Hardy vs Swick Confirmed For UFC 105
by Robert Sargent
After an injury sidelined Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim, Mike "Quick" Swick will step in to face Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy at UFC 105. The bout has been confirmed as a title eliminator and the victor will move on to face Georges "Rush" St. Pierre.
The announcement ends a week of speculation regarding the title picture after Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann's UFC 103 loss to Paul "Semtex" Daley.
Swick was originally set to compete against Kampmann in the UFC 103 bout, which would have served as the title eliminator to determine the next challenger for UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. However, Swick suffered a concussion in the weeks prior to the fight and British knockout artist Daley went on to defeat Kampmann.
UFC President Dana White then announced that Swick would likely face Daley to determine the next title challenger, but Kim's injury left Hardy without an opponent and Swick stepped in. Thus far, fans have been lukewarm on the Hardy vs Swick fight serving as a #1 contender's bout, but there are extremely few challengers left in the division to compete against St. Pierre.
Hardy (22-6-0, 1 NC) has won three straight fights since joining the UFC, including a victory over "The Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis at UFC 99. He has used humour and trash talking to elevate his status in the promotion, but has thus far backed up his words and is now poised to make a run at the title.
Swick (14-2-0) has reigned undefeated since dropping down to 170 pounds, and his recent victories over Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet and Ben "Killa B" Saunders were both very impressive. However, he seems to have lost some of the explosive power that he enjoyed in the middleweight division and Hardy has demonstrated that he has a solid chin.
Both fighters will no doubt look to stand and trade as both will be looking to put on a show as they aim to prove that they are worthy of challenging for St. Pierre's crown. The fight itself will undoubtedly be an exciting one, but the fact remains that neither is truly worthy of facing St. Pierre at this stage in their careers.
Though Daley has just one fight in the UFC, he would pose a much more serious threat for St. Pierre, which leaves the announcement of the Hardy vs Swick bout as a title eliminator a puzzling one.
UFC 103 is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Randy "The Natural" Couture and Brandon "The Truth" Vera.
