On Sunday UFC welterweight contender Mike Swick (14-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) took to Twitter and announced neither Matt Hughes nor Georges St. Pierre would likely be his next opponent.That’s because he’ll next fight Dan Hardy (22-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) to determine the next opponent for current 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre.
That’s the word from Mike Chiappetta of AOL FanHouse, who confirmed the plans with UFC president Dana White via text message.
White didn’t confirm a specific date for the proposed matchup, but since Hardy had been announced as part of the UFC 105 main card with opponent Dong Hyun Kim, the Swick vs. Hardy fight will likely replace that bout on that Nov. 14 card.
However, as of Monday morning, the Hardy vs. Kim fight remained listed on UFC.com. UFC 105 takes place at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, and airs via same-day delay on Spike TV.
Swick had been scheduled to fight Martin Kampmann earlier this month at UFC 103 in a No. 1 contender’s bout. However, the former top middleweight contender suffered a concussion a few weeks before the fight and was forced to pull out. (UFC newcomer Paul Daley took his spot instead and pulled off the upset victory over Kampmann.)
Swick is 4-0 since dropping to welterweight in early 2008 with decision wins over Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis and TKO victories over Jonathan Goulet and Ben Saunders.
Hardy, a British fighter, first joined the UFC in 2008 and has become one of the organization’s top U.K. stars. He’s currently riding a six-fight win streak, which includes a 3-0 mark in the UFC with a split-decision win over Akihiro Gono, a KO win over Rory Markham, and a split-decision victory over Davis.
As a reminder, UFC veteran Chuck Liddell competes on tonight’s new edition of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and “The Iceman” needs your help in the nationwide voting.
Lidddell and 28-year-old professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya advanced past the show’s first round last week.
Viewers can vote for Liddell following the conclusion of tonight’s week-two show by calling (800) 868-3402. Up to eight votes can be cast per phone line, and viewers can also vote at ABC.com.
The ninth season of “Dancing with the Stars” debuted last week with a three-night premiere. Singer Macy Gray and actor Ashley Hamilton were booted from the show, and Liddell is now one of 14 cast members remaining on the reality-show competition.
However, among the remaining cast members, Liddell’s first-week scores ranked among the bottom tier. He’ll look to rebound tonight. Tonight’s performance/competition episode airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT. A results show airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
