Hardy eyes rebound in UFC 120 matchup

Hardy spent most of the five rounds on his back and mounted very little offense in losing a 50-45, 50-44, 50-43 decision in the biggest fight of his life.

“I think to anybody watching the fight, it’s pretty obvious. My wrestling wasn’t up to scratch, and my offensive jiu-jitsu wasn’t there,” Hardy said on a conference call. “I couldn’t threaten him on the ground at all, and I could hardly get back to my feet.”

The 28-year-old native of Nottingham, England, has had more than six months to work on those shortcomings and will return to action against Carlos Condit at UFC 120 in London on Saturday.

“(I have) just been working solid on my jiu-jitsu and traveling around working with different wrestling coaches and just getting some good input on that,” Hardy said. “I came back to the U.K. with my team, and it’s all paying off. I certainly think I’m well on the way, but it’s something that’s going to constantly need improvement, the same as every area of my game.”

Hardy won his first four fights in the UFC before being derailed by St. Pierre, but all four wins came in Europe. He insisted the locale makes little difference in the actual fight, though the crowd will certainly be in his favor Saturday.

Despite all the work on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu, Hardy still prefers the striking game, and he said Condit might be an ideal opponent to return to his roots.

“A fight of the night bonus would be a nice addition to my bank account,” he said. “If it’s up to me, I’d just stand on the Bud Light logo in the middle of the Octagon and throw punches. I’m confident with my power and with my chin, so if that’s the way this fight goes, then I’m all for it.”

The card, which features a main event bout between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama, will air tape-delayed on Spike (Cable 29).

■ DIAZ AVENGES LOSS — Nick Diaz earned a unanimous decision over K.J. Noons to retain the Strikeforce welterweight title on a card in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday night.

Diaz lost to Noons in 2007, with the fight stopped due to a cut on the face of Diaz. Since that fight, Diaz has won eight consecutive bouts.

In the co-main event, Marloes Coenen submitted Sarah Kaufman in the third round to win the women’s welterweight title.

Coenen was dropping in weight after losing in a title challenge to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the middleweight belt in January.

Also, Tyron Woodley and Josh Thomson picked up victories on the card.

■ BENAVIDEZ REPLACES BOWLES — Joseph Benavidez, who challenged Dominick Cruz for the World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight title in August, has agreed to step in as a replacement to fight fellow contender Wagnney Fabiano at WEC 52 at the Palms on Nov. 11.

Fabiano was scheduled to face Brian Bowles, but the former champion had to withdraw after breaking his foot in training.

The main event features Benavidez’s teammate, Urijah Faber, making his debut at bantamweight against Takeya Mizugaki. Faber, the former featherweight champion, has not fought in Las Vegas since 2007, at the height of his title reign.

Anthony Njokuani, a Las Vegan looking to avoid his third consecutive loss in the WEC, will face newcomer Edward Faaloloto on the undercard.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.