Wow the UFC moved fast when they pronounced that Dan Hardy would be the next to fight welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Hardy put on a good performance against Mike Swick, but has the welterweight division grown so thin that a record like Hardy’s is enough to get you a shot at the title?

Dan Hardy has faced Mike Swick, Marcus Davis and Rory Markham in his last three fights and has won against all three but his level of competition has been far below that of the current UFC welterweight champion. GSP’s last three opponents have been Thiago Alves, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch which seems to be a level above the competition of Hardy. Keep in mind that Alves, GSP’s latest victim, had just come off a six fight win streak, with three top ten opponents in a year, while Fitch was undefeated in eight bouts before his loss trying to get the title. There’s no doubt about the huge gap in talent faced by the champ versus the now number one contender.

Hardy could be worthy of a shot, though most would give him only a puncher’s chance against St. Pierre, but it would have made more sense for Hardy to face either Alves or Fitch before taking on the champion. Hardy has a serious skill set, but going against GSP so quickly reeks of UFC politics rather than actual fighter rankings.

The MMA News, Charttopper, Opinion.