Swick Quattro: ‘Quick’ Earns Razor-Thin Decision
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 23 -- In his welterweight debut, Mike Swick (Pictures) expected to establish himself as
a force in the division. While he celebrated his 170-pound
unveiling Wednesday with a win, the battle unfolded nothing like he
planned.
At the conclusion of his contest against Josh Burkman (Pictures) and on through Bruce Buffer's announcement that Swick won a majority decision, the near sell-out crowd inside the Pearl in the Palms Resort and Casino showered the Octagon with an angry chorus of boos.
"I'm sorry for my performance not being as exciting," a disappointed Swick expressed immediately following the bout. "I don't know what else to say."
The matchup was anticipated to be somewhat of a barnburner, especially considering how Swick, 28, had ended previews fights in spectacular fashion. Dropping 15 pounds from middleweight, it was assumed that Swick's natural size advantage would lead to fireworks in the cage -- none surfaced.
Burkman (9-5) pressed the issue for the majority of the fight with his continual takedown attempts and wild kicks from all angles. Swick defended every shot perfectly, but he was reluctant to let his hands fly after creating enough space to strike.
Instead, much of the contest took place along the fence. The fighters had to be separated and restarted several times by referee Steve Mazzagatti, but not once did anything noteworthy materialize from the new positions.
"I was trying to defend the takedowns," Swick said of facing the 27-year-old Burkman. "I didn't want to get taken down. I put a lot of emphasis on that -- he's a strong guy. It took everything I had to stop his takedowns. He was coming really strong with them."
Glenn Trowbridge and Adelaide Bird felt Swick (11-2) did enough to warrant a victory, scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor. Nelson "Doc" Hamilton had it even at 29-29, giving Swick the majority decision.
In the co-main event, suddenly white-hot Patrick Cote (Pictures) bombarded the powerful Drew McFedries early in the first round. In a fight that was a virtual lock to be an all-out middleweight war, it was the 27-year-old Cote's punching prowess that paved the way to victory.
McFedries and Cote exchanged from the outset with each landing hard to the body. After another spirited flurry, Cote (12-4) baited McFedries into a wild exchange and delivered a crushing right uppercut square on his opponent's chin. The punch rocked McFedries, who quickly stumbled back and then crumbled in a heap along the fence.
"He was playing cocky a little bit because he thought I didn't have enough power," a jubilant Cote remarked afterward. "But I was staying with my game plan and I just hit the target right. I saw he was rocked. I'm the predator, man. When I see something, I go for it. The big uppercut, and that's it."
Cote, sensing another early knockout, pounced on his woozy foe and dished out about a dozen unanswered punches. Though the 29-year-old McFedries (6-3) blocked almost every one of Cote's punches, referee Herb Dean (Pictures) felt that he was not going to be able to defend himself any longer and halted the mugging. The official time of the TKO came at just 1:44 of the opening stanza.
"The Ultimate Fighter 5" champion Nate Diaz dispatched of Alvin Robinson (Pictures) late in the first round with a textbook triangle choke, but he certainly had to work for it.
Diaz opened the bout with a sizzling left hook and moments later slammed his nemesis to the canvas. The Cesar Gracie (Pictures) fighter fell right into a tight guillotine choke, but he was too savvy for Robinson to submit. Eventually Diaz (8-2) escaped and latched on an omoplata only to have the submission attempt thwarted.
After a scramble following Robinson's escape from the shoulder lock, Diaz suckered the muscular lightweight into his guard and into a perfectly executed triangle. The 25-year-old Robinson (9-3) had no choice but to tap, with the submission coming at 3:39 of the first round.
"Got that finish [in the] first round again," a pumped up Diaz, 22, exclaimed. "It made me feel good … real good. I think it lets you guys know where I stand. Everybody talks about that [Jorge] Gurgel a lot, and he went three rounds [with Robinson] and I finished him in the first round. I'm trying to get some contenders, man, some top guys in there to fight."
Thiago Tavares (Pictures) outpointed Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) in a three-round affair that wasn't exactly filled to the brim with excitement. The 23-year-old Brazilian lightweight was in control throughout most of the contest, which took place mainly on the mat. Omigawa (4-6) was tough and kept the fight close, but Tavares (13-1) remained a step ahead of the 32-year-old Japanese fighter and won via tallies of 30-27 twice and 29-28.
Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), 28, survived an early scare when he was almost knocked cold a mere five seconds into his fight against Alberto Crane (Pictures) when the jiu-jitsu stylist shocked him with a left head kick. Then, after dropping, Pellegrino was caught by Crane (8-2) in a guillotine. Pellegrino was fighting on sheer instincts at that point, and it's a marvel he wasn't submitted.
"Wow. It was a nice kick," joked Pellegrino, now 11-3. "I thought it was a punch. At least no boogers are coming out of my nose today. I thought it was a punch, though. I think I'm still knocked out."
Pellegrino persevered, however, and eventually bounced back into the fight. As the opening round came to a close, he was in control and out-boxing his thinner counterpart.
The tides had turned completely in Pellegrino's favor, and by the time two minutes had passed in the second stanza, the lightweight celebrated another victory inside the Octagon after standing over his battered foe and delivering a sinister right hand. The punch forced Crane, 31, to cup his left eye and roll over in pain.
The fight was then waived off, and "Batman" was given the TKO victory at the 1:55 mark.
Undercard
Gray Maynard (Pictures) remained undefeated after waging a memorable war with German Dennis Siver (Pictures). Maynard (4-0) almost scored another thrilling knockout seconds into the fight, but the 29-year-old Siver hung tough and withstood everything thrown his way.
For three rounds, though, Maynard was unrelenting, as the lightweight's blossoming ground-and-pound techniques were too much for the slippery and durable Siver (11-5) to overcome. In the end, Maynard, 28, won a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.
Jeremy Stephens (Pictures) scored an impressive second-round TKO over the streaking Cole Miller (Pictures). Miller and Stephens fought their hearts out, and it seemed as if Miller, 23, was going to submit his opponent with an inverted triangle choke, but Stephens (13-2) somehow snaked out of it.
From there, the slightly stronger Stephens, 21, slammed his fellow lightweight to the canvas and wailed away with punches and elbows. Miller (13-3) fended off most of the strikes, but eventually turtled up and couldn't defend himself, prompting the stoppage at 4:44.
Corey Hill was impressive in scoring a thrilling TKO just 37 seconds into the second round against 30-year-old Joe Veres (Pictures).
Hill (2-0) used his 10-inch height advantage and impressive athleticism to avoid the dozen or so takedown attempts from Veres, and eventually the 29-year-old lightweight timed a crushing right knee into his opponent's face. Hill landed two more powerful knees to the head of Veres (4-3), who covered up while Hill teed off until referee Herb Dean (Pictures) called the fight.
The first fight of the night, also at lightweight, saw Matt Wiman (Pictures) handle Justin Buchholz (Pictures). The heavily bearded Wiman (9-3) scored a solid rear-naked choke just 2:56 into the fight after overwhelming Buchholz (7-2) from the start. Once the 24-year-old Wiman's assault became too intense, Buchholz, also 24, gave up his back for the choke.
At the conclusion of his contest against Josh Burkman (Pictures) and on through Bruce Buffer's announcement that Swick won a majority decision, the near sell-out crowd inside the Pearl in the Palms Resort and Casino showered the Octagon with an angry chorus of boos.
"I'm sorry for my performance not being as exciting," a disappointed Swick expressed immediately following the bout. "I don't know what else to say."
The matchup was anticipated to be somewhat of a barnburner, especially considering how Swick, 28, had ended previews fights in spectacular fashion. Dropping 15 pounds from middleweight, it was assumed that Swick's natural size advantage would lead to fireworks in the cage -- none surfaced.
Burkman (9-5) pressed the issue for the majority of the fight with his continual takedown attempts and wild kicks from all angles. Swick defended every shot perfectly, but he was reluctant to let his hands fly after creating enough space to strike.
Instead, much of the contest took place along the fence. The fighters had to be separated and restarted several times by referee Steve Mazzagatti, but not once did anything noteworthy materialize from the new positions.
"I was trying to defend the takedowns," Swick said of facing the 27-year-old Burkman. "I didn't want to get taken down. I put a lot of emphasis on that -- he's a strong guy. It took everything I had to stop his takedowns. He was coming really strong with them."
Glenn Trowbridge and Adelaide Bird felt Swick (11-2) did enough to warrant a victory, scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor. Nelson "Doc" Hamilton had it even at 29-29, giving Swick the majority decision.
In the co-main event, suddenly white-hot Patrick Cote (Pictures) bombarded the powerful Drew McFedries early in the first round. In a fight that was a virtual lock to be an all-out middleweight war, it was the 27-year-old Cote's punching prowess that paved the way to victory.
McFedries and Cote exchanged from the outset with each landing hard to the body. After another spirited flurry, Cote (12-4) baited McFedries into a wild exchange and delivered a crushing right uppercut square on his opponent's chin. The punch rocked McFedries, who quickly stumbled back and then crumbled in a heap along the fence.
"He was playing cocky a little bit because he thought I didn't have enough power," a jubilant Cote remarked afterward. "But I was staying with my game plan and I just hit the target right. I saw he was rocked. I'm the predator, man. When I see something, I go for it. The big uppercut, and that's it."
Cote, sensing another early knockout, pounced on his woozy foe and dished out about a dozen unanswered punches. Though the 29-year-old McFedries (6-3) blocked almost every one of Cote's punches, referee Herb Dean (Pictures) felt that he was not going to be able to defend himself any longer and halted the mugging. The official time of the TKO came at just 1:44 of the opening stanza.
"The Ultimate Fighter 5" champion Nate Diaz dispatched of Alvin Robinson (Pictures) late in the first round with a textbook triangle choke, but he certainly had to work for it.
Diaz opened the bout with a sizzling left hook and moments later slammed his nemesis to the canvas. The Cesar Gracie (Pictures) fighter fell right into a tight guillotine choke, but he was too savvy for Robinson to submit. Eventually Diaz (8-2) escaped and latched on an omoplata only to have the submission attempt thwarted.
After a scramble following Robinson's escape from the shoulder lock, Diaz suckered the muscular lightweight into his guard and into a perfectly executed triangle. The 25-year-old Robinson (9-3) had no choice but to tap, with the submission coming at 3:39 of the first round.
"Got that finish [in the] first round again," a pumped up Diaz, 22, exclaimed. "It made me feel good … real good. I think it lets you guys know where I stand. Everybody talks about that [Jorge] Gurgel a lot, and he went three rounds [with Robinson] and I finished him in the first round. I'm trying to get some contenders, man, some top guys in there to fight."
Thiago Tavares (Pictures) outpointed Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) in a three-round affair that wasn't exactly filled to the brim with excitement. The 23-year-old Brazilian lightweight was in control throughout most of the contest, which took place mainly on the mat. Omigawa (4-6) was tough and kept the fight close, but Tavares (13-1) remained a step ahead of the 32-year-old Japanese fighter and won via tallies of 30-27 twice and 29-28.
Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), 28, survived an early scare when he was almost knocked cold a mere five seconds into his fight against Alberto Crane (Pictures) when the jiu-jitsu stylist shocked him with a left head kick. Then, after dropping, Pellegrino was caught by Crane (8-2) in a guillotine. Pellegrino was fighting on sheer instincts at that point, and it's a marvel he wasn't submitted.
"Wow. It was a nice kick," joked Pellegrino, now 11-3. "I thought it was a punch. At least no boogers are coming out of my nose today. I thought it was a punch, though. I think I'm still knocked out."
Pellegrino persevered, however, and eventually bounced back into the fight. As the opening round came to a close, he was in control and out-boxing his thinner counterpart.
The tides had turned completely in Pellegrino's favor, and by the time two minutes had passed in the second stanza, the lightweight celebrated another victory inside the Octagon after standing over his battered foe and delivering a sinister right hand. The punch forced Crane, 31, to cup his left eye and roll over in pain.
The fight was then waived off, and "Batman" was given the TKO victory at the 1:55 mark.
Undercard
Gray Maynard (Pictures) remained undefeated after waging a memorable war with German Dennis Siver (Pictures). Maynard (4-0) almost scored another thrilling knockout seconds into the fight, but the 29-year-old Siver hung tough and withstood everything thrown his way.
For three rounds, though, Maynard was unrelenting, as the lightweight's blossoming ground-and-pound techniques were too much for the slippery and durable Siver (11-5) to overcome. In the end, Maynard, 28, won a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.
Jeremy Stephens (Pictures) scored an impressive second-round TKO over the streaking Cole Miller (Pictures). Miller and Stephens fought their hearts out, and it seemed as if Miller, 23, was going to submit his opponent with an inverted triangle choke, but Stephens (13-2) somehow snaked out of it.
From there, the slightly stronger Stephens, 21, slammed his fellow lightweight to the canvas and wailed away with punches and elbows. Miller (13-3) fended off most of the strikes, but eventually turtled up and couldn't defend himself, prompting the stoppage at 4:44.
Corey Hill was impressive in scoring a thrilling TKO just 37 seconds into the second round against 30-year-old Joe Veres (Pictures).
Hill (2-0) used his 10-inch height advantage and impressive athleticism to avoid the dozen or so takedown attempts from Veres, and eventually the 29-year-old lightweight timed a crushing right knee into his opponent's face. Hill landed two more powerful knees to the head of Veres (4-3), who covered up while Hill teed off until referee Herb Dean (Pictures) called the fight.
The first fight of the night, also at lightweight, saw Matt Wiman (Pictures) handle Justin Buchholz (Pictures). The heavily bearded Wiman (9-3) scored a solid rear-naked choke just 2:56 into the fight after overwhelming Buchholz (7-2) from the start. Once the 24-year-old Wiman's assault became too intense, Buchholz, also 24, gave up his back for the choke.
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