Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979)[3] is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow welterweight standout Jon Fitch, entered the UFC after appearing on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Swick was born in Houston, Texas, on June 19, 1979. Swick attended Katy High School. Aspiring to become a Navy Seal and inspired by The Karate Kid, Swick started training taekwondo in his youth as his first combat sport.[4] He then participated in amateur fights in Texas before sanctioning was formed.[5]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Swick began his professional career in smaller shows, including early events of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He amassed a record of 5–0 before challenging Chris Leben for the WEC Middleweight Championship. He lost the fight by knockout at 45 seconds of the second round.[6]
The Ultimate Fighter
After his first professional loss, Swick entered the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the UFC. Swick participated as a light heavyweight on Randy Couture's team. Chris Leben also participated as Swick's teammate. Leben insisted on talking about his victory over Swick, which irritated him. Swick's first fight in the show came during the semi-finals. He faced Stephan Bonnar, but was defeated by triangle armbar at 4:55 of the first round, eliminating him from the show.[citation needed]
Swick lived up to his nickname with several quick stoppages in his subsequent fights. He followed up with two first-round guillotine choke submissions over Steve Vigneault and Joe Riggs at UFC 58 and UFC 60, respectively. Swick jokingly called the move his "Swick-otine". At UFC 63, Swick faced former title challenger David Loiseau and earned a unanimous decision victory. He suffered ligament damage to his hand during the fight.[citation needed]
Swick's first UFC defeat came at UFC 69, losing by unanimous decision to Japanese middleweight Yushin Okami. He had Okami noticeably rattled toward the end of the second round with a flurry of punches, but ultimately succumbed to Okami's superior wrestling and physical presence, as he was taken down comfortably and suffered an onslaught of ground and pound for the majority of the fight. Chris Leben was then asked to fight a rematch with Swick at UFC Fight Night 11, but Leben turned down the fight, later claiming that his management turned down the fight without his knowledge. Swick was then scheduled to fight Jonathan Goulet, but withdrew from the fight due to a rib injury.[7]
Drop to welterweight
Swick dropped down to welterweight and headlined UFC Fight Night 12 against Josh Burkman, winning by majority decision.[8] Swick next appeared at UFC 85 against Marcus Davis, who was riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC coming into the bout. Swick controlled the fight with disciplined striking skills en route to a unanimous decision victory. He next faced Jonathan Goulet at UFC: Fight for the Troops. Swick opened up with a characteristically aggressive flurry of punches, knocking Goulet out on his feet. Swick rushed in with ground strikes before the referee stopped the fight.
Swick next faced Ben Saunders at UFC 99. After he reversed Saunders' takedown attempt with a quick sprawl and takedown of his own, Saunders held Swick in his guard for several minutes, stifling any offense and prompting Swick to taunt him for stalling. In the second round Swick's hands loosened up and he dropped Saunders with a clean straight right after landing a few punches, following up with a quick flurry to round off an impressive performance. In the post fight interview, Swick pointed out his record of 9–1 in the UFC and announced his interest in a title shot.[citation needed]
Swick was scheduled to fight Martin Kampmann on September 19, 2009 at UFC 103. The winner was set to receive a title shot against Georges St-Pierre.[9] However, this changed when it was announced on September 4 that Swick had suffered an injury while training and would be unable to fight Kampmann at UFC 103. Paul Daley, who made his UFC debut on the undercard, stepped up as Swick's replacement and defeated Kampmann via TKO.
Swick replaced an injured Dong Hyun Kim and faced Dan Hardy on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105.[10] The winner was to get the next shot at Georges St-Pierre's welterweight championship.[11] In an interview prior to the event, Swick revealed he was pleased to have dropped back to Welterweight but admitted he could not focus on Georges St-Pierre until after his fight with Hardy.[12] Swick was rocked by a straight right hand from Hardy early in the first round and rocked again in the second and third rounds. He went on to lose the fight by unanimous decision.
At UFC 109, on February 6, 2010, Swick lost to Paulo Thiago via technical submission by a d'arce choke, after taking a counter left in an exchange in the second round. Swick refused to tap to the choke, rendering him unconscious.[13]
In early September, Swick stated that he had been mis-diagnosed with a stomach disease. The disease which he was incorrectly told he had, forced him onto a very bland and restrictive diet, which made it virtually impossible for Swick to put and keep on any muscle mass.
Swick was expected to return to action against David Mitchell on January 22, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 23.[14] Although it was thought he might return to action at middleweight, Swick and David Mitchell verbally agreed to a January 22 fight in the welterweight division.[15] However, Mitchell was forced out of the fight with a back injury and Swick felt as if his stomach condition was not completely healed, so the bout was scrapped from the card altogether.[16]
Swick was expected to face promotional newcomer Erick Silva on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134.[17] However, on August 4, 2011, it was announced that Swick had to withdraw from the bout due to a knee injury.[18]
Swick faced DaMarques Johnson on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4.[19] He defeated Johnson via KO at 1:20 into the second round. The finish came when Swick caught a leg kick, tripped Johnson to the ground, and landed a diving punch that immediately knocked Johnson out. The performance earned Swick Knockout of the Night honors.
On August 28, 2012, it was announced that Swick has signed a new four fight contract with the UFC.[20]
In the second match since his return, Swick faced Matt Brown on December 8, 2012 at UFC on Fox 5.[21] Swick lost the fight, after being knocked out in the second round.
Swick spent all of 2013 in Phuket Thailand, building his dream gym, AKA Thailand.[22] The gym, one of the biggest in the world, hosts Thailand's largest indoor matted MMA/BJJ training facility.
After two-and-a-half years away from active fighting, Swick returned from hiatus and faced Alex Garcia on July 11, 2015 at UFC 189.[23] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[24] On July 16, 2015, Swick posted on his Facebook page that he was officially retiring from active MMA competition to focus on running his gym AKA Thailand.[25]
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