frustrating,” Hardy tells Sport360°.

    “When it first happened, my mum told me that it would have taken something like this to pull me away from the sport, and it really did.

    “The time I’ve had away from competition, I’ve been able to explore other avenues. I like to write and travel and I’ve had the chance to explore the sport in a different context.

    “So there are a lot of positives that can be taken from this and I am looking forward to everything that I have coming up. But at the same time, I do miss competing.”

    Indeed, Hardy does have a great deal to look forward to outside of the Octagon. While no longer a competitor, the 31-year-old has taken on a non-fighting position within the UFC, which includes commentary work and a role as an ambassador.

    Hardy, who possessed a professional fight record of 25 wins with 10 losses and one no contest, made his commentary debut in London earlier this month and will be in the UAE for UFC Fight Night: Abu Dhabi on April 11 for his second gig on the mic.

    But it is his work as a UFC ambassador that clearly ignites his passion the most.

    “That is a great role for me – I can really apply myself to it,” Hardy explains. “I believe in this sport and if there is anything I can do to solidify it in the mainstream then I will.

    “A lot of people look at the athletes and see us simply as thugs that want to beat the heck out of each other. There’s so much more to it – there’s an art to it, a science. It takes ultimate discipline, dedication and a lot of sacrifice.

    “I am an example of the good Martial Arts can do,” Hardy continues. “I started Taekwondo when I was six and it has been the one constant in my life.

    “When all my friends were going out and causing trouble, I had something in my life that kept me progressing and moving forward. Martial Arts has proved to be a force for good and the best thing is to create a safe place for people to train and express themselves. That is exactly what the UFC has done.”

    Expression and creativity are fundamental to the make up of Hardy. He was midway through a university arts degree at Nottingham Trent University in his hometown when he decided to give it up and focus on MMA full-time.

    “I enjoyed studying, I enjoyed art and graphic design – it was a very easy environment for me to be in as it allowed me to be creative,” he explains. “But Martial Arts has always been my main focus.”

    Hardy made his first steps into professional competition in 2004 with a little help from a fellow British UFC star.

    “I was fortunate as I had been helping Paul Daley prepare for his fights for a year or so,” Hardy reveals. “He already had a lot of good contacts within the UK for shows so it was case of Paul recommending me.

    “The truth is, when I started university, the possibility of making money from competing full-time was unheard of.

    “The UFC had established itself but it was still very much a spectacle and there was little money and no acceptance.”

    How times have changed. The UFC is now estimated to be worth over $2 billion (Dh7.3bn) and is undoubtedly the pinnacle of professional MMA. Hardy still remembers vividly the moment he stepped up to the UFC, but he – in his words “idiotically” – put it all on the line before he had even joined the company.

    “It was huge,” he recalls. “I really felt that one of the major goals I had set myself at the start of my career had been achieved. The weird thing was, I had my UFC contract signed but had already agreed another fight. Not wanting to let the promoters down, I actually fought, knowing that if I had lost I would lose my UFC contract.

    “My coach urged me not to fight but I’d already committed and thought to myself ‘if I can’t beat this guy then I’m not ready for the UFC.’ Fortunately, it all worked out.”

    And work out it did. After four straight victories, which included the “fight of my career” against then No1 contender Mike Swick – Hardy had his world title shot against the great Georges St-Pierre.

    ‘GSP’ proved too formidable an opponent for Hardy, who lost by unanimous decision. He admits he looks back at that March night in 2010 with mixed emotions.

    “The athlete in me is disappointed I didn’t win,” Hardy says. “But if I had won the fight, I would have been dismissed as a lucky champion and in all honesty would have lost the title in my first defence in a rematch with GSP.

    “He would have evolved and adapted and probably have reclaimed the title. Really the result went the way it should have.”

    Hardy is still coming to terms with retirement and while he affords himself the chance to reflect on his achievements and time spent in the Octagon, it is the future he remains focused on.

    Indeed, one gets the impression that while Hardy will always miss competing, he has found his true calling in the UFC.

    “I can look back on my fight career fondly and I am proud of what I achieved,” he concludes. “I could have done some things better, but I certainly feel I’m more suited to the sort of role I’m now in.

    “I don’t want to sound like I’m offending anybody, but I’m a little more articulate than some of the other fighters. I really believe that I can help as an ambassador to help spread the message of this great sport.

    "Ultimately, I think this will be my major contribution to the UFC."

    In Hardy’s own words

    Career highlight:
    “The big one for me was the Mike Swick fight. I had a lot of respect for Mike and I was hugely disregarded – nobody thought I was going to win. He was the No1 contender. It was all set up for him to win for his own world championship shot. The fight was in Manchester and my family was there. People saw Swick as a step above me, but I certainly didn’t. I knew I could compete and it was nice to prove a lot of people wrong.”

    Commentary work:
    “It’s something I enjoy very much, I wouldn’t say I’m a natural, but I’m going to keep working at it and be the best I can be. There is still a lot to improve on, but I’m just going to keep working on it and you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more from me.”

    Coming to Abu Dhabi:
    “I've never been to the UAE before but I’m really looking forward to it. Friends have given me a couple of books on the country so I’ve had a bit of a read up. Apart from the fact I have tattoos down to my wrists that may raise a few eyebrows, I’m sure it will be a great trip.”

    The music in his life (Hardy is a huge punk and metal fan):
    “I am hugely defined by music. I’ve always been in and around music and it was a way for me to establish myself as different to everybody else. I have different tastes to a lot of other people. I was one of the only kids in my area that had long hair and listened to metal, so I’ve always been a bit of an individual.”

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