“Now that I’ve got some time off, I can really invest myself in my training and you know, get back to enjoying it,” he tells fightmagazine.com. “Sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy training when you have to do it.  Right now I don’t have to train so I’m just enjoying myself, and you know, learning.”

He reveals that his latest training includes more jiu-jitsu at Eddie Bravo’s gym, along with working on the weak point in his game – wrestling with fighters Mac Danzig and Chad George.

As a team-mate and close friend of former UFC fighter Paul Daley, Hardy also offered his thoughts on the sucker-punch incident that cost ‘Semtex’ his place in the promotion.

“It’s disappointing you know.  I was sitting at the side of the octagon when it happened and you know it’s just very frustrating.  I’ve know Paul for a long time, you know, 10 years or so now.  He’s always been very hot-headed, and that’s what makes him a great fighter because he sees an opportunity and he takes it.  Unfortunately that was an opportunity that he maybe shouldn’t have taken.”

As for Daley’s opponent on that night, Josh Koscheck, Hardy has few good things to says about him.

“What can you say about Koscheck?  The guys a bitch, you know, he faked the knee and he didn’t come to fight, he came to lay on Paul and control him so it could go a decision.  He’s not going to win any fans like that and I think he knows that as well, but he wants his title shot and he’s got it now.”

Koscheck’s victory on that night not only set up a title shot against GSP, but also a stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Season 12, but despite that Hardy still hopes to fight him at some stage in the future.

“Obviously Koscheck, he’s very deserving of a beating but he’s got GSP lined up next which is unfortunate.  Other than Koscheck there’s not really anybody I’ve got my sights set on, so just whoever’s next.”

As for when we’ll see him next, Hardy says, “I know Im going to be fighting later in the year.  I’m hoping it’s going to be on the UK show…UFC 120 in London I think it is.  So that’s what I’m preparing for.”

No opponent has yet been confirmed for his return.

Watch the full interview with Dan Hardy below courtesy of fightmagazine.com.

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In the first round replay evidence suggested that Koscheck had faked being hit with an illegal knee to the face while on the ground. The fighter was widely criticized for his actions at the time, with even the referee and UFC president Dana White questioning whether he had in fact been deliberately trying to get Daley into trouble.

After the fight Koscheck continued to state that he had been hit by something, though he wasn’t sure whether it was a knee or a fist.

Now new footage of the incident shows that he was in fact hit by Daley’s knee – but not the right one as had been originally thought, it was in fact the left one which came just moments earlier.

Look carefully at the footage below to see the moment the knee connects.

So Koscheck is now free from any blame in this particular incident.  Luckily no major damage was done and it had no major effect on the outcome of the fight which he went on to win by decision to set up a title fight with GSP later in the year.

“I’m no Josh Koscheck fan,” White told Yahoo! Sports yesterday. “Personally, I think he’s [expletive]. We actually don’t get along very well.”

That frank assessment of the fighter could lead to some awkward moments in the near future considering that Koscheck has just fought his way to a title show with current welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre and will be appearing alongside White on a regular basis as a coach on the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

White is no stranger to situations like this though, having had previous feuds with fighters like Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson and Roy Nelson to name but a few.  He’s also fallen out with Koscheck’s team-mate Jon Fitch in the past, and is known to be frustrated by members of the ATT team’s refusal to fight each other in the octagon.

White’s comments paint Koscheck in an unfavorable light, but to fair that’s nothing new for the 32 year old who has appeared comfortable, and at times appeared to revel, in the ‘villain’ role since appearing in very first season of TUF.

At last weekend’s UFC 113 event the fighter was soundly booed before, during and after his fight with Paul Daley, and did little to endear himself to the fans as he attempted to get a rise out of them during his post-fight interview.

There had been no love lost between the two men prior to the bout with Daley in particular wasting no opportunity to take a dig at his rivals looks, personality and fighting skills.

He may have won the pre-fight war-of-words but during the fight though it was Koscheck who had the upper-hand as Daley spent much of the three round encounter on his back with Koscheck using his wrestling base to control the UK fighter.

As the final bell rang he approached his opponent looking as if he was going to shake his hand, but then sucker punched his rival before being dragged away by referee Dan Miragliotta. To his credit Koscheck did not seek retribution, merely walking away from the confrontation shaking his head.

At the post-fight press conference Dana White said that there was “no excuse” for Daley’s actions and  confirmed that he will be cut from the UFC and will never fight for the promotion again.

“He’ll never come back,” White stated. “I don’t care if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’s never coming back here.

By way of contrast, with the win Koscheck now gets a shot at GSP’s title and will star opposite him in the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

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Further Reading:

• A Layman’s Guide To The Sucker Punch In Combat Sports
• Josh Koscheck Discusses Paul Daley’s Sucker Punch, Eye-Gouging And Greasing
• Paul Daley Issues Apology For Punching Josh Koscheck
• Dana White UFC 113 Post-Event Interview
• UFC 113 Fighters React To Their Defeats On Twitter

The timing of the news is somewhat ironic given that Daley has been suggesting within the last 24 hours that he may not be interested in a fight with the champion if it was presented to him at this stage.

“I’m not in a rush to get to the title,” Daley told mmafighting’s Ariel Helwani yesterday before the announcement.  “You know, it would be an option, probably after this fight…and who knows, I may not take it, even as big an opportunity as it is.  You never know, I may say no.”

Helwani then prompted Daley to explain why he would turn down a rare chance to fight for a UFC title.

“As much as I am confident I don’t wanna go in there with niggly things in the back of my head.  I’d rather be 100% confident, 100% focused knowing that everything in my personal life and in my training is 100%…a good structure to my training, that everything  is working as it should be to prepare for such a huge test, because once you fall from the top of the mountain it’s hard to get back up.”

Of course before he even needs to worry about whether to take the title shot or not he has to get past Josh Koscheck first, and that will be no easy task.

And for the record, though he insists he’s not looking past Daley, it’s no secret that Koscheck has been calling for a title shot for some time and will relish the prospect of fighting GSP if he can win the fight on Saturday night.

The two have been trading insults for some time now, and in their pre-fight interviews for the UFC Paul Daley wastes no time in getting a dig in at his opponents expense.

“Josh Koscheck is not a fighter. Josh Koscheck is a wrestler – wrestlers don’t like to fight. Wrestlers like to use their athleticism and they like to win. That’s the mentality of a wrestler.”

So how does that differ from Daley’s outlook on the fight? The UK fighter sees a clear, and rather blunt distinction between the two.

“Koscheck’s coming in to win, I’m coming in to f*ck him up really bad.”

Needless to say Koscheck disagrees with Daley’s assessment of his skill-set.

“In the beginning, yeah I was just a wrestler…now, I’m a mixed martial artist. I have other weapons. I have more than just a right hand. I have wrestling, submissions, I have takedowns, I have ground and pound.”

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the two also disagree on how the fight is going to end.

“Don’t be surprised if I come out, stand toe-to-toe and knock this guy out,” states Koscheck with confidence.

“I’ll take a thousand Josh Koscheck right hands, and I guarantee you when I land one of mine there’s only going to be one of us standing,” says Daley.

Watch both fighters videos below…

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Paul Daley:

Josh Koscheck:

Evidently Koscheck was not amused with the actions of Ortiz at UFC 109 in which he taunted the defeated Coleman from outside the cage during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

“Why is Tito Ortiz such a bitch? Talking shit to coleman right after his lose.  After Chuck Liddell fucks him up. I want my shot 2 fuck him up,” Koscheck stated on his twitter account.

Fast forward two days and it’s clear that Koscheck hasn’t backtracked on his statement – in fact it became clear that Ortiz was still very much on his mind.

“Hey @titoortiz so do you think you would take the fight?? About 90% of the people on MMA.tv think I would get you!!!”.

Followed up moments later by:

“2 little?  Look at the old days of the UFC.  I would bet 100k of my own money on it.  After I fu*k this Brit up, I want to kick big mouths ass.”

Ortiz has yet to respond to Koscheck’s taunts, but rest assured it’s only a matter of time before he does!

Koscheck himself confirmed the fmatch-up via his twitter account.

“Ok here we go, let the shit talking start. I am fighting Daley,MAY 1 co main event UFC113. This kid is going 2 get what he’s asking 4. XOXO”

Koscheck is currently on a two fight win-streak, defeating veteran Frank Trigg, and Anthony Johnson, which has helped to banish the memory of his KO loss to Paulo Thiago in February of ‘09.

Meanwhile Daley has made a major impact since joining the promotion in September, surprising many by earning a first round TKO over top contender Martin Kampmann, and then knocking out Dustin Hazelett earlier this month.

The fight has major implications for the welterweight division, with the winner being a strong favorite to get the next title shot against the winner of GSP vs Dan Hardy.

Koscheck’s update is also interesting since he states that the bout will be the co-main event of UFC 113.  That puts into question the long held rumor that both Lyoto Machida Vs Shogun Rua 2 and Rampage Jackson Vs Rashad Evans would be the featured on the event.

It may now be that the UFC has decided to move one of those major fights, each of which is capable of headlining an event, back to a later date.

If that proves to be the case then I believe it’s a smart move.

As we’ve seen in the last few months, injuries and call-offs can severely effect the promotions ability to put on quality cards, so, as much as we all love to see stacked events, it’s makes sense to look to the longer term and spread the marquee fighters out over a number of cards.

At the same time the UFC will now be keeping a close eye on the developing situation over in the boxing world between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley.  If that fight does indeed go ahead and is scheduled for the same night as UFC 113, then they may yet reconfigure their line-up in retaliation to the unexpected competition.

mma.fighting.com were first with the news, and Koscheck himself later confirmed it via his twitter account.

“Well the news is out. I am not fighting feb 6 UFC 109. Do due to injury. I will be good to go back to training in a couple weeks I hope!!”

“It’s all good & I’ll get my body rested & back to the top real soon.”

Later in the day mma.fighting followed up their earlier report by stating that Mike Swick is now set to step in for his AKA team-mate to face Thiago at the Las Vegas event.

The bout is likely to remain the co-main event of the evening, with veterans Randy Couture and Mark Coleman taking the headline spot.

After Anderson Silva pulled out of his expected title fight with Vitor Belfort due to injury, a battle between the UFC’s two oldest competitors, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman will now serve as the main event.

(Note: Watch a video preview for the main event here)

One of the middleweights top contenders Nate Marquardt will be looking to stake his claim for a title shot in the co-main event when he faces Chael Sonnen, who beat Yushin Okami in his last outing in the octagon.

Josh Koscheck was originally expected to fight on the card in a rematch with Paulo Thiago but after injury his team-mate Mike Swick now takes his place, and will be hoping to get back to winning ways after his loss to Dan Hardy.

Meanwhile Damien Maia, who is looking to bounce back strongly after his first round knockout defeat to Maquardt at UFC 102, takes on the always tough Dan Miller in a bout that has been promoted to it’s rightful place on the main card due to injuries.

Rounding off the main card will be another battle of the veterans as Matt Serra looks to banish the memory of losing by decision to Matt Hughes in his last fight against Frank Trigg who will be fighting with the knowledge that a loss would end his second stint for the promotion.

There are also some notable debuts in the undercard of the event, with 4-0 wrestling stand-out Phil Davis taking on Brian Stann, and a member of one of mixed martial arts most famous families, Rolles Gracie, taking on Mustapha Al-Turk in just his third pro fight.

See the full list of scheduled bouts for the event below.

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Main Card:

• Randy Couture Vs Mark Coleman
• Nate Marquardt Vs Chael Sonnen
• Mike Swick Vs Paulo Thiago
• Damien Maia Vs Dan Miller
• Matt Serra Vs Frank Trigg

Undercard:

• Mac Danzig Vs Justin Buchholz
• Melvin Guillard Vs Ronys Torres
• Tim Hague Vs Chris Tuchscherer
• Brian Stann Vs Phil Davis
• Phillipe Nover Vs Rob Emerson
• Joey Beltran Vs Rolles Gracie

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Further Reading:

• Countdown To UFC 109 Show
  
• UFC 110 Fight Card
• UFC On Versus 1 Fight Card

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