UFC Newcomer Dale Hartt Ready to Throwdown

By: MPeterson12 - fiveouncesofpain.com

Dale Hartt didn’t find his athletic fit until he found fighting. It wasn’t for a lack of trying though. As a high school athlete he played football, hockey, and lacrosse in the spring, but always felt something was missing.

“Every sport I played, other than mixed martial arts, all I really wanted to do was hit people,” Hartt said during a recent episode of the New England Fights! podcast. “I could care less at the end of the day what the score was or anything else that happened; I just wanted to go out there and hit people. So I found a lot better sport for me.”

Hartt will test his competitive spirit on July 19th in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 14 when he puts his undefeated 5-0 MMA record on the line against fellow UFC newcomer Shannon Gugherty (9-2).

Hartt, a 155-pound fighter, amassed his flawless record fighting on the local level in New England. A Maine native, Hartt is a member of Team Irish under coach Marcus Davis, a fighter famous for his heavy hands and six-win streak in the UFC that was recently broken at UFC 85 after a three-round decision loss to Mike Swick.

“Marcus is just a warrior, first and foremost,” Hartt said during the show. “No matter what else happens, I will always think of Marcus as a hardnosed warrior with a Never-Say-Quit attitude… Win, lose or draw, Marcus comes to fight. And he’ll fight you, and he’ll fight anybody.”

Hartt’s call from the UFC came through his newly hired agent, Ken Pavia. Hartt connected with Pavia during his tryout for season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Hartt was one of the last 155-pounders to be cut during the auditions.

Hartt stated during the interview that he has been training for his upcoming UFC fight against Gugherty with Team Irish back in Bangor, Maine and Kenny Florian, Mark DellaGrote and the rest of Team Sityodtong in Somerville, Massachusetts. He admitted, however, that he knows little about his opponent other than what he looks like.

“I’ve been telling people that I look like his really good looking older brother,” Hartt joked.

But for Dale Hartt, it doesn’t matter. A Navy veteran who has almost completed his degree in Kinesiology, has found his calling.

“I’m going to come to fight,” Hartt said in closing. “I’ll throw down; I’ll give it everything I got. As long as I leave it all on the table for me, my family, for my fans—if I leave everything I have, if I dig as deep as I can go and I leave everything on the table—no matter what happens, I’ll be happy.”

To listen to the complete interview to hear what Dale has to say about fighting Fedor Emelianenko; fighting Dan Lauzon (“Why is he fighting someone who is 2-7? In a co-main event?”); and combat fitness, visit www.newenglandfights.com.

Editor’s Note: This article was authored by Matt Peterson produced by New England Fights! as a courtesy for FiveOuncesOfPain.com. Listen to the free New England Fights! podcast at NewEnglandFights.com.