UFC 99: Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy boils over

News, Top Story

The UFC conducted their UFC 99 conference call this afternoon. If the fireworks on the call are a precursor of what’s to come in the cage; it should a heck of a fight between Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy.

Things really heated up when Hardy was asked if he went to far when he made fun of Marcus Davis for his emotional display at UFC 93, fighting in his adopted country of Ireland where Davis has roots.

Hardy responded with, “I dunno really…it’s a valid question.”

Hardy went on to say he doesn’t feel Davis should have taken his fight – he should be looking toward a title shot, not me – but Hardy said what he said what he had to in order to bait Davis into a fight with him. “I didn’t feel a fight between us would happen, but I was able to get a reaction out of him.”

Hardy actually felt Davis crossed the line by calling him a coward – something that confused Hardy since Hardy was the one that instigated this fight. “He was the one that did the real trash talking. So where do you draw the line? Most people would laugh all this off but Marcus seems to be a bit too sensitive.”

Marcus Davis retorted by saying Hardy did in fact cross the line and that he only called Hardy a coward after a situation involving some pictures of Davis being posting on the internet. Davis added, “I respect Dan Hardy as a fighter, because he can fight, but I did not respect him as a person because he has shown me no respect as a person.”

Hardy followed up by saying he too respected Davis as a fighter but that would not matter when they fought because Davis would not beat him.

The back and forth continued, resulting in a shouting match. At one point Davis called Hardy a liar. Hardy asked Davis if he thinks he is afraid of him and Davis answered, “You wouldn’t be a fighter if you were afraid of people. That is not in our genetic make up.”

“I will look you in the eyes June 12 at the weigh in and tell you I am not afraid of you,” quipped Hardy. And then on June 13, I will show you I am not afraid of you. Davis retorted with “we’ll see” finished by Hardy saying, “Yeah, we will see. I hope your read because I am ready as hell.”

The original war of words between these two began soon after Hardy’s first round knockout victory over Rory Markham during the UFC 95 event in London, England.

During a post-fight press conference for the event, Hardy called into question Davis’ penchant for playing up his Irish roots.

“He’s had a couple of fights in the UK, and he’s kind of building himself a fan base, but he’s not English; he’s not Irish,” said Hardy. “I was born here, and I’ve been bred here. I don’t mind taking on that challenge and showing him this is my home and not his.”

Davis responded to the comments and stated that he’s tired of his tribute to his Irish heritage being constantly called into question.

“I’m getting sick and tired of everyone saying I’m a fake Irishman or a fake this and fake that. I never told anybody I was an Irishman. What I am is proud of my heritage, which is Irish, Welsh and Scottish.

At this point, every fan should be ready for the UFC’s first trip into continental Europe. UFC 99 will emanate from the Lanxess Arena June 13 and will feature former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva taking on former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

Brian has been an avid fan of MMA ever since he saw Randy Couture beat Vitor Belfort back at UFC 15. In 2008, he decided to embark on a new career by combining his love of MMA and writing. Brian received his M.B.A. from Texas Tech University and currently resides in New York City.