NEWARK, N.J. - Trainer Mark DellaGrotte sounded the warning about Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy to his fighter Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis after the second round of their UFC 99 fight last summer.

"Don't make mistakes, Marcus," DellaGrotte said as he left the cage. "This kid's dangerous. It only takes one punch."

That punch has the attention of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's camp. Hardy may be a huge underdog at UFC 111 on Saturday -- the Canadian has been as high as a 13-1 favourite -- but there is a sting in the brash Brit's tail.

"If you take this guy lightly he will beat you and we can't do that," said GSP trainer Greg Jackson.

"I think people are really overlooking Hardy," added fellow coach Firas Zahabi. "And that's a big mistake. I'm making sure nobody in our camp is doing that."

Still, the popular view is that St-Pierre (19-2) is a better athlete, has been forged in the crucible of title fights and has more weapons in his arsenal heading into the soldout showdown at the Prudential Center (available on pay-per-view).

The 28-year-old from Montreal has packed on more muscle for this fight, thanks to a new diet and weightlighting regimen. He says he is bigger, faster and more explosive.

An adductor muscle tear suffered in his comprehensive UFC 100 win last July over Thiago Alves is history.

"It is very difficult to bet against St-Pierre," said former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. "He has shown that he is a very complete and well-rounded champion. . . . I think that Hardy, though, is a hungry guy that has a lot of power in his hands and that always makes things to be interesting. Anything can happen when you get punched hard.

"But I've seen St-Pierre (win) against guys that could also punch hard, hit hard. Thiago Alves. Josh Koscheck."

Welterweight Matt Riddle is blunter in assessing the fight.

"I think Hardy's going to get smashed," he said. "The UFC rushed him up to the top because he's got charisma and he can really play the crowd. But it honestly doesn't matter how well he can play the crowd. It's not pro wrestling, he's going to get smashed by GSP. Just plain and simple."

Added rising light-heavyweight star Jon (Bones) Jones: "I think Georges is going to annihilate Dan Hardy. He's hungry, he's focused, he's a great champion for a reason. Dan Hardy, he has lot of experience and everything but I just don't think he's ready for Georges St-Pierre. I don't think anyone in the world at 170 (pounds) is ready for Georges St-Pierre."

Hardy (23-6 with one no contest) is a smart fighter who turned down his first offer from the UFC because he didn't think he was ready. While he only has one knockout in his four UFC fights -- all wins -- he showed his power when he dropped Rory Markham with a crunching left counter punch.

The 27-year-old from Nottingham has never been knocked down and has landed more strikes than each of his UFC opponents. And Fightmetric, which tracks such stats, says he has stopped an above-average 62 per cent of takedown attempts.

Still, Akihiro Gono took Hardy down three times and Davis did it once. And St-Pierre is the best in the UFC at dumping his opponent, landing 51 of 65 takedowns for a 78 per cent average -- 33 percentage points better than the norm.

"The best takedown artist in the world," said Zahabi.

The Canadian's takedown defence is even better. Opponents have succeeded on just five of 40 tries and St-Pierre has not been on his back in two and a half years. His takedown defence rate is 87 per cent, compared to 55 per cent for the average fighter.

The simplest strategy might be to take Hardy down, where St-Pierre can pass guard and do damage. But the St-Pierre camp aims to do more than attack an opponent's weaknesses. Stand up to an opponent's best weapon, show them that it won't work like it normally does and you take him out of his comfort zone.

"If you take that away from them, you have a huge advantage," said Zahabi. "So it's important that Georges does not become one-dimensional and think only about the takedown. He's going to need to strike in exchange. He has to."

Because St-Pierre has so many tools, he can keep an opponent guessing.

Relentless unpredictability is Jackson's mantra for St-Pierre.

As for the champion himself, he is more in search of the beautiful win than fame or money.

"I want this fight to be remembered forever," said St-Pierre. "I want also when somebody that doesn't know anything about martial arts, about MMA, watches me fight, I want him to say 'Hey this guy is beautiful to watch, he has a very beautiful style and he's very technical. And by watching him fight, I can appreciate the beauty of the sport."'

St-Pierre, with a lucrative contract and leading edge endorsements in the sport (Under Armour, Gatorade), is already set financially. He has paid off his immediate family's mortgages.

He says money has never been a motivation.

"I started fighting because I liked the art itself," he explained. "I like martial arts, I'm a mixed martial artist.

"I didn't start fighting for the money, because when I first started, I didn't have any money. I was working three jobs at the same time, I was studying at school, at university. So I didn't have any money. But I was doing it because of the heart inside, because I loved it.

"I think when you start doing something because of the money or because of the fame, you're doing it for the wrong reason."

And St-Pierre, upset in his first title defence by Matt Serra back at UFC 69, learned about fame the hard way.

"When I beat Matt Hughes, I didn't realize what I had in my hand," said St-Pierre, who was 25 when he dethroned Hughes at UFC 65. "I was champion, I was caught in this thing. I became a victim of the fame a little bit. . . . I was too young to have that kind of fame and that kind of power.

"So what happened was everybody was telling me how great I am and everybody was saying how good I am. It was this illusional box that was around me that made me think that I was different than the other fighters . . . nobody could touch me. But the thing that I forgot is no matter how great you do, no matter how great of a fighter you are, one mistake, one loss and you lose the title, you lose everything. That's what I learned when I lost to Serra."

St-Pierre, who reclaimed his title from Serra at UFC 83 one year later in April 2008, has not lost since.

He has made himself into a model champion, known for his work ethic, clean image and multi-dimensional fighting style.

"He's just an amazing individual," said the 22-year-old Jones, who trains with GSP. "He does everything right and he's a blueprint for a young guy like me, of where to be, what to do, how to get there.

"He eats really healthy after practice, he trains three times a day, (even) when he has no fight near. He treats everyone he meets with respect, he's like the king of Montreal. Going out with him, everyone says hello, everyone's like all over him and he finds time to at least give a smile if he can't stop, at every single person. He inspires me so much.

"Between the people that endorsed him and all that, he's just exactly what I want