Dan Hardy at UFC 105 Weigh In - Paralympiakos Photo

SPORTS EXTRA - UFC's DAN HARDY's FAMOUS LAST WORDS

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

"He's writing a check with his mouth that his ass can't cash." - FIFA TOP 10

Wednesday November 17, 2010

SAY WHAT!!!

It wasn't as if it were a marriage but it was closer to a burial when prior to fighting against Carlos Condit in UFC 120 October 16 in London, England Dan Hardy sounded off after hearing the comments of his opponent that he was going to defeat the Mohawk hair style wearing English pugilist on his home turf.

"He's writing a check with his mouth that his ass can't cash," the Englishman boldly claimed.

Condit went about his business and verbal retorts in a methodical well thought out manner. Near the end of the first round Hardy was dropped by a strong left hook by Condit. Condit followed up with two more punches on the ground before the referee stopped the fight at 4:27 of the first round, making Condit the winner by KO. This fight was Hardy's first loss by knockout.

It was an amazing scene and scenario that was worthy of a Rocky movie after seeing Condit smash Hardy in that mouth that spewed those confident his ass can't cash claims. Hardy hit the mat like a rock and the crowd was in shock while Condit's ass cashed the check that his mouth wrote.

What came out of this was the legitimacy of the UFC in emerging as the viewer's choice surpassing interest in boxing. Hardy's colorful remarks and colorful attire is somewhat reminiscent of Muhammad Ali. He'll never challenge Ali's skill level but is almost as interesting to listen to and watch.

TONIGHT Wednesday November 17 in Southeast Asia the Hardy verses UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre in UFC 111 that March 27, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey is SCHEDULED to air on True Sport 2 (note our TV schedule including repeats). It's a delay telecast of the FIVE ROUND bout but for fight fans is a must watch.

Much of Hardy's colorful image is derived from his background. Hardy is a fan of hardcore, punk and metal music, to the point where he is sponsored by Nottingham-based metal record label, Earache Records. He has a passion for art, rarely spending a day without a sketch pad in his bag until the age of 22. He gave up his degree in art and design in his final year at Nottingham Trent University to pursue MMA full time. He is also a fan of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team.

Spain's Carles PUYOL - FIFA photo

FIFA TOP 10 - Egypt back in the top ten

Caribbean making good headway - The results of 34 new “A” international matches were factored into the current edition of the world ranking, bringing the total number of matches taken into account this year to 673

The November edition of the FIFAWorld Ranking contains only one change from the previous month inside the top ten. While Spain , the Netherlands and Brazil have retained their positions out front, Egypt are back among the ten best teams at the expense of Russia . Meanwhile, another African team is on the up, namely the hosts of this year’s FIFA World Cup, South Africa , who have moved up two places to enter the top 50 for the first time since February 2006.

However, the biggest winners all hail from the Caribbean , with the numerous matches played at the Caribbean Cup, which also serves as a qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, bringing some participating teams major gains in terms of points. These include Trinidad and Tobago (78th, up 28), Guyana (86th, up 12) and Grenada (91st, up 34), who are the highest climbers in the entire ranking. Outside CONCACAF, only Botswana (67th, up 12) and Cambodia (170th, up 12) have moved up more than ten places. Inside the top 50, however, the situation has remained relatively settled, with no teams climbing more than two places and only one ( Burkina Faso , 41st) dropping four.

The results of 34 new “A” international matches were factored into the current edition of the world ranking, bringing the total number of matches taken into account this year to 673. Almost half of the matches played this month (16 games) were qualifiers for the Gold Cup, meaning that it was mainly teams from the Caribbean who enjoyed big gains in points and places in the November edition of the ranking.

Summary

· Leader Spain (unchanged)

· Moves into top ten Egypt (10th, up 1)

· Moves out of top ten Russia (13th, down 3)

· Matches played in total 34

· Most matches played Guyana , Suriname (4 games each)

· Biggest move by points Grenada (up 180 points)

· Biggest move by ranks Grenada (91st, up 34)

· Biggest drop by points Togo (down 82 points)

· Biggest drop by ranks Togo (107th, down 20)

· Newly ranked teams none

· Teams that are no longer ranked none

· Inactive teams (not ranked) São Tomé e Príncipe

FIFA TOP 10 for November, 2010

Rank -- Team -- Points

1. Spain - 1920

2. Netherlands - 1718

3. Brazil - 1493

4. Germany - 1489

5. Argentina - 1353

6. England - 1250

7. Uruguay - 1174

8. Portugal - 1102

9. Croatia - 1098

10. Egypt - 1047

The next edition of the FIFA World Ranking will be published on December 15, 2010.

FIFA