I am not anywhere near the level of awesome it takes to not only say this, but pull it off. Dan Hardy, on the other hand, is.
He fought last night in UFC 111 against GSP. Being that I am a grappler you would think I would be all over GSP for this fight, not only that but he was favorite to win... and he did.
But Hardy totally inspired me the whole fight. He was out matched on the ground, but he didn't give up, or even come close. He went all 5 rounds and escaped some pretty sick submissions. I think I actually screamed during the kimura. .. and I was out in public. lol
I need to take a page from The Outlaws book, and never say die. (Tapping on the other hand, I will do. hehe)
He's lucky he was fighting GSP and not someone else. Most guys would have snapped his arm off with that kimura.
ReplyDeleteThere was a point when GSP looked up at the ref while cranking the kimura. I said to my wife when he looked up at the ref that he was deciding whether to break Hardy's arm or not. Sure enough, a few seconds later he moved to something else; he chose not to. I'm convinced that he let the kimura go.
It was so familiar to me and probably to every jits practitioner in the world because we see that decisive moment play out all the time. Usually, though, it's a blue belt with a submission locked in and a white belt who either doesn't know or doesn't care how much danger he's in.
I will never be convinced that Hardy "escaped" the kimura and I can't bring myself to fault GSP for failing to finish. GSP simply let it go like an upper belt lets a submission go in class. Rather than destroying Hardy's shoulder and maybe his elbow, too, he won a decisive decision. The "W" counts for GSP either way.
Oh I think he let go of it too.. the kimura I mean. I think Hardy was stuck, and either GSP didn't want to break it, or he thought he couldn't finish it and let it go.
ReplyDeleteI want to watch the fight again. I know GSP cranked the kimura at one point. I screamed. I thought he broke something for sure... and I was so into the fight I wasn't really taking in the little details. Just the general picture...and I was cringing and looking away during the kimura. I was so sure something was going to give.
I just think Hardy's general attitude of never giving up was admirable, though, also kind of stupid. He was out matched on the ground. I don't deny that for a second... but he finished the fight anyway.
The only thing I can't decide is if putting your body on the line like that is more or less stupid for a professional fighter. Clearly, I am not going to try to escape a submission to the point of breaking something in class... or even in a competition. This is just a hobby for me. For Hardy, this is his profession. So... is holding out to the point of damaging your body worth it? Sure it could add a win to your record, but it could possibly put you out of the game for a long time, if not forever. Plus, they train so long, and so hard for one fight. Tapping probably feels like it was all for nothing. I've never been there, so I don't know.
Hardys skills were nowhere near GSP's. But his mental game is probably one of the strongest in the sport. I am sure that almost all of the fighters would have tapped from those subs, not because of the pain but the mental cloud that was over their head from the beating they received for 5 rounds!
ReplyDeleteSports are almost all mental, and Dan Hardy got that part down pact!