Dan Hardy And Mike Swick Battle For Welterweight Title Shot At UFC 105

Sports News - November 13th, 2009 - Written by John

At UFC 105 in Manchester, England on Saturday, the event will feature a huge welterweight bout between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy. The winner of this fight could get a shot at Georges St. Pierre's title. Hardy is 22-6 overall, but is just 3-0 in his young UFC career and believes this bout will be the main event at UFC 105.

“I think this is the fight of the night,” said Hardy. “My style will gel very well with Mike’s, we both come from kickboxing backgrounds, we both have very fast strikes, and there’s so much on the line for us both. I want to thank Joe Silva and the UFC for offering me this chance less than a year since my UFC debut. UFC fans haven’t seen the best of me yet; but they will at UFC 105.”

Hardy's route to a shot at a title fight has come much quicker than his opponent's. He has three impressive wins in the octagon that have given him this opportunity. Hardy has shown that he has great power in his punches, especially after his victory over Marcus Davis, who was known to have the advantage over Hardy in regards to fighting on their feet. Hardy is a proven technical striker, but his main weakness is in his takedown defense. He is skilled when on his back and his Jiu-Jitsu background will work in his advantage in this facet. It will be important to keep this fight off the mat for Hardy, as Swick is known for punishing his opponents when on the ground.

Swick comes into the fight with an overall record of 14-2. He is known for his quick striking tactics that take his opponents by surprise, despite knowing this is one of his strengths. His looping punches are thrown at a rapid pace and are extremely difficult to counter and defend. Hardy is very capable of matching Swick if the fight stays off the ground, but if it does go to the mat, Swick might have the edge. He has time and again punished his opponents while being in control of the fight when it has gone to the floor. Hardy has never been knocked out in his career, but with Swick's power, it could happen on Saturday.

Hardy definitely has more experience between the two fighters, but according to BetUS sportsbook, will enter the fight as the underdog with his betting lines set at +180. The Favorite Swick, has his lines set at -225. To stay up to date on the odds for all of the UFC fights be sure to check out our UFC Betting Odds page.

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