Mike Swick, a 15-fight veteran of the UFC and one of the members of the original cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” has taken to social media to announce that he is retiring from the sport.
Swick (15-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) returned to action this past weekend at UFC 189, losing a unanimous decision to Alex Garcia (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC). The fight was Swick’s first since December 2012 and only his fourth since 2010. Four of his last five bouts ended in defeat.
Following the loss to Garcia, Swick spoke to MMAjunkie and sounded as though he was questioning his future.
“I dealt with medical problems during my prime, when I should have been doing the best,” Swick said. “That sucks now, because no matter how hard I train at this point, I am still 36 years old and I’ve been around for a long time. That’s just a fact, and it’s not going to change. I’m not the 25-year-old kid that I was when I first got in the UFC.”
Swick entered the UFC after making the cast for the promotion’s first attempt at a reality show. Swick was submitted in a triangle armbar by Stephan Bonnar during that inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but came back to knock out Alex Schoenauer on the undercard of the finale card.
He would continue on to win nine of his first 10 UFC bouts, eventually dropping to welterweight and earning a shot to fight Dan Hardy in a welterweight title eliminator. Swick dropped a decision in the bout and spent the rest of his career battling illness and injury.
And now, “Quick” has hung up the gloves, explaining his reasoning in a post on Facebook.
July 11th 2015 at UFC 189 was officially my final fight. I was healthy and injury free for the first time in 8 years but still couldn't put my game together. There comes a time when every fighter realizes he is older and not what he use to be and I want to acknowledge this and stay true and honest to what I have always said, that I will leave when I know I am done. It's a hard thing to do considering everyone wants to go out on top, unfortunately when your actually on top, you never wanna go out.
It's unfair to the UFC, the fans and to my family and friends for me to keep chasing this career while giving performances that I am not proud of.
I remember sitting in class during high school('98) watching UFC's with the football team during off season and telling them I will be there one day. Now at 36 years old, I have been contracted with the UFC going on 11 years and it has completely changed my life. I am very proud to have fought and been a part of this organization for so long.
Though I am retiring from fighting, I will stay a big part of this sport as I continue to build fighters and grow my dream gym AKA Thailand. This gym is a massive project that has taken us 5 years to put together and once we are done, it will be the largest and most unique fight gym in the world. I am so proud to have such a great team of people behind it and I will now give my full effort towards its progress and the business surrounding it.
I want to thank everyone out there who has helped me over the years... My family and friends, Javier Mendez/Team AKA/AKA Thailand and all the coaches and fighters that have been a part of them, the UFC, all my sponsors, and finally the wonderful fans that have made this sport so great! It is because of all of you, that I was allowed to live my dream and that I will now be able to continue living it after my fighting career.
I also want to thank the haters and negative people who have entered my life from time to time. The fire that you guys created inside me is what has maybe helped me the most in my attempts to prove you wrong and succeed through your doubts. Thanks for being that fuel when I was running low on gas. wink emoticon
Thanks for all the support and I love you all!
-Mike Swick
Swick (15-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) returned to action this past weekend at UFC 189, losing a unanimous decision to Alex Garcia (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC). The fight was Swick’s first since December 2012 and only his fourth since 2010. Four of his last five bouts ended in defeat.
Following the loss to Garcia, Swick spoke to MMAjunkie and sounded as though he was questioning his future.
“I dealt with medical problems during my prime, when I should have been doing the best,” Swick said. “That sucks now, because no matter how hard I train at this point, I am still 36 years old and I’ve been around for a long time. That’s just a fact, and it’s not going to change. I’m not the 25-year-old kid that I was when I first got in the UFC.”
Swick entered the UFC after making the cast for the promotion’s first attempt at a reality show. Swick was submitted in a triangle armbar by Stephan Bonnar during that inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but came back to knock out Alex Schoenauer on the undercard of the finale card.
He would continue on to win nine of his first 10 UFC bouts, eventually dropping to welterweight and earning a shot to fight Dan Hardy in a welterweight title eliminator. Swick dropped a decision in the bout and spent the rest of his career battling illness and injury.
And now, “Quick” has hung up the gloves, explaining his reasoning in a post on Facebook.
July 11th 2015 at UFC 189 was officially my final fight. I was healthy and injury free for the first time in 8 years but still couldn't put my game together. There comes a time when every fighter realizes he is older and not what he use to be and I want to acknowledge this and stay true and honest to what I have always said, that I will leave when I know I am done. It's a hard thing to do considering everyone wants to go out on top, unfortunately when your actually on top, you never wanna go out.
It's unfair to the UFC, the fans and to my family and friends for me to keep chasing this career while giving performances that I am not proud of.
I remember sitting in class during high school('98) watching UFC's with the football team during off season and telling them I will be there one day. Now at 36 years old, I have been contracted with the UFC going on 11 years and it has completely changed my life. I am very proud to have fought and been a part of this organization for so long.
Though I am retiring from fighting, I will stay a big part of this sport as I continue to build fighters and grow my dream gym AKA Thailand. This gym is a massive project that has taken us 5 years to put together and once we are done, it will be the largest and most unique fight gym in the world. I am so proud to have such a great team of people behind it and I will now give my full effort towards its progress and the business surrounding it.
I want to thank everyone out there who has helped me over the years... My family and friends, Javier Mendez/Team AKA/AKA Thailand and all the coaches and fighters that have been a part of them, the UFC, all my sponsors, and finally the wonderful fans that have made this sport so great! It is because of all of you, that I was allowed to live my dream and that I will now be able to continue living it after my fighting career.
I also want to thank the haters and negative people who have entered my life from time to time. The fire that you guys created inside me is what has maybe helped me the most in my attempts to prove you wrong and succeed through your doubts. Thanks for being that fuel when I was running low on gas. wink emoticon
Thanks for all the support and I love you all!
-Mike Swick
