LONDON – Take a look at UFC fighter/broadcaster Dan Hardy’s home for the next 30 days. The cramped corridors will take him on a 5,300 mile-journey from England to Brazil.
The monthlong leg of the trip, which heads from London to Rio de Janeiro, is part of the Clipper 2015-2016 Round the World Yacht Race.
Hardy, who joined the UFC broadcast booth after concluding a fruitful fighting career in 2012, will share the boat with 23 other members of Team Great Britain. The former title challenger recently took us for a tour of the vessel, which requires team members to live their lives at a 45-degree angle and at speeds of up to 40 knots.
Check it out above.
Additionally, Hardy recently penned a column about the experience:
There were four levels of training, and levels one and three were really intense. I had a lot of information to remember and I had to build a lot of knowledge, so that’s been hard work. There was a lot of new terminology to take on board, which I hadn’t necessarily expected to have to learn.
“Levels 2 and 4 were really physically and mentally exhausting – sleeping and working in shifts, with four hours on, and four hours off, six hours on, six hours off. Usually in a day you’ll sleep two or three times over a couple of hours so that was something I had to get used to. I’m not normally one to be woken up!
“As well as the conditions, you’re living at a 45 degree angle because the boat is keeled over, so even just getting into your bunk is like an obstacle course. You’ve got to be so careful when you move around. You’ve also got to get used to cooking at 45 degrees, which can be a challenge when you’re boiling water!
“One of the things I found most difficult was the food. When I arrived, someone handed me a fish finger sandwich on white bread…..I thought ‘What the hell is that?’ I have quite a strict diet, and I’m actually going to be helping the race crew with the diet, moving forward, to try and encourage a better standard of nutrition. For the first couple of weeks we’ll have some fresh food, and we’ve got bread mix so we can make bread every day. But after the first couple of weeks we’ll have used all the fresh food, so for the people who eat meat and fish, particularly, it’s going to be difficult.
“This is not something for the fainthearted – people are determined to really challenge themselves here and put everything they have into this race. There are times when it is really quite scary – when you’re going at 40 knots, you have to really have your wits about you and do all you can to keep safe.
“The idea of working in teams for me was also difficult at first because I’ve always been an individual athlete. The idea of picking up work as a team is hard for me. That’s something I’ve really had to get used to.
“Ocean racing is just so unpredictable. Sometimes you have to make a sail change in really, really bad weather. Your core is constantly engaged. It tests your physicality all the time, in a way that mixed martial arts can’t compare. In MMA you fight for 15-25 minutes and you have to sustain your energy for that period. But with ocean racing, you have to sustain your energy and focus for 16-20 hours at a time, sometimes more. You have to mentally prepared, often for weeks, sometimes months, on end.
“My family, of course, worry for my safety. When you’re on land and you get injured, the hospital is probably going to be a few miles away. But at sea, help could be days away. You’re in the middle of really rough conditions and sometimes, it’s not that easy to just get help.
“On the boat, you have to have your wits about you and you have to be prepared, you have to keep yourself safe. You can’t trade punches with nature; you have to always give it respect.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to spend some time with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and he is such an incredible guy. He gave me some words of encouragement. If ever a fight went down, I’d want him by my side!”
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
