Mike Swick - "Quick"

Mike "Quick" Swick was born on June 19th, 1979 in Houston, Texas. Swick has possessed a strong love for martial arts since childhood and has been studying since the age of 8 when his mother signed him up for Tae Kwon Do classes. He continued to train and fought his first pro bout at the age of 19, winning over Victor Bell by submission.

Because amateur fighting was not bringing in the amount of money that Swick needed to live he began looking for other work. At the age of 20, Swick and his mother flew to Moscow to perform security services for a government construction project taking place there – the first mother/son team to obtain such high U.S. government clearance. Swick spent his off-time in Moscow training with American fighters there for the Absolute Fighting Championship and also working with U.S. Marines stationed in the area.

It was while he was in Russia that Mike was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, a condition of the heart that causes it to beat much more quickly than normal. While medication could correct the condition and allow Swick to live a full life, the medication's side effects would make professional fighting impossible. Swick took the news hard and, upon his return to the United States, quickly left again, this time for Thailand to study Muay Thai. He trained hard with a camp of Thai civilians outside of Bangkok for a years and this time returned home with a decision to make.

Surgery, while not recommended for younger people affected by Atrial Fibrillation, was Mike's only shot at pursuing his dream of being a professional fighter. Though the risks involved were high, Mike opted to have the surgery and came through with flying colors. His condition was repaired and he was ready to begin his career. He made another trip to Thailand to complete his Muay Thai training and prepare himself for active fighting status and received a call while he was abroad inviting him to the first season of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter.

Swick proved to be a fighter to be reckoned with on the show, making it to the semi-finals before ultimately losing to Stephan Bonnar. He still fought on the show's finale, knocking out Alex Schoenauer only 20 seconds into the first round and earning him the nickname "Quick" and giving the UFC a reason to find a spot for him. He has continued to live up to that name with lightening fast wins over Gideon Ray, Steve Vigneault and Joe Riggs, and has even coined his own submission move: the "Swickitine", a guillotine choke in a closer guard.

Swick defeated number one rated middleweight David Loiseau in a unanimous decision at UFC 63 and he immediately asked for a title shot against Anderson Silva. A subsequent loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 69 put the decision on the backburner. Swick announced shortly after this loss that he would be dropping to the welterweight division.

All articles...

Aleksander Emelianenko

Anderson Silva

Andrei Arlovski - "The Pitbull"

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - "Minotauro"

B.J. Penn

Brad Blackburn - Bad

Brandon Vera

Bryan Vetell

Chris Lytle - Lights Out

Chuck Liddell

Dan Christison - The Sandman

Dan Henderson

David Tank Abbott

Denis Kang

Diego Sanchez

Don Frye - The Predator

Ed Herman - Short Fuse

Eric Esch - Butterbean

Ernesto Hoost - Mr. Perfect

Fedor Emelianenko

Forrest Griffin

Frank Shamrock

Gabriel Gonzaga - "Napao"

George St. Pierre - "Rush"

Gilbert Yvel - The Hurricane

Hayato Sakurai

Heath Herring - The Texas Crazy Horse

Hermes Franca

Ian Freeman - The Machine

Igor Vovchanchyn - Ice Cold

Jason MacDonald - The Athlete

Jason Von Flue - Live Wire

Jeff Joslin - The Inferno

Jeremy Horn - Gumby

Joachim Hansen - Hell Boy

Joey Villasenor

Jon Fitch

Josh Barnett - "The Babyface Assassin"

Josh Burkman - "The People's Warrior"

Josh Koscheck

Karo Parisyan

Keith Jardine - The Dean of Mean

Kendall Grove

Kenny Florian - KenFlo

Lyoto Machida

Mac Danzig

Marcus Aurelio - Maximus

Mark Coleman - The Hammer

Mark Hunt

Mark Weir - The Wizard

Marvin Eastman - The Beastman

Matt Hamill - The Hammer

Matt Hughes

Matt Lindland

Matt Serra

Mauricio Rua - "Shogun"

Michael Bisping

Mike Swick - "Quick"

Mirko Filipovic - "Cro Cop"

Nam Phan

Nick Diaz - "Diablo"

Patrick Cote - The Predator

Paul Buentello - The Headhunter

Peter Aerts - The Dutch Lumberjack

Phil Baroni - The New York Bad Ass

Quinton Jackson - "Rampage"

Randy Couture - "The Natural"

Rashad Evans - "Sugar"

Renzo Gracie

Ricardo Arona

Rich Franklin

Richard Clementi - No Love

Roman Zentsov - The Russian Hammer

Sam Hoger - The Alaskan Assassin

Sean Sherk - "The Muscle Shark"

Shinya Aoki

Shonie Carter - Mr. International

Spencer Fisher - The King

Takanori Gomi

Tim Sylvia - "The Maine-iac"

Travis Lutter - The Serial Killer

Urijah Faber - California Kid

Yoshihiro Akiyama

Yves Edwards