Dan Hardy vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
Dan Hardy has his trademark Rufio meets the Sex Pistols mohawk. Ms. Octagon is not impressed and predicts his defeat. I tend to agree with her as the English are usually overrated and can’t wrestle.
Johnson does look absolutely gigantic for a welterweight. He has been reported to walk around at 220 lbs. in between fights. Not sure how much of that he puts back on before he gets in the ring, but one can assume that he is in the cage at well above welterweight. Hardy recently cried after a visit to Bruce Lee’s grave.
Round 1- Johnson with a slick kick to the side of Hardy’s head. Johnson lands some shots and Hardy gets up. Johnson goes for the takedown and is in Hardy’s full guard. Landing big shots. Hardy looks totally beat already. Goes for a triangle, but Johnson gets out of it and gets back on top. Hardy going for the kimura now. Johnson is too strong and is out. Back on top in the half mount.
Johnson won that round by a mile, 10-9.
Round 2-Hardy would do well to keep this one on his feet. Johnson immediately takes him down. Hardy getting beat down from the top. Looking for a kimura again, but Johnson isn’t locking his hands together to defend and seems to be content to keep punching Hardy.
He lost it. I don’t think he’s strong enough to pul that move off from the bottom at this point in the fight. Johnson is just a big mass of muscle and is raining down shots on him. Joe Rogan keeps saying that Johnson is going to get tired, but he is totally murdering Hardy from the top and Hardy is the one who looks tired. Ref stands them up, which I really don’t agree with.
Round 3- Hardy goes for a take down and Johnson immediately takes him down. Hardy going for the Kimura yet again. Again, he isn’t able to crank it. Johnson gets Hardy’s back.
They get up. Johnson takes him down again. Goes for the choke. Punches to the side and back of the head from the back. Johnson with a sick neck crank, but Hardy holds on. More punches to the head.
Johnson won that one unanimously for sure. Hardy looked awful. It looked like he really wasn’t prepared to be fighting a wrestler, but he also didn’t look particularly sharp on the feet.