… Mike Swick?
“I want to thank Dan Hardy for this trophy. It means a lot. Coming runner-up in a press conference is pretty cool, but I want everybody to know that I’m going to give this right back to him after our fight.”
To catch the impromptu award ceremony check out the replay of the UFC 105 pre-fight press conference here. For an image gallery of today’s festivities, head over to Combat Lifestyle here.
… Mike Swick?
“I want to thank Dan Hardy for this trophy. It means a lot. Coming runner-up in a press conference is pretty cool, but I want everybody to know that I’m going to give this right back to him after our fight.”
To catch the impromptu award ceremony check out the replay of the UFC 105 pre-fight press conference here. For an image gallery of today’s festivities, head over to Combat Lifestyle here.
“My injury is 100 percent now, I’m ready to go. I’m waiting to see what’s going to happen next with the UFC…. I look forward to fighting again and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen between Swick and Hardy…. It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, it’s always dangerous. I learned my mistake when I fought Matt Serra, who was a big underdog. I’m the kind of person who never makes the same mistake twice…. [Dan Hardy is] a great fighter, he really deserves it. … He’s got very lethal, very powerful hands. He can knock you out with one punch. It’s always a big danger when you fight a guy like him…. Mike Swick is very very fast, has probably the fastest hands in MMA. A very accurate puncher, he’s very well-rounded so it’s going to be a very interesting fight. They both have the tools to beat each other. I think the winner of this fight will be the guy who has the best strategy and who fights the smartest.”
– UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre informs the Canadian Press that he has completely recovered from a groin injury sustained during a five-round battle with Thiago Alves back at UFC 100 back in July. “Rush” refined his stand up skills while nursing his abductor ligament back to full strength. And now he’s apparently back in the gym, training full strength in preparation for his next title defense in early 2010. It will likely come against the winner of the 170-pound showdown between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy at UFC 105 next weekend. Any preferences on St. Pierre’s next opponent, Maniacs?
“My injury is 100 percent now, I’m ready to go. I’m waiting to see what’s going to happen next with the UFC…. I look forward to fighting again and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen between Swick and Hardy…. It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, it’s always dangerous. I learned my mistake when I fought Matt Serra, who was a big underdog. I’m the kind of person who never makes the same mistake twice…. [Dan Hardy is] a great fighter, he really deserves it. … He’s got very lethal, very powerful hands. He can knock you out with one punch. It’s always a big danger when you fight a guy like him…. Mike Swick is very very fast, has probably the fastest hands in MMA. A very accurate puncher, he’s very well-rounded so it’s going to be a very interesting fight. They both have the tools to beat each other. I think the winner of this fight will be the guy who has the best strategy and who fights the smartest.”
– UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre informs the Canadian Press that he has completely recovered from a groin injury sustained during a five-round battle with Thiago Alves back at UFC 100 back in July. “Rush” refined his stand up skills while nursing his abductor ligament back to full strength. And now he’s apparently back in the gym, training full strength in preparation for his next title defense in early 2010. It will likely come against the winner of the 170-pound showdown between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy at UFC 105 next weekend. Any preferences on St. Pierre’s next opponent, Maniacs?
Props: UFC.com
Quoteworthy:
“You never know how fighters are gonna react to hearing either cheers or boos, but I don’t think the crowd’s gonna give him super powers. He’s gonna be the same fighter. He might have a better mentality and might be a little more pumped up when he walks out, but that’s what I want. I want him to be pumped up and I want to fight him at his best … I can’t think of a fight that I’ve had where my opponent wasn’t saying how he’s gonna beat me up and do this or that. I guess it’s kinda normal for fighting, but it does always seem like the way they say it that they do underestimate me. And if they get in the ring with me and it doesn’t work out the way they had hoped, all that confidence turns to panic. I like watching that confidence turn to panic, and then securing that win. The more confident somebody comes into a fight, the better it is for me and my gameplan. An overconfident opponent is setting himself up for serious panic issues if things don’t work out the way he expects.”
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum, Mike Swick, will not be rattled heading into his UFC 105 bout opposite Dan Hardy on November 14 in Manchester, England. The Texan made a “Quick” exit from his Sept. 19 number one contender bout against Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 after suffering a concussion during training. The former middleweight doesn’t want to waste any time getting back into the title hunt now that he’s recovered and despite a cheery effort by “The Outlaw,” Swick is determined to come into hostile territory mentally prepared.
Props: UFC.com
Quoteworthy:
“You never know how fighters are gonna react to hearing either cheers or boos, but I don’t think the crowd’s gonna give him super powers. He’s gonna be the same fighter. He might have a better mentality and might be a little more pumped up when he walks out, but that’s what I want. I want him to be pumped up and I want to fight him at his best … I can’t think of a fight that I’ve had where my opponent wasn’t saying how he’s gonna beat me up and do this or that. I guess it’s kinda normal for fighting, but it does always seem like the way they say it that they do underestimate me. And if they get in the ring with me and it doesn’t work out the way they had hoped, all that confidence turns to panic. I like watching that confidence turn to panic, and then securing that win. The more confident somebody comes into a fight, the better it is for me and my gameplan. An overconfident opponent is setting himself up for serious panic issues if things don’t work out the way he expects.”
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum, Mike Swick, will not be rattled heading into his UFC 105 bout opposite Dan Hardy on November 14 in Manchester, England. The Texan made a “Quick” exit from his Sept. 19 number one contender bout against Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 after suffering a concussion during training. The former middleweight doesn’t want to waste any time getting back into the title hunt now that he’s recovered and despite a cheery effort by “The Outlaw,” Swick is determined to come into hostile territory mentally prepared.
Check out Episode 2 after the jump.
Props: ThisIsNottingham.co.uk
Quoteworthy:
“I have read some articles on the internet saying that I may lack the “killer instinct” in this fight with Swick because I’ve hung out with Mike and we get along very well. Not gonna happen…. A couple of days of pleasant conversation with Swick won’t save him from the beating I am going to give him next month … on the whole, it is easier for me to prepare for Swick than it is for Swick to prepare for me. I’ve only had three fights in the UFC and I’ve not shown even half of my skills yet. There are lots of things I do well that Swick has no clue about, whereas Swick has been in the UFC for four years and I know exactly what he can and can’t do. I think this is the fight of the night. My style will gel very well with Mike’s. We both come from a kickboxing background, we both have very fast strikes and there’s so much on the line for us both.”
Welterweight contender Dan Hardy likes his chances heading into his number one welterweight contender eliminator match against Mike Swick at UFC 105: “Couture vs. Vera” from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 14. “The Outlaw” feels his relative inexperience inside the Octagon and hidden skills will carry him to victory on fight night. And, in the process, be impressive enough to earn him a future title shot against reigning 170-pound champion, Georges St. Pierre. Does Hardy truly have the tricks up his sleeve to topple “Quick” or will his bluff get called?
Props: Daily Star
Quoteworthy:
“Hardy realized that he could not only talk his way into getting the fight, but he knew he could also affect Davis’ performance. There is no question Hardy did a real great job of that. But it does not matter if Dan’s nice to me or talks crap like he did with Davis. I am a harder guy to figure out than Davis – my buttons are not so obvious. Neither of us are going to break mentally, so we have to break each other physically. It is going to be a war as there is so much at stake for us. There is so much I want to do in the UFC and this guy is not stopping that from happening. I like Dan –- but he is going down!”
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum, Mike Swick, will not be rattled heading into his UFC 105 bout opposite Dan Hardy on November 14 in Manchester, England. The Texan made a “Quick” exit from his Sept. 19 number one contender bout against Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 after suffering a concussion during training. The former middleweight doesn’t want to waste any time getting back into the title hunt now that he’s recovered and despite a cheery effort by “The Outlaw,” Swick is determined to come into hostile territory mentally prepared.