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"Hardy can definitely win. Overall, GSP has the better chances to win, of course, but Hardy is getting better and better and, honestly, I am more excited to see this GSP fight versus Hardy than pretty much anyone else you could put GSP in with. I am super excited about the fight; I can't wait to see what happens as a MMA fan. Dan can definitely win this if he takes his chances with his strikes... Dan Hardy definitely deserves his title shot in Newark. I said in a few interviews he didn't but - I want to clear the air - when I said that I was still upset I'd got beat by him at UFC 105. I made that mistake of talking when I was feeling emotional, when I was feeling down and was disappointed in my performance. But it wasn't my true opinion; at least not one I'd actually thought about... I'm a little embarrassed I said that, and want to say publicly Hardy deserves his shot and has a good chance of winning. He's a top fighter. I said on my Twitter I hope Dan does well and good luck to him, that he deserves shot. But obviously no-one picked up on that while the other stuff I said before was everywhere... Has Hardy had a fast route to the title? Yes, but he's taken chances and accepted tough fights when offered to him. It's true: if I had won that fight no-one would be saying I didn't earn it. And do I wish I'd have gotten a faster route to a number one contender fight? Of course. You wouldn't be hearing me complain, or any other welterweight complain, about getting a quicker route to a number one contender fight. He stepped up to fight me and won."
-Mike Swick goes back on previous comments made towards Dan Hardy receiving a Title shot in an interview with MMAFighting.com.
Penick's Analysis: Hardy definitely earned his shot more than some others that have been tossed into Title opportunities in the UFC. It's an interesting turnaround for Swick to give Hardy his due, but like he made clear he was making the earlier comments from a place of hurt pride having been beaten by Hardy. He's also departing from the AKA mold and the comments his teammates have made about Hardy. It's good to see him take this road as it was simply making him sound like he wouldn't have earned the opportunity to fight GSP had he beaten Hardy himself. UFC 111 is getting very close, and Hardy is one of the most deserving fighters that hasn't faced GSP yet, so he'll have his chance to prove that he did, in fact, deserve a shot at the Champ by beating him.
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