Dan Hardy preparing for another run at title in Los Angeles

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 11:43 p.m.

LOS ANGELES — For a British fighter, Dan Hardy is sure cornering a lot of Americans lately.

After showing up in Mac Danzig’s corner at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, last weekend, Hardy was at it again Wednesday in support of Strikeforce lightweight Jeremy Umphries at the Nokia Theatre.

When asked about it, Hardy even jokingly said he may have found a new profession.

“Cornerman for hire,” said Hardy, after his fighter notched a submission victory on the Strikeforce undercard.

If anyone’s been wondering what the 28-year-old welterweight has been up to since dropping a lopsided decision to Georges St. Pierre in their title fight last March, the answer can be found right here in Southern California.

After the loss, Hardy took off enough time for a vacation to Disney World before heading west to buy a house near Los Angeles with his American girlfriend.

He’s since become a full-time member at the nearby PKG gym while mixing in jiu-jitsu training with Eddie Bravo in Hollywood as well.

“I had a little vacation, came back here around April 20 and have been training ever since,” Hardy said. “I was eager to get back. Obviously, there were a lot of things highlighted in my last fight I knew I needed to work on.

“I know I’m not too far off. I can get there and I really want to improve on those areas.”

Hardy referred to the St. Pierre loss as a "tough fight," saying he basically "got pinned for 25 minutes."

But despite being clearly out-wrestled in that fight, Hardy said, his main focus in training is still finding new ways to finish fights and not trying to catch up his wrestling skills.

“I’m never going to be a great wrestler. I’m cool with that,” Hardy said. “My focus is on finishing fights, and it’s very difficult to finish a fight with wrestling. I want to get in there and take a fight from my opponent not control him for 15 or 25 minutes.

“I’ll work on my wrestling, but my main focus is always going to be finishing fights.”

Hardy will eventually make his way back to the U.K. for his typical eight-week training camp before he fights next.

As of now, he says he hasn’t received word on who his next opponent will be — although he was well aware that Las Vegas-based fighter Martin Kampmann had recently called him out following a win over Paulo Thiago.

Hardy and Kampmann are familiar with one another from their days competing in the U.K.-based Cage Warriors Fighting Championships organization.

The two have also trained together in Las Vegas, according to Hardy, although that wouldn’t be enough to stop him from accepting the fight and even attempting to get into the head of Kampmann, as he usually does with opponents.

“I’ve known Martin a long time. I respect him as a fighter, and he’s a nice guy,” Hardy said. “We’ve trained together before, and he put in a great performance (against Thiago).

“Having said all that good stuff about him, this is still a one-man sport and if he gets put in front of me, he’s the next victim. I don’t have an opponent lined up yet, though, so I can’t really start talking (expletive) about them until that happens.”

No matter how Hardy’s trip back to the title begins, the thought of starting a run from scratch has had no effect on his spirits.

The way he sees it, the opportunity to fight for the title was due in some part to a little luck, as injuries to some of the other contenders have helped him rise to the top of the division.

Now that he’s seen what’s waiting for him once he gets back, Hardy believes he’s more dangerous than ever.

“It was fortunate to win the title shot anyway,” Hardy said. “Because of the circumstances in the welterweight division, I got put in for a title shot four fights into my UFC career.

“It was a win-win situation for me. I could have knocked him out and taken the belt or learned what I had to work on. I’m all about finding where my limitations are and pushing them forward.”

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].