UFC 111's Georges St-Pierre on Dan Hardy: I want to take him out as quickly as I can | MMAjunkie.com UFC 111's Georges St-Pierre on Dan Hardy: I want to take him out as quickly as I can
by John Morgan on Mar 03, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET
While UFC welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy (23-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) continues to remain in the headlines due to ongoing verbal conflicts with some of his past opponents, the British slugger's date with Georges St-Pierre (19-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) at UFC 111 later this month is fast approaching.
St-Pierre, the popular French-Canadian champion, hasn't yet found himself as much of a target for Hardy's famed trash talking, but that doesn't mean "The Outlaw" isn't firmly in the sites of "Rush."
"The longer a fight is, the more you can get hurt," St-Pierre recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (
MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com). "I want to take him out as fast as I can and go home."
St-Pierre currently carries a six-fight win streak, and the 28-year old has fought into the championship rounds in three of those six fights. St-Pierre dominated the latter stages of each of those contests. Nevertheless, he said he has little desire to give Hardy a chance to connect on any of the powerful punches that have quickly become his hallmark in MMA.
And while many MMA observers have questioned Hardy's readiness for such a challenge, St-Pierre believes his own previous victories over many of the division's other top contenders make the Brit a perfect opponent.
"He deserves it," St-Pierre said. "He's undefeated in the UFC, and he's a great challenge for me. He's a top-10 guy, and we haven't fought yet. Most of the contenders at 170 pounds are guys I've already fought.
"It's a mathematics problem. It's a new problem that I'm going to solve. It's going to make me a better fighter. I'm going to grow from that."
St-Pierre has already dispatched the welterweight division's perennial top-three contenders in Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, and Josh Koscheck, he avenged his lone career losses to Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, and he's beaten lightweight champion B.J. Penn twice. Because of his success at 170 pounds, many believe there are simply no challenges left in the welterweight division. But St-Pierre refuses to speculate where his next step might lead until after he's made it through his upcoming challenge.
"It all depends on the outcome of the fight," St-Pierre said. "I want to fight the best guy that deserves it. I don't want to fight for nothing.
"I'm the kind of guy that the reason why I fight mostly three times a year – I don't fight anymore five times a year – is that every time I fight, it's a big fight. I prefer it like this because I want to get the big fish. I want to get the best fighter. At the same time, it give me the opportunity to improve more between fights because I have more time to train. I become a better version all the time than the guy that I was in my last fight. That's why I like it that way."
And while most fans believe St-Pierre is a notch above Hardy, the Team Rough House product does own UFC wins over Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Rory Markham and Akihiro Gono.
St-Pierre believes in the skills of his foe, and he knows that an impressive victory is necessary for him to reach his ultimate goal: to be the best.
"I always want to fight the best guys because I want to be the best," St-Pierre said. "By fighting the best guy, you improve more. I don't want to fight too often, but when I fight, I want to fight the best guy.
"I don't want to fight guys that don't deserve shots. I want to fight guys that are on top of the food chain, and when I fight, I want it to be worth it."
For complete coverage of UFC 111, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
UFC 111's Georges St-Pierre on Dan Hardy: I want to take him out as quickly as I can 
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