Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders

Mike Swick is as close as he’s ever been to capturing the momentum he had as a middleweight. Despite that, the UFC is content to feed him lower-level fighters. Obviously the higher-ups have been put off by Swick’s few career lows. That’s a shame because Swick is a very good fighter. He’s capable of tackling one of the top 10 welterweights.

So, perhaps it’s more likely that the UFC wants to keep Swick looking good. If they feel he’s a marketable fighter, then they won’t risk his image being hurt until they have a match-up they’re 100% happy with. They also may be worried that if he loses again, he’ll drop down to lightweight. Of course, he’d have to give up solid foods entirely to pull that off.

As for Saunders, he’s a reasonably well-rounded fighter with about half as much experience as his opponent. More importantly, he hasn’t faced the level of competition that Swick has. On the plus side, he has a lot more to gain from this fight than his opponent.

This could be considered a trap fight for Swick. He’s expected to win, so doing that will not change his status in the rankings. If he loses he’ll be considered incapable of putting wins together.

Therefore, what Swick needs to do is win impressively. It’s the only way he can gain any career momentum from this fight. Saunders on the other hand should try to play it safe. If he can at least make this a competitive bout that goes beyond the first round, he’ll have gained a little more credibility. He seems like a decent fighter, so an upset is certainly possible, albeit unlikely.

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