Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at

American Kickboxing Academy The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent trainers i ...

alongside fellow welterweight standout

Jon Fitch Jonathan Parker Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and most recently f ...

, entered the UFC after appearing on the inaugural season of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen ...

Background

Swick was born in Houston, Texas, on June 19, 1979. Swick attended Katy High School. Aspiring to become a

Navy Seal The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...

and inspired by

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue a ...

, Swick started training

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

in his youth as his first combat sport. He then participated in amateur fights in Texas before sanctioning was formed.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Swick began his professional career in smaller shows, including early events of

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

(WEC). He amassed a record of 5–0 before challenging

Chris Leben Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist, referee, and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2002 until 2013, he most notably competed in the UFC in the Middleweight division, compili ...

for the WEC Middleweight Championship. He lost the fight by knockout at 45 seconds of the second round.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

After his first professional loss, Swick entered the first season of ''

'', a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series produced by the UFC. Swick participated as a

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he became ...

's team. Chris Leben also participated as Swick's teammate. Leben insisted on talking about his victory over Swick, which irritated him. Swick's first fight in the show came during the semi-finals. He faced

Stephan Bonnar Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC for most of his car ...

, but was defeated by triangle armbar at 4:55 of the first round, eliminating him from the show. At ''

UFC Ultimate Fight Night The year 2005 is the 13th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2005 the UFC held 10 events beginning with, ''UFC 51: Super Saturday''. The reality TV series ...

'', Swick defeated Gideon Ray by KO just 22 seconds into the first round, earning the nickname "Quick" from UFC announcer Mike Goldberg.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Swick lived up to his nickname with several quick stoppages in his subsequent fights. At ''UFC Ultimate Fight Night'', Swick stopped Gideon Ray by technical knockout in just 22 seconds. He followed up with two first-round guillotine choke submissions over Steve Vigneault and

Joe Riggs Joseph Jonathan Riggs (born September 23, 1982) is an American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2001, Riggs formerly ...

UFC 58 ''UFC 58: USA vs. Canada'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 4, 2006. It was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the Unite ...

and UFC 60, respectively. Swick jokingly called the move his "Swick-otine". At UFC 63, Swick faced former title challenger

David Loiseau David Loiseau (; born December 17, 1979) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist from Montreal, Quebec. He has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, EliteXC, and TKO Major League MMA veteran. He is the former TKO World Middleweight C ...

and earned a unanimous decision victory. He suffered ligament damage to his hand during the fight. Swick's first UFC defeat came at UFC 69, losing by unanimous decision to Japanese middleweight

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial ar ...

. He had Okami noticeably rattled toward the end of the second round with a flurry of punches, but ultimately succumbed to Okami's superior wrestling and physical presence, as he was taken down comfortably and suffered an onslaught of ground and pound for the majority of the fight.

was then asked to fight a rematch with Swick at ''

UFC Fight Night 11 ''UFC Fight Night: Thomas vs. Florian'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 11'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada ...

'', but Leben turned down the fight, later claiming that his management turned down the fight without his knowledge. Swick was then scheduled to fight

Jonathan Goulet Jonathan Goulet (born July 13, 1979) is a retired French Canadian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2010, Goulet fought in the UFC. He earned his nickname, "The Road Warrior," after taking a fight on very short notice, travel ...

, but withdrew from the fight due to a rib injury.

Drop to welterweight

Swick dropped down to

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

and headlined UFC Fight Night 12 against

Josh Burkman Joshua Ray Burkman (born April 10, 1980) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist formerly competing in the Welterweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the World Series of Fighting, the XFC ...

, winning by majority decision. Swick next appeared at UFC 85 against Marcus Davis, who was riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC coming into the bout. Swick controlled the fight with disciplined striking skills en route to a unanimous decision victory. He next faced

at '' UFC: Fight for the Troops''. Swick opened up with a characteristically aggressive flurry of punches, knocking Goulet out on his feet. Swick rushed in with ground strikes before the referee stopped the fight. Swick next faced Ben Saunders at

UFC 99 ''UFC 99: The Comeback'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on June 13, 2009 in Cologne, Germany. Background This event was the first UFC event held in Germany, as well as the first in mainland Europe ...

. After he reversed Saunders' takedown attempt with a quick sprawl and takedown of his own, Saunders held Swick in his guard for several minutes, stifling any offense and prompting Swick to taunt him for stalling. In the second round Swick's hands loosened up and he dropped Saunders with a clean straight right after landing a few punches, following up with a quick flurry to round off an impressive performance. In the post fight interview, Swick pointed out his record of 9–1 in the UFC and announced his interest in a title shot. Swick was scheduled to fight

Martin Kampmann Martin Kampmann Frederiksen (born April 17, 1982) is a retired Danish professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion. Background Originally from Aar ...

on September 19, 2009 at UFC 103. The winner was set to receive a title shot against

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

. However, this changed when it was announced on September 4 that Swick had suffered an injury while training and would be unable to fight Kampmann at UFC 103. Paul Daley, who made his UFC debut on the undercard, stepped up as Swick's replacement and defeated Kampmann via TKO. Swick replaced an injured

Dong Hyun Kim Kim Dong-hyun ( ko, 김동현, 金東炫; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a retired South Korean mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division. He was signed by the UFC after fightin ...

and faced

Dan Hardy Daniel Mark Hardyhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2012%20Results%20Web/05-26-12%20MMA.pdf (born 17 May 1982) is an English former mixed martial artist who fought in the welterweight division. During his professional MMA career, which began in 2004, Hardy ...

on November 14, 2009 at

UFC 105 ''UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, United Kingdom at the Manchester Evening News Arena. This event aired on the same day, via tape de ...

. The winner was to get the next shot at

's welterweight championship. In an interview prior to the event, Swick revealed he was pleased to have dropped back to Welterweight but admitted he could not focus on

until after his fight with Hardy. Swick was rocked by a straight right hand from Hardy early in the first round and rocked again in the second and third rounds. He went on to lose the fight by unanimous decision. At

UFC 109 ''UFC 109: Relentless'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 6, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A previously rumoured bout between Renzo Gracie and ...

, on February 6, 2010, Swick lost to

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fig ...

via technical submission by a d'arce choke, after taking a counter left in an exchange in the second round. Swick refused to tap to the choke, rendering him unconscious. In early September, Swick stated that he had been mis-diagnosed with a stomach disease. The disease which he was incorrectly told he had, forced him onto a very bland and restrictive diet, which made it virtually impossible for Swick to put and keep on any muscle mass. Swick was expected to return to action against David Mitchell on January 22, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 23. Although it was thought he might return to action at middleweight, Swick and David Mitchell verbally agreed to a January 22 fight in the welterweight division. However, Mitchell was forced out of the fight with a back injury and Swick felt as if his stomach condition was not completely healed, so the bout was scrapped from the card altogether. Swick was expected to face promotional newcomer Erick Silva on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. However, on August 4, 2011, it was announced that Swick had to withdraw from the bout due to a knee injury. Swick faced

DaMarques Johnson DaMarques Johnson (born June 28, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He competed for the UFC and King of the Cage and was the Welterweight runner-up on '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom''. Background Johnso ...

on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4. He defeated Johnson via KO at 1:20 into the second round. The finish came when Swick caught a leg kick, tripped Johnson to the ground, and landed a diving punch that immediately knocked Johnson out. The performance earned Swick ''Knockout of the Night'' honors. On August 28, 2012, it was announced that Swick has signed a new four fight contract with the UFC. In the second match since his return, Swick faced Matt Brown on December 8, 2012 at UFC on Fox 5. Swick lost the fight, after being knocked out in the second round. Swick spent all of 2013 in Phuket Thailand, building his dream gym, AKA Thailand. The gym, one of the biggest in the world, hosts Thailand's largest indoor matted MMA/BJJ training facility. After two-and-a-half years away from active fighting, Swick returned from hiatus and faced Alex Garcia on July 11, 2015 at UFC 189. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On July 16, 2015, Swick posted on his Facebook page that he was officially retiring from active MMA competition to focus on running his gym AKA Thailand.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

:* Knockout of the Night Honors (Two times) vs. Ben Saunders,

Personal life

Swick got married in 2008. Now retired from professional fighting, Swick currently owns and runs his own gym in Phuket, Thailand, known as AKA Thailand, which is linked to the main

headquarters in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

. On February 16, 2022 Swick announced he is diagnosed with cancer.

Television and film

Swick was featured in ''

Fight Life ''Fight Life'' is a feature-length documentary on the sport of mixed martial arts. The film is directed by independent filmmaker James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films. The film focuses on the lives of professional mixed martial arts fighters ou ...

'', an award-winning documentary on the sport of MMA, which was released in 2013.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Alex Garcia , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 189 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

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London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Gideon Ray , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Alex Schoenauer , KO (punch) ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Submission (triangle armbar) ,

The Ultimate Fighter 1 The debut season of The Ultimate Fighter (later designated ''The Ultimate Fighter 1'') premiered on January 17, 2005. Sixteen mixed martial arts fighters (eight light heavyweights weighing from 186 to 205 lb and eight middleweights weighing from ...

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References

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swick, Mike 1979 births American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Living people Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Clear Lake High School (Houston, Texas) alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters