Swick vs. Thiago
One of the featured bouts of UFC 109: Relentless is a welterweight contest between Mike Swick and Paulo Thiago.
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This main card bout will be contested at welterweight (170 pounds) featuring two fighters that are looking to make their climb back up the divisional ladder following recent losses. Swick enters the fight as the favorite with a betting line of -200 according to online sports book SBGGLOBAL. Thiago has a money line of +160. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this main event bout, which will take place from the
Mike Swick (14-3):
Strengths: Swick is a very explosive fighter, which is why his nickname of “Quick” fits so well. Swick has won five fights in the first round in his UFC career and his last two wins were by TKO from punches. Swick has long arms which allows him to have a reach advantage over most of his opponents. Swick also is a big fighter for a welterweight, as he originally fought at middleweight, but dropped down a weight class to take advantage of his size.
Weaknesses: If opponents survive his opening explosiveness, Swick tends to fade as the fight carries on. This was the case in his last fight, a decision loss to Dan Hardy. Swick has had five of his last seven fights go to decision where he has not looked like an elite-level fighter. Swick also doesn’t have a great ground game where he can inflict a lot of damage from the top or escape from the ground when he gets taken down.
Last Five Fights:
Unanimous decision loss to Dan Hardy at UFC 105 on Nov. 14, 2009
Second round TKO win over Ben Saunders at UFC 99 on June 13, 2009
First round TKO win over Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight for the Troops on Dec. 10, 2008
Unanimous decision win over Marcus Davis at UFC 85 on June 7, 2008
Majority decision win over Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 12 on Jan. 23, 2008
Paulo Thiago (12-1):
Strengths: Thiago is a good submission fighter that has seven wins by submission. He has also been tough to defeat, as he has just one loss in his career, which came against top welterweight Jon Fitch at UFC 100, where Fitch was able to control Thiago with wrestling.
Weaknesses: Thiago doesn’t have great striking skills despite picking up a TKO win over Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. Thiago is very open with his punching and not crisp, but his skills have been improving. His wrestling is solid, but when facing superior wrestlers, he has struggled, as was the case against Fitch.
Last Five Fights:
Unanimous decision win over Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106 on Nov. 21, 2009
Unanimous decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009
First round TKO win over Josh Koscheck at UFC 95 on Feb. 21, 2009
First round TKO win over Luis Dutra Jr. at JF 11 on Sept. 13, 2008
Unanimous decision win over Ferrid Kheder at JF 10 on July 12, 2008
Who will win: Look for Swick to come out and be impressive in this fight. He had a title shot lined up, but a flat performance against Hardy caused him to lose it. While Thaigo is a respectable fighter, he isn’t an elite-level fighter and Swick should be able to overwhelm him early with his striking. We like Swick to win this fight with a stoppage in the first or second round. The longer this fight goes, the more it favors Thiago.
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Posted: 2/6/10 12:00PM ET