Dan Hardy calls out Chris Lytle, vows to go out on his shield

Loser leaves town?
Former UFC welterweight number one contender Dan Hardy is going down in the 170-pound rankings -- and fully prepared to go down in a blaze of glory.
After dropping his third straight loss, a unanimous decision to the returning Anthony "Rumble" Johnson at last Saturday night's (March 26) UFC Fight Night 24 event in Seattle, "The Outlaw" knows he could be on the Zuffa chopping block.
UFC President Dana White, a self-professed fan of the trash-talking Brit, has yet to make a decision on Hardy's continued employment for the world's largest fight promotion -- but that hasn't stopped the Nottingham native from doing a little prospective matchmaking for the second half of his 2011 fight campaign.
Hardy vows to go out on his shield and what better way to make your final stand than by calling out perennial "Fight of the Night" winner Chris "Lights Out" Lytle?

"I want to fight again," Hardy posts via his Twitter. "I feel like I've been robbed of the reward at the end of training camp. [I want] an old-school shootout with a guy that wants to throw down. Screw the rankings, records are for DJ's. Win in a blaze of glory or go out on my shield. Someone like Mr Lytle…"
After stringing together four straight wins inside the Octagon, Hardy was upended by division champion Georges St. Pierre in their UFC 111 title fight just over a year ago.
A surprise knockout loss to Carlos Condit would follow at UFC 120 last October and Johnson continued the downward spiral by taking the slugger down and controlling him for the better part of three rounds.
Hardy knows what he needs to do in order to get himself back into the win column, or to at least keep the fans entertained enough to warrant him sticking around. He needs a gamer who isn't afraid to stand and trade or just flat-out brawl for fifteen minutes straight no matter what the cost.