Dan Hardy Relocates to Las Vegas to Work with Roy Nelson, Still Plans to Train in the
Posted on May 16, 2011 by Damon Martin mmaweekly
Dan Hardy is making some big changes in preparation for his upcoming fight with Chris Lytle at UFC on Versus 5 in August.
Most notably the British born fighter is moving to Las Vegas to begin training with heavyweight contender Roy Nelson starting this week.
Hardy has had a residence in Los Angeles for a while now, as he’s been training with jiu-jitsu instructor Eddie Bravo over the years, but now he’s packing up to see how Las Vegas treats him.
“At the moment I have a place in Los Angeles and I’m moving to Las Vegas next week so I can start training with Mr. Big Country himself,” Hardy told MMAWeekly Radio.
He will pick up training with Nelson as the big man closes out his camp ahead of his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 130. Then he will head home to England for a few weeks to train with his teammates at Team Rough House.
Hardy and Nelson first met in 2010 at the UFC Fight Night 21 event that Nelson was competing at. They became fast friends and will soon become full-time training partners. Hardy believes working with Nelson will give him a big help with his ground game and wrestling in particular.
“We were passing through Charlotte, N.C., when Roy fought Stefan Struve, and he threw that big overhand right and knocked him out. I thought that was pretty awesome. Obviously, I watched the show as well, and we just got to chatting after the fights,” Hardy explained.
“Obviously, I have a gaping hole in my game and Roy’s a good black belt. He’s been so kind as to help me out.”
The new teammates have even coined the nickname “Hawk and Mullet,” which may even turn into a reality show one day.
All jokes aside however, Nelson plans on working with Hardy to help him improve in a few areas, and believes that their partnership will yield immediate results.
“I think you’re going to see a more refined Dan where he’s going to be confident in every strike that he throws, without worrying about getting taken down,” said Nelson. “And if he wants he can take somebody down.”
