Can Hardy’s Striking Overcome St-Pierre’s BJJ and Wrestling?

Georges St-Pierre has a target on his back.

And it’s been there for a while, as he has reigned as the master of 170 pounds in the UFC.

But he is being marked … again. This time all the way from England. The man who has him in his sights is British sensation Dan Hardy.

A man who had a breakthrough year in 2009, Hardy stormed into the UFC Octagon and blasted off three big wins over three tough opponents … Rory Markham, Marcus Davis and Mike Swick. That last win, a very impressive win over the very tough Swick late in the year, showed he is definitely a highly credible challenger for the title.

On March 27 in New Jersey, he gets his shot to make the most of a golden opportunity when he takes on GSP for the welterweight title.

Following are JD’s thoughts on the wrestling portion of the bout. The entire story, which is in the May issue, features the Nogueira brothers on the cover and is on the newsstands now.

WRESTLING
GSP says that it is 50/50 that he will try out for the Canadian Olympic wrestling team for the 2012 games in London, so that pretty much gives you an idea of the kind of wrestling skill he possesses.

Pierre trains with Canadian national team wrestlers and astoundingly continues to improve on his already well-heralded talent for takedowns. Plus, he was able to stuff takedowns from Josh Koscheck and put the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion on the mat several times during their bout.

When GSP shoots in for a takedown, he is more times than not going to plant his opponent on the mat. And if somebody shoots in on the Canadian, he’s superb at stuffing those shots.

Hardy is not secretive about the fact that Pierre has that edge and isn’t looking to get into a wrestling match with his welterweight opponent. Hardy wants to strike. For him to successfully do that, he will need to keep it on the feet and get back up when he is taken down.

Most likely Pierre will be able to score takedowns, but the key will be for Hardy to fight hard to bring things back to his domain — the standup game.

EDGE: Pierre

By the Numbers

GSP
Record: 19-2
Age: 28
Height: 5 feet 10
Last Loss: April 2007 at UFC 69 (Matt Serra)

Dan Hardy
Record: 23-6-1 (no contest)
Age: 27
Height: 6 feet
Streak: He has won all four of his UFC bouts.