Dec-7-2008

Dale Hartt – Giving Back to The Troops as He Tries to Take Win Number Six

By Thomas Gerbasi

For Dale Hartt, Wednesday’s bout against Corey Hill isn’t just about chasing after his first UFC victory. Frankly, it’s an opportunity for him to go out and entertain the troops at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, giving them, if only for a few hours, a chance to escape what can be a rough time spent away from their families during the holiday season.

“If fighting in the UFC allows me to make someone’s time a little bit better, that would be good for me,” said Hartt, who, as a veteran of the United States Navy, knows all too well the sacrifices made by the men and women of the armed forces. He is typically self-effacing in describing his time in the service, but there is no question the bond he feels with those still serving.

“I saw a little bit of action during my enlistment, but my action consisted of my ship shooting missiles,” he said. “Compared to guys going around in the desert being shot at, that’s a totally different level. But I do remember being gone from my family, and missing our family lives was really hard.”

Especially this time of year, and Hartt is doing his best to brighten things up with a drive to collect t-shirts that he will distribute to the troops during his time in North Carolina. But there is also other business for him to take care of this week in the form of the 6 foot 4 Hill, who will hold an over 10-inch reach advantage over the 5 foot 8 Hartt. How does he intend to get by that sizeable obstacle?

“It involves mace and duct tape,” laughs Hartt.

Seriously though, the native of Bangor, Maine, has left no stone unturned in his quest to even up his UFC record at 1-1 after a debut loss to Shannon Gugerty in July, and the first order of business was a change in scenery from New England to Las Vegas.

“In Bangor, Maine, I had five or six really good training partners – very talented, tough guys, and that’s the thing that Marcus (Davis)’ guys always bring to the table,” said Hartt. “Marcus has a knack for producing a bunch of bruisers. They just like to fight, and that was good in a way. But the problem is, and I figured it out a little before my Shannon Gugerty fight, that I hadn’t had anyone take my back grappling in a long time. So it was more of a stylistic issue. Guys from the school in Bangor would rather be in side mount punching you in the face than on your back. So I wanted to have more looks in my training.”

It wasn’t an easy move to make though, especially given the close relationship between Hartt and his mentor, welterweight contender Marcus Davis. But “The Irish Hand Grenade” gave Hartt his blessing, along with a couple of older brother-esque tips.

“He told me to make sure I had my ducks in a row,” said Hartt. “He said get a job, get situated, make sure you’re all set, and then go out there. He didn’t want me to come out here and end up at the homeless shelter. (Laughs) But he was totally 100 percent supportive, and he was awesome about it. He knows how it is.”

That’s not to say it was a completely smooth transition to Sin City.

“It’s kinda like redeveloping my network in a way,” he said. “I was a medium fish in a small pond in Bangor and I had a good support network and a lot of people that helped me out there. I gave that up, took a big chance coming out here, and I pretty much spent my last dollar to do it.”

At least it’s not snowing in Vegas.

“That’s one adjustment that’s easy,” said the former New Englander, who soon found himself training in some of Vegas’ top gyms within a matter of days.

“I was like a six year old kid at Disneyland, running to all the vendors,” said the 29-year old Hartt. “I was barely coming home – I was going to Cobra Kai, Xtreme Couture, Master Toddy’s, sparring all the time, and it was crazy. I ran myself straight into the ground. But then I took a couple days off and went back and I have some really good days and I’m seeing things that I never saw before.”

He’s also taken care of that little problem of not having training partners on his back.

“At Cobra Kai those guys are like back ninjas,” he laughed. “I got my back taken about 80 times a day.”

And slowly but surely, Dale Hartt is starting to see his game develop in ways that will keep him in the UFC’s lightweight division long-term. That’s the ultimate goal, to have longevity in the sport and one day be seen as one of the best. So he doesn’t dwell on the “1” on the end of his 5-1 pro record; he’s looking at ways to turn that “5” into a “6” as soon as possible – which for him is this Wednesday night.

“We all lose,” he said. “It’s not a matter of falling down, it’s how you get back up, and I don’t want to make excuses, I want to get results. So instead of making results, I fixed it. I made the changes I needed to make and that’s why I came here. Now I can also see the road where I’m going a lot clearer and I’m going down that road. I’m on like step two of ten, but I can at least see step eight.”

UFC Fight for The Troops airs on Spike TV on Wednesday, December 10th at 9pm ET / PT.

To donate to the Fallen Heroes Fund, click here.