UFC 105 Betting - Swick vs. Hardy

There is a school of thought that Saturday’s Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy welterweight fight winner at UFC 105 in Manchester, England will get the next title shot at Georges St. Pierre.

But it’s probably going to take an excellent performance or an epic back-and-forth fight between the two for UFC President Dana White to give them the opportunity to fight a fighter the caliber of St. Pierre, even despite the fact that there aren’t a whole lot of other options.

Both guys are certainly capable of rising to the occasion, however, as they each possess some unique skills that the fans want to see.

Swick is the guy with the incredibly fast hands, living up to his nickname of “Quick” because of how fast he finishes fights, while Hardy has a very good all-around muay thai-based striking game including vicious knees and elbows that could pose a serious threat to the favorite Swick in their bout.

Swick is listed at -210 to +165 odds going into the fight against Hardy and that seems about right considering Hardy probably hasn’t faced a guy as highly-ranked as Swick, the former Ultimate Fighter alum.

Swick had previously been scheduled to take on Martin Kampmann for a title shot, but Hardy is probably a tougher challenge for him. On the feet, this is a tough fight to call. Swick likes to rush in and let more bombs fly than your typical B-52 mission during World War 2, and a few of them eventually get through, inevitably dropping his opponents. He’s not the biggest, strongest guy around but he’s wiry strong with a good frame.

Jiu-jitsu wise, this fight should be pretty close to a draw with maybe a slight edge going to Swick.

Hardy will have to withstand Swick’s initial onslaught and then rely on the crowd to build him back up so he can make a run at Swick. He’ll need to bully Swick around a bit in the clinch to chip away at his defenses.

Hardy’s fully capable of doing that, but the safe money is on Swick because he’s got the quickness and power advantages going in and that could be the difference in a fight that figures to be rife with tons of wild scrambles and opportunities to go in for the killing blow for both fighters.

The pick: Mike Swick (-210) by TKO in round two.