Dec-9-2008

“The Best” Mike Swick to Arrive in North Carolina Tomorrow

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By Thomas Gerbasi

For just about two years after his stint on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, everything Mike Swick touched turned to gold. As a middleweight up and comer, he was taking out opponents in less than 30 seconds (Alex Schoenauer and Gideon Ray), submitting seasoned vets with his ‘Swick-O-Tine’ (Joe Riggs and Steve Vigneault), and proving that he could beat a contender over the three round distance (David Loiseau).

But when he fell short via decision to Japanese contender Yushin Okami in April of 2007, Swick started to become a target for criticism he had never taken before. He went on to drop to his optimum weight of 170 pounds, but in two welterweight bouts against Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis, he was victorious, but not as explosive as he was at 185.

Swick heard everything though. He knows that the bandwagon is a little lighter than it used to be, and while he was initially surprised, he realizes that this is the fickle nature of fight game. So the only way to get rid of the critics is to put on the type of performances that first made his name. Wednesday night, Swick expects to be firing on all cylinders when he takes on Jonathan Goulet.

“100 percent you’re gonna see the best Mike Swick,” he said. “People questioned me after the Burkman fight, and it sucks because if you look at my career, I’ve had so many exciting fights and so many early finishes, and then you have one bad fight and people think you’re a changed fighter. But I feel great in this weight class and this fight will be the best example of me showing the world how good I am at 170 pounds. Not only am I in great shape, but I feel fast, I feel explosive, I feel strong, the weight cut’s gonna be a lot easier, and I definitely feel like I’m in my groove.”

Life is good for Swick right now. Recently married, the 29-year old Texan has finally figured out the right way to make the cut to 170 pounds without weakening himself for fight night, he’s got a great opportunity on national television to make a statement about where he’s heading in 2009, and he’s got an opponent in Goulet who will be more than willing to meet him in the center of the Octagon and go to war. And this time, Swick believes he’ll have the gas in the tank and the physical ability to fire back.

“I’m in the best shape of my life, I’m healthy, and after a year of having my arm injured I finally have the confidence and the ability to throw it without having to worry and I think that’s gonna play a huge role in this fight,” said Swick, who also has the added incentive of fighting someone who initially got the fight because of some strategically inspired internet trash talk.

“Goulet went on the internet and said that he was gonna do this and do that to me,” said Swick of the talk that went on before the UFC Fight Night show in September of 2007. “We were trying to get some other opponents at the time and they were falling through so we said ‘let’s just do that fight.’ And it was supposed to be UFC Fight Night 11, but two weeks before, I separated my rib in training and had to pull out, so we never got to fight.”

After the aborted 2007 bout, Swick put together his first two 170 pound wins over Burkman and Davis. Goulet would lose his UFC Fight Night 11 bout to Dustin Hazelett, but he has since gone on to score three straight wins, including UFC victories over Paul Georgieff and Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Suddenly, this fight got a lot more interesting, and while the pre-fight banter has calmed down considerably, Swick does have a long memory.

“From what I heard, he (Goulet) was put up to it (the initial trash talk) by his teammates,” said Swick. “He was trying to get back in the UFC at the time and they said that you need to get on the Internet and start some controversy so you’ll get a fight. I just happened to be the guy that he called out, which I think is gonna turn out to be a huge mistake on his part because we didn’t end up fighting the first time, but now we are, and I’m a lot better than I even was back then. I have nothing against Jonathan Goulet, I think he’s a tough fighter, he’s talented, well-rounded, and exciting, but if you’re gonna call me out and try to use me to make a name for yourself and get in the UFC, you’re gonna have a fight on your hands, and I plan on to put a big one on his hands come December 10th.”

But while Goulet would likely have had an easier time facing Swick in 2007, when he was still coming to grips with making 170 pounds, Swick is in the same boat because Goulet appears to have upped his game in the last year as well. Like I said, this fight is a lot more interesting now than it was a year ago. Swick agrees that the Goulet he is facing tomorrow is a formidable foe.

“I see him as an exciting opponent,” he said. “He shows up and has great performances, and sometimes he shows up and things just don’t work out for him. But I’m definitely not taking anything away from him. I see him as a tough opponent and what makes him more dangerous in this fight is that he’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain. He’s gonna be coming at me hard, he wants to finish me off, and establish himself in the welterweight division, so it excites me and gives me a challenge to not let him do that.”

What may be more exciting for Swick is that with a big win over Goulet, he can start making the 2009 climb towards a title shot. Just don’t ask him about it.

“I’m only focused on one fight at a time and a title shot’s not even on my mind right now,” he said. “As far as long term goals go, of course I want to be a champion and the best in the world, and I definitely have that as a goal. But right now I’m just happy and appreciative to be living my dream. I started out in a small town in Texas, I lived on a small ranch, and I used to watch martial arts on TV. I was inspired by the top martial artists, and my dream was to one day be on that TV and fight in front of people and be known as a good martial artist. Because of the UFC and the opportunities that I’ve had, I’ve been able to do that. Now I’m living my dream, and that’s what’s important to me. With these fights, it doesn’t matter what’s next, it doesn’t matter about title shots; the bottom line is I’m doing what I always said I wanted to do no matter who told me I couldn’t do it or that it would never happen. I want to make the most of it – each fight is the biggest fight of my career, I love what I’m doing, and I’m just having fun. If I win the fight in exciting fashion and it puts me up in the ranks and I get a top five competitor and move on, so be it. But right now, I’m only focused on Goulet and winning that fight on December 10th.”

Can’t argue with that.

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

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