Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy will, in fact, take place at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.UFC president Dana White had confirmed last night to FanHouse that the fight was in the works but now both the fighters and UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik have confirmed the welterweight bout with title shot implications.
Swick (14-2) is looking at an opportunity to challenge George St-Pierre for the belt if he beats Hardy, but it's uncertain how many fights away Hardy is from a title shot. According to an article linked on Hardy's official website, The Sun suggests that Hardy may have to face teammate Paul Daley for the title shot after Swick.
Swick had already been booked for a No. 1 contenders bout against Martin Kampmann at UFC 103, but the bout was called off due to Swick suffering a concussion during training. Kampmann took the risk of staying busy while waiting for Swick and was stopped at the event by UFC newcomer Paul Daley, further confusing the UFC's already completely speculative welterweight title situation.
Hardy (22-6) jumps in the title mix, benefiting from the Kampmann loss and an injury to his UFC 105 scheduled opponent Dong-Hyun Kim.
The two bouts previously official for UFC 105 are Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera in a light heavyweight bout and Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang in a middleweight tilt.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-29-2009 @ 2:41PM
Scott said...
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson should get a shot after he wins his next fight. Thoughts?
Reply
9-30-2009 @ 10:12AM
Eric said...
Johnson is a dangerous guy, but he doesn't have the credentials. Burns and Fioravanti are the best fighters he has faced, and his next fight is against Yoshida. He needs a win or 2 against top 10 fighters like Swick, Hardy, Kampmann, Condit, etc. to be considered IMO.
I don't see anyone beating GSP at 170 anytime soon. If Koscheck didn't have the wrestling to stuff GSP's takedowns, who will? Who knows, he may be the guy with the best chance of beating GSP in a rematch.