The Daily Record - Webeditor Blog

Beyond kayfabe

2010-10-30T08:14:14Z

Pro-wrestling's a weird world at the best of times. Worked fights, carny slang and ridiculous characters and costumes add up to a slightly surreal, slightly deranged rarified atmosphere where grown men can defy gravity, pain and occasionally logic.

But there's times when even that world goes a little bit mental. Which is where a fun new book by Oliver Hurley comes in.

Wrestling's 101 Strangest Matches is a fantastic wee book charting the weirdest moments in professional wrestling history. From the moment Kendo Nagasaki started hypnotising his opponent to the day NY Times best seller Mick Foley lost his ear during a match, the best of the worst are all in there.

It's great toilet reading, even if you're not much of a wrestling fan. Indeed, it probably helps if you're not, since going into it cold means you can be even more amazed at just how bonkers crazy some of this stuff is.

And if you do know your onions, there's bound to be stuff in here that you've either never heard of, or tried desperatey to forget. Like the Viagra on a Pole match, or the Mass Transit incident. Or Crash Holly in the ball pool.

In fact, the only thing that's not in there is this particular curio from WCW, when some bright spark at Centre Stage thought it'd be a great idea to have Steve 'Sting' Borden tag with - and be rescued by - Robocop.

No, really...

Look, I'm all for protecting kayfabe, but there's times when even that goes too far.

Anyway, with the WWE up in Scotland next week, it's the perfect time to go and get a copy of the book and amuse yourself with just how whacky the world of wrestling is.

The sad story of the incredible fainting kittens

2010-10-28T14:06:31Z

This video has been going about the internet today - so the chances are you've already seen it. But if not...

It's two cute little kittens - Spike and Charlie - who suffer from the genetic condition myotonia congenita. It's the strange disorder that causes certain goats to suddenly freeze up for around ten seconds, and make them look like they've fainted.

Ed, the kitten's owner, put the video up on YouTube a few days ago, and it's become one of those instant hits since it touches all the typical viral buttons - cute animals, music, cute animals falling over, etc etc.

Except... as Ed also reveals in the comments for the video, Spike - the little black kitten - died from a respiratory illness a couple of days ago. Hopefully not connected to him being continually startled and falling over.

1 in ten of the crowd at UFC120 were Scots - now there's no excuse not to come to Glasgow

2010-10-17T08:04:57Z

A little bit of Las Vegas glamour was claimed by the Tartan Army last night as Scots turned out in their droves for the UFC's show here in London - and to send a message to the sport's bosses.

I've been down here at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC120 card and Fan Expo all weekend, and absolutely taken aback by the sheer number of Scots voices I've heard everywhere.

As Michael Bisping left the cage victorious over Sexiyama last night, the first thing the former TUF winner would have seen was a whacking great Saltire waved in his face by the fans who'd got ringside.

At the Fan Expo Q&As with UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC boss Dana White, again and again the same question was asked: When is the UFC coming to Scotland?

Both made it clear that a fight card north of the border is one of their priorities. But it's a question that keeps being asked, time and time again. Even in the post-fight press conference at the O2, one of the first questions asked of Dana was when we could see the Octagon coming north.

And from the attendance at the venue, it's clear there's a desperate hunger for it now.

Some 1600 made the expensive trip, even in the grip of the current economic climate, down across the border to watch the show. To put that into context - the O2, for the show last night - had an attendance of just over 17000. So roughly one in every ten people in the arena was a Scot.

They paid out a small fortune in travel costs, fight tickets, expo tickets, as they have done when they travelled to Manchester, Belfast and Dublin for the UK cards. Even without a single Scottish fighter on the card, they staged a mini-invasion of the arena.

Now just think what that would be like at Braehead. It's where UFC have looked at holding an event - and Marshall Zelaznik, UFC's UK chief, says they want to be by next year. But it's a claim that's been made time and time again. In all the time I've been covering UFC, they've talked of a Scottish fight card but it's not happened.

The argument thus has been that Braehead's just too small to stage a UK UFC event now. And it's an argument that does hold merit - you could fit three Braeheads inside the O2 or the MEN Arena. The UFC's a business, and the economics has to work out.

But it's clear from talking to fans, to MMA writers, to fighters and the rest of the industry that Glasgow would sell out in seconds. 6000 tickets? Be lucky if they made it past the first half-hour. Short of giving away Brock Lesnar v Junior Dos Santos as a main event on the show, nobody's going to take a bath on the profit.

Especially if it's something like a mid-week Fight Night card, in proximity to a larger show in the UK or Europe. Less travelling and production costs, less pressure to deliver, and a guaranteed instant sell-out.

UFC says 2011 is the year they're coming to Scotland. But they said that in 2010, 2009 and 2008. There is now a tangible, measurable desire for a show up north.

When fully 1/10th of your big fight audience have come 600 miles cross-country, cross-border then, as the legendary Bruce Buffer would say, it's time.

Things you should never do if making an advert: Number one - release 100 cats into Ikea...

2010-09-10T11:09:42Z

They say never work with children or animals. So working with 100 animals would be borderline insane. And working with 100 cats, which don't exactly play ball at the best of times? Aff yer heid crazy.

So well done to whichever advertising exec came up with the idea of releasing and filming 100 cats in an IKEA store in London to make their new advert. Don Draper would be very proud of your ingenuity. And Polyfilla very proud of the sales you've generated from builders having to repair the damage done.

Timelapse footage of Scotland's newest statue

2010-08-30T11:00:16Z

You might have seen the story the other day of Cumbernauld's giant four-armed statue, Arria, which was unveiled next to the A80.

The giant £250,000 statue by Andy Scott, which takes its name from the mother of the Emperor Antonius, took nearly a year to make and will be seen by more than 70,000 motorists a day.

And here is how, in this lovely timelapse video, the statue took shape...

The world's scariest, most surreal TV advert. And it's for cola.

2010-08-02T12:36:00Z

Afri-cola, to be precise. A Germany fizzy drinks brand that lost its way in the 60s against mounting competition from across the Pond.

Lost their way? Lost the bleeding plot, more like. As evidenced by this:

Indebted to our pictures guru Alasdair Baird for flagging this one up via Twitter. It's like Roeg, Brunel and Jodorowsky collaborating on a directing project while someone boots the living daylights out of an album of BBC Radiophonic Workshop sound effects in the background.

God knows what their adverts for Fanta substitute Bluna must have been like....

Looking at the bigger picture over Gaelic TV and BBC Alba

2010-08-01T10:07:21Z

For an hour a day on Freeview in Scotland, there's Gaelic broadcasting.

It's been there for more than a decade, sitting at channel 8 on the EPG. TeleG is a broadcasting anomaly, brought into effect by the 1996 Broadcasting Act which spelled out a legal requirement for a daily amount of Gaelic content to be aired on the free-to-air digital platform. For the rest of the day, it's a white screen.

Studio Alba, which runs the channel, now faces a harsh reality. WIth BBC Alba - the £14m-a-year, publicly funded joint venture between BBC Scotland and MG Alba - awaiting a BBC Trust ruling on its own ambitions to move to Freeview - the future of the channel - and the four people it employs - looks shrouded in doubt.

Murdo Maclennan, head of operations with TeleG, told me:

"It would seem irrational to have two Gaelic channels, especially given the scarce financial resources - we could not compete with the well-funded BBC Alba.

"We would lose our jbs, that is the most brutal outcome.

"We have been waiting since 2005 for some clarity of the facts to be established...It's a very uncertain time for everyone."

Maclennan laments the fact that successive changes to broadcasting and digital media law have failed to address the anomalous nature of TeleG.

The content it shows is not unique - originally sourced from STV, it is now provided by MG Alba, which obtained the Gaelic programming archive from STV. The channel operators claim around 20,000 people watch TeleG regularly for its old retransmissions of Speaking Our Language and similar shows, a number that has been growing since digital switchover started taking place in Scotland.

It's no secret that the team behind BBC Alba covet TeleG's high position on the EPG. The channel's head of operations Alan Esslemont told me:

"For me, the core of TeleG is that BBC Alba provides a better service and if BBC Alba were patched into the number on Freeview then that would be the best service of all both for Gaelic speakers and non-Gaelic speakers."

Esslemont emphasises that talented TV staff with Gaelic backgrounds would always find a home with BBC Alba, and stresses the number of jobs that the channel has created since it went live on Freesat and Sky Digital in late 2008 - although Alba was unable to provide any concrete numbers as to as many have actually been created.

But neither channel has talked with the other over the future, though Esslemont confirms discussions have taken place with ITV - which owns the frequency that TeleG airs on - and MG Alba over the EPG placing that TeleG enjoys.

So what happens next depends on the BBC Trust ruling over Alba's proposed move onto Freeview. The Scottish Government, which funds MG Alba, has washed its hands of the potential mess, saying it is a matter for Westminster and ITV. Bizarrely, they also claim that large areas of Scotland cannot see TeleG - leaving one to wonder exactly why someone would want to move onto Freeview in the first place, in that case.

Freeview is the big goal for BBC Alba. Although the channel already claims it is watched by 250,000 figure, as we been previously reported that data is based only on surveys carried out by TNS System Three, and by viewer diaries among a Gaelic sample audience. MG Alba and the BBC refuse to take the channel onto the BARB measurement board used by the rest of the BBC's TV output.

Their reasoning is understandable at the moment - the channel's largest reach is to the Gaelic population in the Highlands and Islands, yet BARB's monitoring extends only to mainland Britain, excluding a substantial portion of the Gaels who are the core demographic. Esslemont insists it's the right choice, citing how S4C paid close to a £1m to increase the number of homes being monitored in Wales by BARB to ensure accurate ratings data:

"They realise in Wales that they can't get the right figures with just a UK panel, and it would need some kind of movement from BARB in Scotland. Whether or not they'd be willing to do that I don't know, because we're the only channel in Scotland that you could say at present is created in Scotland...

"I'd be really comfortable on BARB if I felt BARB was finer grained. But the more we become a big channel in Scotland, then the question of being finer grained becomes less, if you like, and you begin to benefit out of the blockiness. So it will depend on how we can, in the coming years, become a channel that lots of Scots people want to watch."

But with close to their target audience numbers already, and just an estimated 60,000 Gaelic speakers in the country, questions remains over how many more people the channel can attract.

Esslemont insists the channel "will only succeed if we get onto Freeview. If [it] just becomes a normal channel for people in Scotland", but by being a normal channel it should be accountable in the same way - using the industry standard audience measurement that every other mainstream broadcaster uses. What is currently being proposed is a half-way house, which would see the channel get the same prime time, nationwide distribution that BBC Three and Four enjoy, yet avoid the ratings scrutiny that the those channels come in for.

And I understand that the situation is coming under scrutiny from the BBC Trust, as part of their decision-making process on moving the channel to Alba. A source confirmed to me that ratings measurement was an aspect under discussion in the continuing debate.

The removal of radio services from Freeview is also something that raises questions. BBC Alba rejected a proposal to replace BBC Parliament in Scotland, in favour of the idea submitted to the Trust to remove the 13 BBC radio channels from Freeview in Scotland instead.

Alan Esslemont told me:

"There is a question about those channels that people can't easily access, and I think we have to look at that and see what is the best way of getting BBC Alba onto Freeview - that's an absolute must - and disaccomodating the least amount of people possible.

"But at the moment you have to recognise that more people are being disaccomodated by not receiving BBC Alba than would be disaccomodated otherwise."

However, the pure audience impact of that move would seem to go against Alba's reasoning. BBC Parliament currently attracts less than a 0.1 share across the UK - meaning a viewership that rates below around 60,000. In Scotland, that number is even smaller - a BBC source estimated it at 'less than 10,000'.

Yet Alba's own submission to the BBC Trust in October 2009 makes clear the audience for BBC radio channels on Freeview is between 60,000 and 90,000. With DAB availability and signal weak at best in Scotland, and broadband availability less than the national average - and in some places, such as Glasgow, take-up just over 30% - the alternate options of listening on DAB and via online just aren't there for many Scots.

Nearly two years since its launch in 2008, Alba has bold ambitions for the future - and for the channel's legacy:

"There has to be some kind of linguistic ambition to it. What television does for language - and I've seen it both in Wales and Ireland - it adds to the status of the language, puts the language into mainstream and it does this thing that linguistics talk about - normalisation, so that the whole of society begins to look at Gaelic as a normal part of society, and then Gaelic speakers begin to recognise that their language is a normal part of Scottish society.

"We want to create content that adds to Gaelic culture, that actually sees that the pinnacle of Gaelic culture may not have been reached. Through television and media we can reach into ways that for a long time was only done through poetry. And also that Scotland sees BBC Alba as adding greatly to their choice. They'll see it as another Scottish choice that is very good at dealing with communities that would naturally be less well served by the market - from grass roots football to professional rugby to traditional music to a whole pile of Scottish stories that haven't been told.

"I think that's our strength, and we will be successful if we tell Scottish stories that haven't been told."

Nobody can deny the need for good Gaelic-language content in Scotland, and for it to be seen by as many people as possible. You just have to look at what S4C has done for the television and film industry in Wales to see the benefit of having proper investment and distribution of native-language content to viewers - without nearly 30-years of S4C, Torchwood and Doctor Who would not exist - many of the talented production staff in Cardiff having cut their teeth on S4C programming.

What must be examined properly, though, is the value for money and audience that BBC Alba offers. Without accurate, programme-by-programme ratings data it's difficult to know what's a hit and what isn't on a channel paid for out of the public purse - especially at at time when, as I revealed in the Daily Record, the channel wants to buck the trend of cuts elsewhere and receive an increase in public funding.

These are factors the BBC Trust face considering as they weigh up the pros and cons of moving the channel onto the most widely-available digital platform in Scotland. Will the BBC Trust make that decision though?

Esslemont is bullish:

"We expect them to say yes. Strangely all the numbers stack up for the Gaelic channel, which is strange for Gaelic as Gaelic normally loses the numbers game."

But his counterpart at TeleG is less so, citing the recent debate around digital radio.

"My gut instinct is, given the recent debate, that I'm not so sure they will grant carriage. With the debate over removing 6Music and the Asian Network, the focus turned onto the whole of the BBC, and the need for universality of carriage."

The BBC Trust is giving nothing away, although a decision is expected within the next three months.

A spokeswoman for the Trust said: "The Trust has not yet concluded its review of BBC Alba, including the question of whether it should be made available on Freeview.

"As we announced in March, this review will now conclude after the Trust has published its final conclusions on the BBC's Strategy Review in the autumn."

The greatest firework show you never want to see: Nuclear bomb tests in space

2010-07-05T08:20:41Z

Now, I like a good firework show as much as the next man. Which is just as well, because last night the sky above my flat was erupting with smoke and explosions as someone nearby decided to put on a show to mark July 4.

But there's some fireworks I'd never like to see. Such as the ones captured in this incredible mini documentary, put together by the US NPR radio network and using footage only recently declassified by the American government.

It shows the incredible - and in retrospect quite chilling - effect of an H-bomb test in space, conducted by America in the summer of 1962 when, 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean, a bomb was detonated to see what the effects of a extra-atmospheric nuclear blast would be.

NPR has more details of this remarkable footage, and the story behind it, here.

YouChoobs: Miscarriage of justice by the DtecNet copyright cops

2010-06-21T09:17:10Z

Elsewhere on DailyRecord.co.uk you may have seen our fantastic games blog, where the two Scotts do a sterling job of updating videogamers with the latest news, reviews and preview - including the latest games trailer videos.

Or rather, they used to. Because at the end of last week YouTube suddenly, and without warning, terminated the account we've been using to host the videos that went onto the blog.

Our internet provider was also served with breach of copyright notices because we had three videos on the games blog, ordering that they be removed or that the blog be shut down.

The notices were sent by a company in America called DTecNet, a security firm acting on behalf of Microsoft. And here's the problem. Because the videos were given to us... by Microsoft.

The company's UK PR arm gave us the videos to put up on the games blog, and permission to put them onto the YouTube channel to make sure the highest quality resolution was available to people wanting to watch them.

So the YouTube channel was shut down by a firm acting for Microsoft because it contained content from Microsoft - content given to us by Microsoft themselves.

Welcome to the whacky world of internet copyright, where the left hand not only doesn't know what the right is up to, it's poking the right with a stick and sticking two fingers up at it on a regular basis.

YouTube told us they had no choice but to shut down the channel as it has to comply with the rules on a copyright complaint. Of course, we were given no right of appeal to the decision, nor notice that there were complaints in the first place. Basically, YouTube's attitude is 'it's no' our fault, we were just following orders'.

Don't forget - they're owned by Google, a company whose corporate motto is 'Don't be evil'...

DTecNet's reponse... well, actually, I can't tell you what their response is. Because they've not bothered to reply to the numerous emails and phone calls made to their UK and US operations. Clearly they're not interested in entering into a dialogue or even considering the option that the videos might be there legitimately - they've made their complaint and stuff the victim, whether or not the complaint is correct.

So for the meantime, you might find some of the videos on the Games blog don't work. We'd love to be able to say when the matter will be resolved but with DTecNet not even offering us the decency of replying to an email, let alone explaining their behaviour, I wouldn't hold your breath...

Can you help solve the mystery of the elephant in a Glasgow street?

2010-06-21T09:09:20Z

You've heard of the elephant in the room? Well, here's the elephant in a Glasgow street.

This photo has sparked a bit of a mystery after its owner, Geoffrey Younger, contacted the Daily Record looking for our readers' help in tracking down the location.

He said:

The picture shows my Great Grandad, Arthur Feely (of Bostock and Wombwell's Menagerie) walking down what we believe is a Glasgow street (the picture had Glasgow written on the back.

I wonder whether any of your readers could recognise the street. Arthur was a lion tamer and elephant trainer with the menagerie and for the past eight years I have collected together a photo album of the menagerie.

So, over to you, faithful readers. Do you recognise whereabouts in Glasgow - or elsewhere - that picture was taken? If so drop us an email at iain.hepburn@dailyrecord.co.uk.

Waxing Lyrical with Ozzy

2010-05-27T14:03:48Z

So, what happens if wildman of rock turned reality show daftie Ozzy Osborne decides to pretend to be a waxwork for the day?

This:

Copyright proves web parody's Downfall

2010-04-21T09:46:27Z

You're probably aware of one of YouTube's biggest memes, even if you don't realise it straight away. But don't get used to it - the videos involved may not be sticking around much longer.

Constantin Films, the German movie company behind the critically acclaimed World War 2 flick Downfall, has finally lost patience with the 'Hitler finds out' parodies of the movie which can be found on the video sharing site.

You know the ones I mean. It's the one where Hitler rants and throws a tantrum, to hilarious effect. In the film it shows the dictator's decent into madness as he kicks off a fit after being told by his generals he cannot win the war. But on YouTube. it's become an all-encompasing meme, with subtitles turning the scene into a rant on anything from the Old Firm to Michael Jackson's death, Halo to Britney Spears.

There are hundreds of these kicking about. But now attempts to upload new ones are being blocked because of a copyright claim by Constantin Films, with a host of the most popular older videos also having been deleted.

Copyright is a thorny issue on the internet at the best of times, but occasionally the overzealousness of companies can see legitimate uses being skewered for the sake of making a quick buck.

Earlier this year we saw Beyonce video deleted from her own official YouTube channel by her own record company, who complained the vids were infringing its copyright in a wonderful case of left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. The label wants you to watch the videos, in order to buy the songs. The labels lawyers, however, have other ideas.

Copyright is becoming a battleground on YouTube. Last month Nestle got into a heck of a stooshie over a video by Greenpeace criticising the confectionary giant for using palm oil, harvesting of which puts the world's oranutang population in danger. Nestle had the video pulled from YouTube by claiming it breached their copyright, but in doing so whipped up a storm of criticism from environmental campaigners.

So while Constantin Films are entirely right to want to protect their copyright, they're a bit late doing anything about it - the Downfall parodies have been kicking about for so long as to take on a life of their own. Plus, with so many out there already, stamping them all out is going to prove a lengthy, and probably frustrating, experience for the studio.

In the meantime - what are the odds on a Downfall parody about Downfall parodies being deleted appearing on YouTube sooner rather than later?

Ashes to ashes

2010-04-15T09:13:57Z

So, just what does that incredible, devastating cloud of ash which has halted air travel in an otherwise beautifully sunny Scotland look like?

I'd be gutted if it wasn't anything like this:

Meanwhile, credit to Sky News' James Matthews after one Edinburgh punter offered his own unique input into the situation during a voxpop at the airport this morning...

Perhaps Taiwan's answer to SuBo could fill in for sick Whit

2010-04-09T12:37:57Z

The thing about the internet is that things go global far quicker than they used to. Whereas it could take days, or weeks, for a story to go around the world, now it takes mere seconds.

Such as the story of Lin Yu Chun, who appeared on Super Star Road - Taiwan's answer to the X Factor - and belted out an spookily perfect version of I Will Always Love You. The Whitney version, obviously, not Dolly's version.

Now, with Whitney crocked, and her gig in Glasgow this weekend shelved because of her illness, perhaps young Lin Yu could put his incredible vocal talents to good use.

Just stick Whitney on stage, in a spotlight, and have her lipsynch. With Lin off the stage, belting out the classics for her. Everyone's a winner.

The School of Hardy knocks

2010-04-07T08:00:00Z

Originally published in our weekly supplement The Brief, April 7 2010. Click here for our MMA channel.

"I hope Hardy dies of AIDS." The tweet shows just how well Dan Hardy gets under some people's skin.

It has been sent by Marcus Davis, a UFC fighter comprehensively beaten by Hardy following a public feud between the Nottingham native and the American ex-boxer nicknamed the Irish Hand Grenade.

The fact it comes nine months after Hardy's win over Davis shows how much Hardy had got at him.

During the build-up to their fight in Germany last June, Hardy called Davis a fake Irishman and taunted him that his website "looked like a St Patrick's Day gift shop blew up". As the fight drew nearer, Hardy also encouraged fans on the internet to mock up gay Photoshop pictures of Davis. It turned into a genuine feud fuelled by dislike.

Hardy's cocky attitude and punk rock feel have made him a natural villain in a sport which tries to avoid the good guy/bad guy stylings of fake wrestling.

Even after Hardy's victory, when he tried to blow the feud off as just tactics to put Davis off his game, Davis refused to shake his hand. Hardy insists it was nothing personal. Davis clearly disagreed.

Less than a year on and Hardy, a further win against Mike Swick under his belt, finds himself fighting in America for the first time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the first time in four years. And this time, it's the biggest fight of his life .

the man nicknamed the Outlaw, who gets his moniker from fellow Nottingham icon Robin Hood, must try to steal the UFC's welterweight title from George "Rush" St-Pierre and become the first Brit to win a UFC title in the process.

St-Pierre, who is one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history, is a softly spoken French-Canadian just a year Hardy's senior.

He has held the title this time round for two years, during which time he has extended his dominance over the weight division. Higher-ranked fighters than Hardy have failed to challenge St-Pierre in that time.

Victory would be a tough ask for anyone. With just days to go, St-Pierre is heavily backed by the Las Vegas bookies for his "mandatory title defence".

Usa Today, America's main national newspaper, has a four-page pullout on the eve of the fight. A full page is given to St-Pierre. Hardy barely ranks a mention.

Even the customs official who stamps my passport has an opinion. When I tell him I'm in town for the fight, he says: "Your boy ain't got a hope."

The UFC are staging the fight in Newark, New Jersey, for a reason. It's just eight miles away from New York City, where MMA is not legal.

Breaking New York is the big dream for UFC and staging a fight in the hallowed Madison Square Garden an ambition. A sold-out beamback of the event to the Radio City Music Hall in the Big Apple is as near as they get.

Four thousand fans have turned up at the Prudential Centre to watch the weigh-ins and attend a Q&A session with Matt Serra, who has been training Hardy.

The stocky New York native has been helping the Brit hone his jiu-jitsu skills ahead of the fight .

He is also the last man to beat GSP, springing a major upset by dumping the Canadian for the title, almost exactly three years to the day before Hardy's bout.

Serra says of Hardy: "He can come across as a little rough, a little brash, in interviews.

"But he understands the game. He knows it's the fight business but that it's also the entertainment business.

Guys are either one way or the other with Hardy but that's not a bad thing.

"You either love him, or you hate him. But that's not the worst thing in the world as a fighter, because guys are gonna want to watch you."

Saturday night. It's 11pm as Hardy finally swaggers his way to the Octagon, flanked by his entourage. Only his eyes and redtipped mohawk are visible, the rest of the Outlaw's face obscured by a handkerchief tied in highwayman fashion.

About 17,000 people are packed into the arena - and virtually everyone is booing.

The small contingent of British fans are scattered throughout the building. It's the most hostile crowd Hardy has faced.

Blaring out over the catcalling by the fans in the Prudential Arena is England Belongs To Me, a raucous track by controversial punk pioneers Cock Sparrer originally released the year Hardy was born. It has become his anthem and he even appeared with the band in a video.

Hardy enters and struts round the cage, before St-Pierre makes his way out from his dressing room. The Canadian wears his trademark karate gi and headband.

St-Pierre is a study in calm, cool focus. Hardy sneers and smirks, baring his shark-tooth patterned gumshield, leaning in and cupping his ear cockily as name is announced.

The two men come out fighting on the signal of the referee, Hardy circling the cage, St-Pierre carving straight through the middle.

Dan's strategy is to keep the fight standing up and use his superior punching skills to look for a knockout.

Twenty seconds pass before the Canadian attempts to throw a jab. Hardy brushes it off with one of his own. And then St-Pierre takes the fight to the ground, shooting in, sweeping the Brit's legs out from underneath him and landing perfectly on top of him, inside his defensive guard.

Hardy tries to change position and control the fight from the bottom but St-Pierre's skills are superior and each attempt is countered. Each time he tries to get up, St-Pierre brings him back down.

This is the most dangerous time to be caught in a submission. Neither man is too sweaty or slippery, making it hard for them to slide out of a hold.

With less than 20 seconds to go of the first round, St-Pierre gets Hardy in an armbar, his gangly legs wrapped across Hardy's neck and chest, even as he wrenches and pulls on the arm. It's a move which would normally end a fight. Yet Hardy turns himself out of his prone position, frees his arm and is back in a boxing stance as the round ends.

It will be the story of the fight. As soon as a round begins, there will be a brief exchange of jab attempts, then St-Pierre will take the game to the deck. Time and again, he wrestles Hardy to the ground, dominating the fight with his positioning, yet failing to get the better of the younger man's flexibility.

Then comes the moment that changes the fight. In the fourth round, St-Pierre places Hardy in a kimura - an intensely painful submission move that sees Hardy's arm bent almost at a right angle behind his back.

Earlier in the night, we saw Polish fighter Tomas Drwal left in agony after being held in the equivalent hold on his foot for just a few seconds. Hardy somehow escapes and holds out for the end of the round.

After five rounds, the fight is over and it goes to the judges. All three unanimously award the fight to St-Pierre .

The stats tell their own story. During five rounds of action, St-Pierre was able to bring Hardy down 11 times and made six submission attempts. Unable to counter the Canadian's formidable wrestling skills, yet rarely falling victim to any credible damage, Hardy's biggest weakness was exposed.

Yet the man nicknamed Rush could only manage 35 strikes to Hardy during the whole 25 minutes - most of which were minor blows to the body. It was a textbook exercise in dominant wrestling by St-Pierre - and an exercise in resilience by the Outlaw.

After the event, the media cram into a sweltering, breeze-block lined room at the back of the arena. From there, UFC President Dana White introduces the winners of the night's main bouts.

Despite heavy interest from the British media, Hardy is not present. The UFC's American media have released him for the night. Instead, it is left to White and St-Pierre, who takes his place on the podium halfway through proceedings, to talk up the young Brit.

White is effusive in his praise for Dan, telling the assembled media: "I do think Hardy can be a world champion in future.

"I think he proved that to everybody. He has the skills, the talent and the knockout power. If he can improve his takedown defence, that'll be a real interesting fight."

St-Pierre, wearing a sharp suit and covered in cuts to his face from his 25-minute grappling encounter with Hardy, jokes he thought the British scrapper was made of rubber, such was his ability to survive the gruelling submission holds he put him through.

the next day, the Outlaw is already on his way out of town. Cleared by the doctors, Hardy is driving to Charlotte, North Carolina, to support his Team Rough House stablemate Ross Pearson.

The Sunderland brickie and Ultimate Fighter winner is scheduled to face Dennis Siver on TV three days after Hardy's pay-per-view bout.

En route, Hardy admits the fight against St-Pierre was a learning curve and vows to improve on the back of it.

"The thing about UFC is that, unlike boxing, defeat doesn't put you down at the end of the queue," he says.

"This sport has many examples of fighters losing a number of bouts and then challenging for, and winning, a world title.

"My contest against GSP taught me a lot and I'll utilise all of the lessons I've learnt to make me an even better fighter."

Firmly, he insists: "I know I can become world champion within 12 months."

Beaten but unbowed, the Outlaw leaves America's toughest city. He may not have dethroned the king but he has won the support of the people in his quest.