MMA News and UFC Betting Odds

MMAmania.com today received the list of medical suspensions from the North Carolina Boxing Authority in the wake of UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” from the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville on December 10.

Of course, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum, Corey Hill, is the most serious case on the list. He sustained a gruesome leg fracture in the second round of his preliminary bout against Dale Hartt. Today he underwent surgery to repair the damage at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

According to an update on UFC.com, Hill is “handling the injury well and is in good spirits.” He will be on the mend for about 12 to 18 months. All things considered, it’s great news to hear that it appears he will make a full recovery.

Razak Al-Hassan — who refused to tap from a tight Steve Cantwell armbar — was treated for a dislocated elbow and released from the hospital. It’s safe to say that his situation could have been much worse based on the graphic video replays of the submission.

He has been slapped with an indefinite medical suspension and will be unable to return until he receives medical clearance from and orthopedic surgeon.

Here’s the rest of the “Fight for the Troops” injuries and their medical instructions:

Brandon Wolff – Suspended for at least 45 days because of a head contusion/hematoma

Nate Loughran – Suspended for at least 30 days because of lacerations.

Jonathan Goulet — Suspended for at least 60 days. He must have his left elbow x-rayed and cleared by an orthopedic physician before returning to action.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida – Suspended for at least 90 days because of a severe concussion.

Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much quicker once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases.

For complete results and coverage of UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” click here and here.

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Corey Hill, MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), UFC on SpikeTV, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

“Tokyo’s Yoshida, who remained on the canvas while being tended to by commission doctors, was removed from the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. He was later treated and released from a local hospital for a concussion.”

– Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today provided a medical update on Yoshiyuki Yoshida via its Web site. “Zenko” was brutally knocked unconscious last night during his main event welterweight tilt against Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” and was wheeled out of the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. It was the first time ever the super tough Japanese standout was put to sleep. It was also the first time ever Koscheck scored such a decisive finish. Unfortunately, the result was the culmination of a night of carnage — Corey Hill (leg), Razak Al-Hussan (elbow/arm), Brandon Wolff (head) and Jonathan Goulet (head/knee) all sustained rather serious injuries. Get well soon.

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Josh Koscheck, MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Quick Quotes, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Corey Hill — the lanky and likable contestant from season five of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) — sustained a catastrophic leg injury during his fight against Dale Hartt at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” last night at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Hartt apparently checked a leg kick from Hill early in the second round, which snapped the 6′4″ Miletich-trained fighter’s shin. It is a terribly graphic and unfortunate injury that will more than likely keep him sidelined for a very long time.

We wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Hill stopped Joe Veres via technical knockout in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 12 back in January. He dropped his next fight against Justin Buchholz at UFC 86 on July 5.

We’ll provide and update on Hill’s health as soon as possible. For the rest of the “Fight for the Troops” results click here and here.

Photo credit: Fight! magazine.

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Corey Hill, MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Photos, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” from the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.

To the tune of $30,000 each.

The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 20 fighters on the card. And it shouldn’t come as a shock whose wallets are leaving Fort Bragg a little heavier.

In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded lightweight scrappers Jon Miller and Matt Wiman for their gritty three-round 155-pound war. It was a dominant performance by Miller but hardly a topic of discussion after the brutality that followed it.

Former WEC light heavyweight champ Steve Cantwell locked up a bonus right along with the arm of Razak Al-Hassan. If there was an award for biggest set of testicles, it would surely go to the Iowa native for refusing to tap despite having his arm folded together like a Sensu.

Here are the special fight bonuses for “Fight for the Troops:”

Fight of the Night : Jon Miller vs. Matt Wiman
Submission of the Night : Steve Cantwell
Knockout of the Night : Josh Koscheck

Again, each fighter received $30,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along if possible.

It’s good to see Koscheck going green. He’s always had the respect from his peers when it came to wrestling, but tonight I think he proved once and for all that he can knock you senseless if you give him the opportunity.

Now it’s time for the AKA standout to enjoy his well-deserved time off and start thinking about another title run in 2009. If he continues to fight like he did tonight, it may only be a matter of time.

For complete UFC Fight Night 16 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here .

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MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Payouts

UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., on Wednesday, December 10, has come to a close.

The special three-hour Spike TV event was put together to raise money for the the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

In particular, donations, which can still be made by visiting www.fallenheroesfund.org or by calling 1-800-340-HERO, will be used to create a state of the art facility in Bethesda, Md., for wounded soldiers who suffer from various combat-related head injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

After tonight’s mixed martial arts action, however, some of that money may be needed to help several fighters recover from grizzly injuries sustained inside the Octagon.

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum Corey Hill suffered a broken right leg after getting kicked by Dale Hartt and UFC newcomer Razak Al-Hussan had his right arm buckled when he refused to tap from a Steve Cantwell armbar.

Ben Saunders also welcomed Brandon Wolff to the UFC, smashing the Hawaiian with knees from the Muay Thai clinch en route to a one-sided ass kicking. When all was said and done Wolff was left looking like the elephant man … seriously.

Nasty, nasty stuff … we wish them all speedy recoveries.

Jim Miller opened up the televised action in a lightweight tilt against the surging Matt Wiman. The New Jersey native took the fight on just seven days notice. He also just returned from his honeymoon and more than likely pigged out on Thanksgiving dinner.

It didn’t seem to affect his performance.

Miller — who filled in for an injured Frank Edgar — lit up “Handsome” early and often. And when the fight hit the ground he was dominant, working submissions and nearly ending the fight in the first round with a nice guillotine.

Wiman demonstrated his resolve and resilience, however, hanging in for the entire three rounds. He eventually dropped the unanimous decision.

This is a huge win for Miller — he snapped the Wiman win streak, extended his own and stepped up when Joe Silva and Dana White needed him in a pinch.

He’ll likely be rewarded down the road for his opportunistic effort. And it will be well deserved. Look out for Miller in 2009 … this guy is special.

In the second bout to air on Spike TV, Tim Credeur — the first man to apparently ever earn his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Louisiana (news to me) — didn’t need to rely on his solid ground game to score his second UFC win.

The veteran blasted away at Nate Loughran for 10 full minutes, forcing the previously unbeaten fighter to call it quits on his stool before the third round could even start.

Credeur was perhaps a little wild with his strikes, but it apparently didn’t matter. He lumped up Loughran and will more than likely now take a step up in competition to see if he can extend his UFC win streak to three.

Steve Cantwell, the last man to hold the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) light heavyweight title, got his UFC career of to a start with a bang.

Or was it a snap?

“Robot” and his opponent, Razak Al-Hussan, traded for the first few minutes of the opening frame. Al-Hussan had some nice strikes and demonstrated a solid chin in his brief work within the eight-side cage.

But when it went to the ground it was a whole different story.

The Iowa native looked lost when Cantwell put him on his back. And he made him pay dearly, snatching his arm and bending it the other way until it couldn’t bend anymore.

I’m not sure what was worse … watching the replay of the carnage or hearing Cantwell tell Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview how he’s been longing to inflict that type of serious damage on another competitor.

Classless on a night that was far from it.

In the co main event, Mike Swick came out with fire in his eyes and made short work of Jonathan Goulet. “Quick” looked sharp, connecting early with a short right that dropped the Canadian.

He smelled the blood in the water and had Goulet sleeping in 33 seconds. It was the first finish for Swick in the welterweight division in three attempts and the first since stopping Joe Riggs way back in 2006.

Goulet is not the best barometer in terms of top-flight competition, but he’s no pushover. And Swick totally handled him. He’s apparently now completely healthy and appears to have renewed confidence and swagger.

Welcome back, Mike.

So much for those who thought Josh Koscheck had bit off more than he could chew, taking on top welterweights Thiago Alves and Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the span of six weeks. Things didn’t go according to plan against the “Pitbull,” but boy did everything work out well for him tonight.

Koscheck didn’t have to worry about the slick Judo or the skills of “Zenko.” He took care of business early, blowing up the Japanese fighter with a straight right and then finishing him off with a massive hook that he did not have the wherewithal to defend.

The replays had the crowd cringing. And Dana White was probably doing more of the same when Koscheck took to the microphone after the fight to thank those who represent him at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) and Zinkin Entertainment.

He’ll now get some well deserved time off from fighting, but perhaps his fight to remain in the good graces of the Zuffa brass on the business side of things has just begun.

This was a fantastic night of action despite the long breaks between fights. But that was to be expected because of the reason behind the show. In fact, several of the vignettes from the wounded soldiers throughout the telecast were heart-wrenching.

We got pay-per-view (PPV)-type action tonight for free. So do what you can and support the cause if at all possible. It is well worth it.

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MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), UFC on SpikeTV, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops.”

Quick results of the prelim fights will begin to flow around 7:30 p.m. ET and LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action will start at 9:00 p.m. ET with the three-hour Spike TV telecast.

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFN 16 results post and not this one.

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MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Results, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), UFC on SpikeTV, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Josh Koscheck doesn’t like losing.

After back-to-back wins over Dustin Hazelett and Chris Lytle , Koscheck came off the bench to replace an injured Diego Sanchez on just two weeks notice to battle rising star Thiago Alves at UFC 90 back on October 25.

He didn’t win.

Now — less than six weeks removed from the loss — the former collegiate national champion wrestler is slated to headline UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” against the very dangerous Japanese fighter, Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

That’s a tough fight for anyone in the welterweight division … much less someone coming off a loss to the bruising Brazilian.

Koscheck knows what is at stake — he put himself in this position. And now he feels as if his back is up against the wall. He needs to win or risk dropping farther back in the pack in the very competitive 170-pound title contender chase.

We recently caught up with the former contestant on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) to get his thoughts on the Alves fight, how he plans to topple “Zenko” later tonight, who he feels is the next 155-pound champion, contract issues and much, much more.

Let’s get to it:

Read more...

Josh Koscheck, MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Fighter Interviews

UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” is set to go down at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., TONIGHT (Wednesday, December 10). The television event airs LIVE on Spike TV at 8 p.m. ET.

Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates and blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action throughout the three-hour telecast. As usual, it promises to be a great discussion during an exciting line up of fights.

To get us pumped for the festivities, MMAmania.com Editor and Senior Writer Jesse Holland (that’s me) will be breaking down the main event matches and revealing each fighter’s keys to victory.

If you’re looking for an unbiased and objective examination of each contest, then I’m happy to report you will be extremely disappointed.

Why else do you think I would depose the former contributors and take this act solo like the selfish blowhard you already know me to be?

But enough about me, at least for the time being.

Let’s get cracking:

Josh Koscheck (11-3) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)

Josh Koscheck may be at a turning point in his career. Coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss to the ever-improving Thiago Alves at UFC 90, “Kos” has to prove that he still belongs at the top of the welterweight contender list. Granted, the fight against “Pitbull” was on short notice, but two straight losses in a division with this much depth is as good as a pink slip when it comes to title considerations … especially after already getting a crack at Georges St. Pierre — now the current division kingpin — and coming up short. While we didn’t see much of it at UFC 90, Kos had repeatedly demonstrated that he’s a tremendous wrestler who can take down just about anyone at will. He’s also starting to utilize that position more effectively as we saw in his drubbing of Chris Lytle at UFC 86. The “X” factor for me in this fight in his confidence. Yoshihiro Yoshida is not your average import. Anyone expecting the mundane style of Ryo Chonan or the antics of Akihiro Gono are in for a big surprise. “Zenko” is a smashing machine with an impeccable Judo resume. He made his mark in Cage Force so he not only knows how to fight inside a cage, he’s adept at using elbows, too. He’s also the man, who in his stateside debut at UFC 84, choked Jon Koppenhaver so hard that the self-proclaimed “War Machine” woke up the next morning ranting about burning villages in the Philippines and stabbing total strangers. Yoshida may still have a chip on his shoulder after getting burned by Karo Parisyan in their scrapped bout at UFC 88, and I fully expect him to try and take it out on Koscheck. Unfortunately, I don’t think Kos has recovered mentally from his loss to Alves and I predict he’ll be outclassed en route to his second straight unanimous decision loss.

Keys to victory:

Koscheck: Your wrestling will neutralize his Judo IF you can use it explosively. Failed shots that push him into the cage or keep it standing will result in you doing a 720 into the mat … head first. He’s strong enough to get back to his feet so be prepared to shoot ad nauseam. To top it off he knows submissions, so like a ‘64 Boston prostitute, beware of the choke.

Yoshida: The K-man may still be rattled from his loss to Alves. Open up with a devastating leg kick or a stiff shot to the head and you can break him in the first round. You may find yourself on your back if he brings his A-game, so give us your best Motoman SDA10 impersonation and use those elbows.

Prediction: Yoshida by unanimous decision

Mike Swick (12-2) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-9)

Mike Swick is back after his unanimous decision victory over Marcus Davis at UFC 85 to take on the man with the worlds worst hairdo. Swick has gone to a decision in his last four fights and I think it’s starting to get under his skin. He was cruising right along at middleweight, winning five straight until a tough loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 69 convinced him he needed to drop down to 170 pounds. I thought he looked a little flat in a winning effort against Josh Burkman at Fight Night 12 but seemed to get his groove back in the impressive win over Davis. “Swicking out” notwithstanding, I expect to see more of the same against Goulet. “The Road Warrior” is definitely a game opponent. And he knows how to put on a show as we saw in his UFC 83 “Fight of the Night” against Kuniyoshi Hironaka. That being said, I can’t erase the memories of him going down against Duane Ludwig at Fight Night 3 or Josh Koscheck at Fight Night 6. Both Swick and Goulet are talented strikers but for my money Swick has cleaner, more refined stand-up and his combinations are rock solid. I don’t expect this one to go to the ground. In fact I don’t expect it to get out of the first round. While both deny it, I still think there is a little bad blood between the two. In early 2007 Swick was offered Goulet as an opponent and he passed, feeling Goulet wasn’t good enough to be in the cage with him. Goulet proceeded to call Swick out on the Internet for turning down the fight and like most men, Swick’s ego wasn’t going to take the high road. Originally scheduled for September 2007 until Swick pulled out with a rib injury, they finally get the opportunity to throw down and Swick gets the chance to prove that he was right, that Goulet isn’t good enough to hang with him. In this case, I happen to agree.

Keys to victory:

Swick: First there was “Swickotine,” then there was “Swicking-out.” What’s next, getting your ass “Swicked?” Forget about the cutsie nicknames and do what you do best: Throw leather. The highlight reel is calling …

Goulet: Swick is vulnerable when you take him out of his comfort zone. Get him to focus on your hair and he may be distracted long enough to get knocked out.

Prediction: Swick by TKO

Steve Cantwell (6-1) vs. Razak Al-Hussan (5-0)

This is our “Welcome to the UFC” bout. Former WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell is going to lock horns with Razak Al-Hussan and because Al-Hassan represents the unknown, I have to pick him as my choice for winner … though its hard to pick against a guy whose nickname is “Robot”. While four of Al-Hassan’s six wins have come via submission, the Brown Belt in Tae Kwon Do is very dangerous on his feet (I guess we know who Rogan is rooting for). Thanks to Lyoto Machida, Karate is the new jiu-jitsu and Al-Hassan is going to make us believers again. Cantwell has been on a bigger stage and had bigger fights, including an impressive stoppage over Brian Stann at WEC 35, but I can see him overextending himself to try and make an impression in his UFC debut. Both fighters are well rounded and while stylistically this is a good match-up, I think in the end Al-Hassan’s typically calm and relaxed demeanor will allow him to strategically pick Cantwell apart en route to an early stoppage.

Keys to victory:

Cantwell: Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who doesn’t know much about Al-Hassan. Make him come to you and let him show you his cards. How good are you at making a game plan on the fly? Even if you get annihilated, you still come from the same town as Sheri’s Ranch and that makes you a winner in my book.

Al-Hassan: You’ve got everyone in the dark about what you can and can’t do. That means you can try just about anything and we’d probably believe you meant to do it. That includes getting knocked out so take it slow and keep him guessing.

Prediction: Al-Hassan by TKO

Nate Loughran (9-0) vs. Tim Credeur (10-2)

Tim Credeur is riding his TUF 7 fame — and a win over fellow castmate Cale Yarbrough — into the UFC for another Fight Night appearance. I’m afraid this one won’t go as planned as he faces the submission machine Nate Loughran. Credeur is a likable guy, and he’s competent in striking and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Unfortunately competent only gets you so far and Credeur was bested by Psycho the Monkey and CB Dolloway while on The Ultimate Fighter Season 7. The win over Yarbrough at Fight Night 14 is not enough to convince me he can get past Loughran. Aside from his impressive debut, also at Fight Night 14, Loughran is a perfect 9-0 with eight of those wins coming by way of submission. He’s got great cardio and deceptively crisp striking. He also submitted Phil Collins at Cage Combat FC in 2007, presumably for his role as Roland Copping in “Frauds”. Expect Credeur to fight by-the-numbers until things eventually hit the ground. From there, Loughran will dismantle the TUF vet for his ninth submission win.

Keys to victory:

Credeur: Plan on doing more standing than the Queen’s Guard. You have a decent ground game, but do you really want to test it against a guy with eight submission wins in two years? Swing early and often.

Loughran: You’ve used more triangles than Euclid and I’m a firm believer that if it ain’t broke, you’re not trying hard enough. Lest anyone thinks you’re one-dimensional, you can always drag him into the third round and pound him out when he stops breathing from exhaustion.

Prediction: Loughran by submission

Jim Miller (12-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-3)

The new and improved Matt Wiman is looking to make it five straight inside the Octagon when he clashes with the ruthless Jim Miller. Wiman has been impressive since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5, finishing three of four fights and winning them all. He demonstrated dangerous knockout power with a second round upset of Thiago Tavares at UFC 85: “Bedlam” back in June of this year. His only loss was to Spencer Fisher way backat UFC 60 (Has it really been 31 PPV’s since Hughes pummeled Gracie???). Anyway, “Handsome” is looking good as of late and is probably the sentimental favorite, but I think he’s in over his head against Miller. This will mark the second fight inside the Octagon for Miller — he scored an impressive third round submission over David Baron at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” on October 18 in his promotional debut. Prior to the big win, Miller plied his trade primarily in smaller shows throughout New Jersey. In fact, his only loss was a unanimous decision to none other than Frank Edgar, the man he’s replacing in this fight. He holds a notable win over the very tough and experienced Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision under the International Fight League (IFL) banner back in April and a staggering nine of his 12 wins are by submission. The only shot I give Wiman in this bout is a Tavares-like KO. Wiman is good, no question, but I think Miller is a whole lot better.

Keys to victory:

Wiman: See Credeur, Tim.

Miller: Use your excellent wrestling to take Wiman down and then do what you’ve done so many times before– submit him like a 1040. Be careful, he’s got power and a whole ‘lotta momentum so don’t get greedy or try to showboat.

Prediction: Miller by submission

That’s a wrap, folks. For the complete UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” fight card click here. Remember to come check us out after the show for the latest results, recaps and thoughts on Wednesday’s fights.

What do you think? Now it’s your turn … let’s have it in the comments section and share your thoughts and picks for Fight Night 16.

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MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Ultimate Fight Night (UFN), UFCmania event preview analysis and predictions, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Since dropping to welterweight following his first-ever loss in the UFC to Yushin Okami (22-4), Mike “Quick” Swick (12-2) has been looking for that breakthrough performance.

He didn’t get it in his majority decision win over Josh Burkman (18-8) at UFC Fight Night 12. He looked significantly better, but not great, four and a half months later when he outpointed the surging Marcus Davis (15-4) at UFC 85 to earn the unanimous decision.

Accordingly, Swick plans to make an even bigger statement tonight against Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet (22-9) at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops.”

The fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund takes place at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., airing free on Spike TV starting at 9 p.m. ET. Swick vs. Goulet is the co-headliner behind fellow welterweights Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida.

We caught up with Swick just after weigh-ins to see what he has in store for us (and Goulet) tonight, find out what it feels like to fight in front of thousands of screaming U.S. soldiers and much more.

Here’s how it went:

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’re coming off an exciting win over Marcus Davis that snapped his 11-fight win streak. How important was that win for you, especially when compared with your performance in the Josh Burkman fight?

Mike Swick: Ah … it was definitely important. I trained really hard, and I knew he was a tough opponent, so it was definitely important.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Was it important for you to not only win but also perform well in the Davis fight, as compared to the Burkman fight, where some of your critics came out and said that your loss to Yushin Okami might have temporarily zapped your fighting spirit?

Mike Swick: It was definitely important to prove that the Burkman fight was a one-time deal. And I’m still going to prove that with this fight. I thought the Davis fight was a good fight, but it still wasn’t a finish, and it wasn’t as exciting as some of my other fights. I’m still in that proving stage.

I don’t feel I have to do anything above and beyond what I normally do. I put everything into every fight. I fight every fight as hard as I can, or I try to. The game plan is to fight as hard as I can and to perform at my best. And if that didn’t happen one time, it’s just unfortunate, and it sucks, and I deeply regret it.

But every fight from here on out is no different than every fight I’ve had before that where the priority is to perform at my best. I think if I just do what I do, it’ll come full circle, and people will see that I didn’t change as a fighter, I just had a bad night.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Did you expect Davis to attempt so many takedowns given his boxing pedigree?

Mike Swick: No, as much as he said he was going to stand with me the whole time, I was really surprised the first two rounds that he tried as many takedowns as he did. It really caught me off guard — maybe that was his game plan.

But I countered the ones I could and just worked on beating him up on the ground. I wanted to be dominant anywhere the fight went, so that was my focus.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I know you had surgery on your elbow after that fight. How much of a factor was your elbow injury in the Davis and Burkman fights? How far back does that injury go?

Mike Swick: My arm’s been injured for over a year, so the confidence and the stability haven’t been there for a while. I don’t use it as an excuse, it’s just really nice to have my arm back and to be healthy and to be able to use it. I’m excited to throw it a lot more in this fight than I have in the past year.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Let’s talk about your opponent for tomorrow, Jonathan Goulet. You two were supposed to fight a year ago, but the elbow injury prevented it from happening. There was some online smack talk going back and forth. Does that make the anticipation for this fight any sweeter?

Mike Swick: I’m definitely looking forward to the fight, regardless of the smack talk. But it didn’t go back and forth — it was just him. He just made a comment basically saying that he could beat me and trying to get the fight. He wanted to get back in the UFC and get an opportunity. That was the extent of it. I never answered back or anything like that.

Even leading up to this fight, every interview I’ve done I’ve said that anytime I’ve described Goulet I’ve said that he’s an exciting, well-rounded, scrappy opponent who’s very tough. All his interviews are like he can beat me at this, and he can beat me at that, and he’s faster than me, and he’s stronger than me. It’s unfortunate that he has to go that route.

I don’t know if his confidence level is low or if he really feels that he’s better at everything. I don’t know why he’s saying that and not giving respect, but the bottom line is we’re going to be fighting Wednesday night, so we’ll see who the better fighter is.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Give me a best case scenario for this fight — not in terms of outcome, but in terms of pace. Do you see this as a stand-up battle, do you think we’ll see a little of everything?

Mike Swick: As a best case, I want to go out there and keep it a stand-up fight and end it in the first round by knockout. I don’t mean like 20 seconds, but I would like to go three or four minutes.

I’d like to get in there and move around and fight. I definitely want to fight. I don’t want to throw one punch and get a knockout. I want to get in there and scrap it up a little bit. I think he’s a scrappy opponent, it could be fun. I want to see the true better striker come out ahead.

If it goes to the ground or turns into wrestling or clinch steps, then I’ll deal with that when it comes. But I don’t want that, because I don’t want the pace of the fight to slow down.

Anytime a fighter clinches, the pace is automatically going to slow down. I can do things, but I can’t end the fight at any given second from the clinch unless I get a knee right to the head. You gotta fight out of the clinch, you gotta get position.

So just for the sake at keeping the fight at a good pace, being able to win it at a moment’s notice, I don’t want to clench, and I don’t want it to go to the ground. I want to keep it on the feet.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): From a conditioning standpoint, is Goulet going to be able to keep pace with you?

Mike Swick: I honestly don’t think he can keep pace with me for this fight. My shape has never been as good as it is right now. I feel like I can go five rounds solid. And I felt solid in the Davis fight, I felt like I could go another round at a good pace. And I wasn’t in as good of shape then as I am now.

I really am in the best shape. Confidence is definitely not an issue. I’m extremely confident, so that’s good going in, because right from the start I’m going to push that fast pace. And if I have to, I’ll be willing to keep it for the whole 15 minutes if that’s what it takes.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Tomorrow’s event, dubbed “Fight for the Troops,” is a benefit for the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. What’s it mean to you to be fighting for such a worthy cause?

Mike Swick: Ah … it’s great to be fighting for this cause. I’m a huge supporter of the military. I love going to the military bases and doing seminars and training with them. We actually came to Fort Bragg a year ago and trained with the troops here, put on a seminar and did some Special Forces stuff. So it’s cool to come back to the base that we were previously at.

Especially for such a great cause, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. This is a fundraiser that really makes a difference in soldiers’ lives and it’s great to know that we’re fighting to benefit that and to raise money for that.

And lastly, when you walk out, and you hear the crowd and the applause and screams, it’s really cool knowing that everyone you hear is a soldier. They’re all these people who are giving their lives and sacrificing their time, lives and livelihood overseas fighting in these wars for our freedom. It’s humbling and motivating to know that that’s who is cheering you on as you fight live.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): The whole UFC vs. AKA thing has gotten played up in the press as of late. What’s the mood like at AKA? Are there any sentiments, right or wrong, that maybe the UFC is trying to drive a wedge between the fighters and the camp?

Mike Swick: Not at all. We get along better than ever. I mean, everybody was in agreement, so …

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Gotcha — that’s good to hear. Well, Mike, thanks again for the interview. I wanted to give you a chance to plug any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans on what they can expect to see tomorrow night?

Mike Swick: I want to thank all the fans and all the troops. It’s going to be a great card, and I think it’s going to be my best performance. I want to thank everyone for their support.

Please check out my Web page at MikeSwick.com. I got my new blog and YouTube page linked up there, and I’m trying to post as much as I can behind the scenes, leading up to the fight, during fight week and post-fight.

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MMA News, Mike Swick, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Fighter Interviews, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Time is running out!

The three-hour Spike TV event UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C, begins at 9 p.m. ET tomorrow (Wednesday, December 10). And the preliminary card action begins sooner than that around 7:30 p.m. ET.

That means time is of the essence if you plan to get some action. We would have passed the odds along sooner; however, these were just release this evening.

Better late than never.

Therefore, here are the latest UFN 16 odds:

Josh Koscheck	-240	BET NOW
Yoshiyuki Yoshida	+190	BET NOW
Mike Swick	-400	BET NOW
Jonathan Goulet	+300	BET NOW
Steve Cantwell	-350	BET NOW
Razak Al-Hassan	+250	BET NOW
Tim Credeur	-165	BET NOW
Nate Loughran	+135	BET NOW
Matt Wiman	-105	BET NOW
Jim Miller	-125	BET NOW
Steve Bruno	Ev	BET NOW
Johnny Rees	-130	BET NOW
Ben Saunders	-400	BET NOW
Brandon Wolff	+300	BET NOW
Corey Hill	-350	BET NOW
Dale Hart	+250	BET NOW
Eddie Sanchez	-170	BET NOW
Justin McCully	+140	BET NOW

To check out the complete “Fight for the Troops” fight card click here. Remember that we will also be the spot for up-to-the-minute LIVE results and coverage on fight night.

Don’t know what those numbers mean? Unclear of how much you can win when you place bets? Check out the BetUS.com MMA betting calculator RIGHT HERE and find out.

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MMA News, UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops, UFC Octagon Odds, UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), UFC on SpikeTV, ufc odds