#7 - The Return of Mike Swick
To MMA die hards, Mike Swick (15-4) is a genuine favorite and crowd pleaser. He is a gamer with great natural tools, particularly in his natural weight class of Welterweight. He fought his first 12 fights and competed on TUF 1 as a Middleweight. He's an exciting stand-up specialist with 8 knockouts and 3 subs. He's aggressive, fearless, and always puts on a great show, earning two Knockout the Night honors. Sadly, he's also been one of the most unlucky fighters in recent memories. Injuries have derailed a promising career, sidelining him for over 2 years with stomach and knee problems. He made his return to the octagon back in August on the last UFC on Fox card and earned an impressive knockout of DaMarques Johnson. This weekend, he fights Matt Brown (15-11), another aggressive striker with 13 finishes. The judges at ringside may as well play a game of tiddlywinks, because they aren't going to be needed for this one. Someone is getting finished. Woo hoo! Let's hope that it's Mike Swick that gets his hand raised, because when he's healthy and on his game, he's as good as anyone not named Georges. Imagine putting Swick against Condit ... or Nick Diaz ... or Kampmann. The Welterweight has a spoil of riches of exciting fighters and Swick has a special place among them.