The UFC and Spike TV will return to The Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday, January 23rd for the first UFC Fight Night of 2008, featuring a welterweight battle between Josh Burkman and Mike Swick.
Burkman, winner of three of his last four bouts, including a recent decision win over Forrest Petz at UFC 77 in October, will be looking to kick off the new year by spoiling the 170-pound debut of Swick.
A former middleweight contender, Swick won five in a row in the UFC at 185 pounds before losing a hard fought decision to Yushin Okami at UFC 69 in April. His welterweight debut was scheduled for September, but an injury forced him to delay his foray into the 170-pound weight class until January.
Also signed for the show are what should be explosive bouts between middleweights Drew McFedries and Patrick Cote, and lightweights Thiago Tavares and Michihiro Omigawa.
A member of the MFS Elite camp in Iowa, McFedries’ punching power makes him one of the most feared middleweights in the world, and this power was in evidence during his stoppage of Alessio Sakara and his 33 second knockout of Jordan Radev. In Cote, McFedries will be facing an experienced foe who has finally hit his stride in the UFC by decisioning Scott Smith and stopping Kendall Grove.
Brazil’s Thiago Tavares is one of the lightweight division’s brightest young stars. A punishing ground fighter, Tavares’ two fight UFC win streak was snapped in September when he lost a close decision to fellow prospect Tyson Griffin, and he is eager to get back in the win column against PRIDE veteran Omigawa, who made a good impression on UFC fans with a gallant effort in defeat against Matt Wiman in his Octagon debut in September.
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