Mike Swick finds himself in something of a unique situation as he prepares to make his comeback at UFC 189. He has been on the roster for an entire decade and competed inside the Octagon no fewer than 14 times but this will be his first fight in three years.
While the TUF 1 veteran has proven he belongs in the UFC by winning 10 fights out of 14, Swick has not been tested nearly as often as he would have liked. He didn’t fight once in 2011, 2013 or 2014 due to a combination of illness and injury.
So while he can take some pride in being one of the longest serving fighters on the roster this is tempered by the knowledge that his UFC career has been blighted by various health issues.
“I’ve been signed with the UFC for over 10 years, it’s been a long time but I think it helps that I only fight every two years which is what helps keep my longevity," he said. "It’s because of my health but never the less it means I’ve had a lot of time off where I didn’t take damage, didn’t get beat up and I think that’s helped and I think that’s why I feel so good and so strong and so ready even at 35-years-old.”
Swick is set to face Alex Garcia at UFC 189, a card headlined by the eagerly anticipated title bout between reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo and outspoken Irish challenger Conor McGregor. The American feels that fate has conspired to give him the perfect platform on which to make his comeback.
“You can’t plan coming back being healthy and being in the best shape of my life and also being on one of the best cards in UFC history. It’s like a dream come true, UFC 189 is going to be at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, one of the most premier places to fight, the premier venue in the states, you can’t just make these things happen.”
No one is more surprised to see Swick fighting again than the man himself. By his own admission he thought he was done after a KO loss to Matt Brown in December, 2012.
“After my last two performances it was evidently clear that my health was a big factor and I assumed I was done fighting and had to move on and go to the next chapter and then I came to Phuket to build AKA Thailand.”
Swick still has three more fights remaining on a contract extension he signed in 2012 and never officially announced his retirement from the sport. However in his mind he had already accepted that his fighting career was over.
“I didn’t expect to fight again is the funny thing. I was building the gym and training with the guys and I kind of put fighting behind me which I think was one of the most important things because it relived the stress and pressure of trying to get back in the Octagon so much. I think just being stress free and focusing on something else while training and eating healthy and living clean it managed to heal me.”
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