Dan Hardy: Dreaming of St-Pierre

SO, here we are – just weeks away from the biggest night of my life, weeks away from my shot at the UFC welterweight title, weeks away from fulfilling my dream and becoming the first British fighter to lift a UFC title.

I'm fighting UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on March 27 in Newark, New Jersey. And it can't come around soon enough for me.

I was told about the title shot literally minutes after I'd beaten Mike Swick last November. It's fair to say it's been on my mind ever since.

I started training the week before Christmas day. I've got a week off and then will knuckle down ahead of the fight.

Rather than the traditional three rounds, I'll be fighting St-Pierre over the five-round championship distance.

In terms of the intensity of training, we've definitely stepped it up now. We went in at the level we usually start camp at, so by the time I got to the final eight weeks I'd already be in a good position to deal with those extra two rounds of a championship fight.

I'm not worried about the five-round distance, as it's something I've prepared for in the past. While the extra two rounds may play on other people's minds, it doesn't really have an affect on me. I'm not really thinking about it too much and know I'll be in a position to deal with it if I have to.

Funnily enough, I've had to be wary of going too fast out the gates and peaking too early in this training camp.

It's been difficult, because I've known about this fight for so long and obviously it's a very exciting time for me.

Ollie Richardson has been in charge of making sure I don't do too much too early and we seem to be going OK at the moment. It is tricky, though, because obviously the fight is on your mind all the time.

It was especially hard over Christmas, simply because I was trying to relax and enjoy myself before the training camp started. Yet all I could think of was the fight coming up.

I just wanted to get to the gym and get started. At this point in training it's just fun, because I know I'm training for something that is very important and could well change my life.

It's very easy to get motivated and inspired for an opportunity like this. This fight feels a little different to others but, at the end of the day, a fight's a fight and they're all pretty much the same.

I do like the attention of these sort of fights, though. I like being involved in big events that get people talking.

If I'm putting this amount of work in when I'm training, I like for it to be for a good reason at the end of it. Knowing that everybody is going to be watching this fight makes it even easier for me to get motivated and to train hard.

I know all eyes are on me for this fight and, rather than feel added pressure, I just feel extra excited.

If I don't perform to my best, the whole world is going to see it – they're going to see me fail to put up a good fight. It's my job to ensure that everything is in place for me to do my job and shock the world on the night.

I can usually gauge my excitement levels by the number of dreams I have about the fight. I've actually already had a few dreams about this fight with St-Pierre.

Usually I won't dream about a fight until the last two or three weeks, but this one has been slightly different. I've been dreaming about this fight quite often and, of course, every time I win. I keep waking up throwing kicks and punches, too, which is very strange.

It's fair to say I'm excited and can't wait to shock the world…

UFC 109 airs LIVE on Sunday from 3am on ESPN