UFC on FOX 4 – Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson preview
‘UFC on FOX 4’ is approaching and the main card has taken a bit of a kicking from the big, bad injury bug as the UFC heads to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California this weekend. MMABay is here to break down the four main card scraps, beginning with the unexpected welterweight return of veteran, Mike Swick who returns from the cold to face former TUF finalist, DaMarques Johnson. Will Swick make ‘Quick’ work of Johnson, or will ‘Darkness’ fall on the AKA man this weekend? Find out after the jump…
Mike Swick (14-4, 9-3 UFC)
American Kickboxing Academy veteran, Mike ‘Quick’ Swick, makes a sensational comeback this weekend after spending more than two years on the treatment table with various recurring injuries and illness. The Texan looked a shoe-in for a title-shot in the UFC welterweight division after making a 4-0 start to his career at 170lbs, earning a title-eliminator fight with a TKO stoppage of muay thai stylist, Ben Saunders.
But that’s where things turned sour for Swick. At UFC 105, the experienced former TUF hopeful never got into second gear and British banger, Dan Hardy, took full advantage to nick the decision and the title-shot. A disappointed Swick returned at UFC 109 but in round two, Paulo Thiago dropped ‘Quick’ with a punch before sending him to sleep with a d’arce choke to hand Swick a second straight loss.
DaMarques Johnson (16-10, 4-4 UFC)
If Swick has suffered outside of the Octagon in recent years, his opponent, DaMarques Johnson, has struggled on the inside since falling short to James Wilks in the season finale of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 9’. The Elite Performance welterweight seemed to have turned a corner last January when he submitted veteran, Mike Guymon, with a body-triangle in the very first round.
But a couple of months later, ‘Darkness’ was stopped by Amir Sadollah’s elbows and once again was plunged into a ‘win or bust’ scenario in November when he faced fellow TUF alumni, Clay Harvison. The Utah native looked great, battering Harvison with strikes and knocking him out with an uppercut in round one. In April, Johnson flew to Sweden to face British grappler, John Maguire, on FUEL TV and after some entertaining exchanges succumbed to a crafty armbar.
The UFC welterweight division is starting to get a little over-crowded and it’s safe to say that despite being bumped to the main card on FOX, the loser of this one will be looking for a new employer come Monday morning.
The Verdict: How long is a piece of string? Swick hasn’t fought since the last century and Johnson, while an exciting fighter to watch, is a winnable fight for pretty much everyone in the welterweight division. ‘Darkness’ is prone to lapses on the ground where he’s been submitted several times in the UFC and while his striking is crisp enough, he’s also been on the receiving end of a few beatings.
Swick has the pop in his hands and the speed to light Johnson up standing and who knows, we may even see the feared ‘Swickatine’ dusted off if he drops DaMarques this weekend. That’s where this fight will most likely end, with Swick – perhaps conscious of his cardio after so long on the sidelines – wrestling Johnson to the mat and eventually slipping in a choke to announce his return to the big stage. Swick, submission, 2nd round.
By Steve Davies.
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