Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders
In the second of two welterweight contests, master of the “Swickotine”, Mike “Quick” Swick, will face off with American Top Team’s Ben Saunders. Swick is coming off three very big wins in a row, while Saunders has yet to taste defeat in his professional career, so both men will be looking to continue riding that momentum.
This fight is a definite fight of the night candidate, as both guys have explosive standup and good ground games, so this one should be competitive in every aspect.
Mike Swick was a cast member on the original Ultimate Fighter, and like many of his castmates has gone on to have an impressive career inside the Octagon. In the Octagon, he is a jack of all trades, with solid wrestling, big power punching, and a guillotine choke so dangerous it has its own name. Even though he isn’t really world class in any one discipline, he has managed to be so successful because of how well he weaves together his skills and effectively transitions from standup to grappling and back again.
Ben Saunders, who made his Ultimate Fighter appearance on Season 6 as part of Team Serra, is also dangerously well-rounded. His submission game is excellent, and in his last fight against Brandon Wolff he put on a display of spectacular Muay Thai knees that completely destroyed his opponent.
Coming from a Jeet Kune Do background, Saunders prides himself on embracing every aspect of the fight game, and not limiting his training to any one style. It is his unpredictability and his ability to effectively finish fights in any range that makes him so effective.
Ultimately, I see Saunders continuing his undefeated streak and scoring a big upset win against Swick. While there’s no denying that Swick is the best opponent Saunders has ever faced, I think the Jeet Kune Do stylist will prove too dynamic for Swick to handle.
I see this one being fairly even in the standup, with Swick finally taking Saunders down only to get triangle choked in the third round.
