Mike "Quick" Swick may need a change of nickname after his performance last night at the Pearl in Las Vegas, Nevada. He didn't exactly cruise to an easy win as he narrowly edged out Josh Burkman. Burkman used his consistent tactics of brawling with opponents by using his heavy hands to throw looping haymakers that never really hit their mark. Swick was able to fend off the takedown attempts for the most part, but the glaring problem with Swick's effort was his hesitation to trade with Burkman's power.
Can you blame the guy? Burkman may miss his mark most of the time, but it's evident that one shot could potentially devastate his opponent. Swick didn't use other tactics to set himself up though. His swift kick to Burkman's head looked to hurt Burkman for an instance, but Swick decided against moving in for the kill for he may have had flashed of Pete Sell vs. Scott Smith in his mind. Nonetheless, Swick eeked out a victory, but surely didn't impress the fanbase looking for another welterweight to ascend the ranks.
Patrick Cote could be a potential contender
One of the more interesting matchups on the card was the heavy-handed Drew McFedries taking on the Canadian Patrick Cote. Cote has looked impressive in his last few fights. He recently knocked out Kendall Grove in a fight that was "do or die" time for him. He came back with a vengeance again on Wednesday night.
Cote scored a stiff uppercut to the chin of McFedries that sealed the deal and took Cote to his fourth straight victory. It only took him a tad over a minute to dodge some huge shots and deliver one of his own.
Patrick now sits on the outside looking in, and it only gets better for him as you look across the landscape of the UFC's Middleweight division. Regarded as the weakest division in the UFC, Cote has a real chance at making things happen for him in 2008. Keep an eye on Patrick Cote.
Omigawa doesn't get enough credit, Tavares finds out
A fight that was most likely deemed an instant lock for most fans turned into a decision win for Tavares that was probably a harder fought battle than he had anticipated. Omigawa showed some great guard skill by tying up Tavares, but ultimately was unable to unload anything significant in his defense.
Omigawa has a deceptive record. At 4-5 before the fight, many consider him to just be cannon fodder to the current roster of talent in the UFC. His judo skills are still very good, and it showed in this bout that his guard skills have improved significantly. Although Omigawa will surely be dropped from the UFC when his contract is up, he still is a decent test for fighters who plan on imposing ground tactics on their opponents throughout their careers.
Lightweights, watch out for Nate Diaz
I called it my "LOCK" pick to many of the people I spoke to regarding the event. People thought I was crazy. "Alvin Robinson is a beast!" they said. While I think Alvin Robinson is skilled and has the potential to be a good fighter if he can get some more training, he was smaller and had to overcome too many factors in this matchup.
Diaz was absolutely stunning in this matchup. Not only did he overcome a takedown by Alvin, but he was able to be active in his guard which caused Alvin to guard the submission attempts more often than actually attack. Diaz was also able to neutralize any power factor that Robinson had.
For the most part, Diaz performed the way he should. He has significantly better boxing technique that we didn't get to see, he has great jiu-jitsu which was evident in defeating Robinson and Assuncao, and his length and size at the weight class causes problems for his opponents. If he has the chin and mentality of his brother, he'll almost never be knocked out and will most likely suffer a broken arm before tapping. Flat out, a tough challenge for anyone.
Nate wasn't a favorite of mine on the Ultimate Fighter, but he is slowly but surely making me believe he can be a factor in the coming year.
Other notes
Pellegrino's battle with BJJ Black Belt, Alberto Crane, ended as many expected it to end, but only after Crane landed a kick that put Pellegrino's teeth through his lower lip. Pellegrino came back from the brink to solidify a win with a quick right jab that seemed to hurt Crane's left orbital area. Crane cried foul, but it was evident that Crane's vision would be heavily affected. Good win for Kurt, and still showing that he's "tough as nails" as Joe Rogan was quoted as saying.
Maynard, Hill, and Wiman all won in their matchups. Siver proved to be a tougher test for Maynard that many had thought, but he was able to pound out a unanimous victory over the German.
Hill may be for real as I picked the wrestling standout in Veres to defeat him. It looks like Hill is getting some great training from MFS.
Wiman should have won his fight, and he did. I held out hope for an upset by Bucholz, but Wiman has fought better competition and more experienced fighters in the past. He proved that he isn't dead yet in the division.
Lastly, Jeremy Stephens put the beatdown on Cole Miller. To be honest, this was a toss up for me as far as picking this fight. Miller had the reach, but Stephens is definitely known for his power. He brought that power to the cage, and Miller needs to gain some of that power to really make us a believer in him.