One of the last remaining cast members of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 1,’ Mike Swick, announced his official retirement from mixed martial arts on Thursday.
Swick (15-6) exits the sport at 36 years of age, less than a week after losing a listless decision to Alex Garcia at UFC 189. That fight was Swick’s first in nearly three years, and ultimately it proved to be his last.
A native of Texas and longtime member of the American Kickboxing Academy, Swick made his professional debut with a submission victory over Victor Bell in 1998. He went on to vie for the WEC middleweight title, but it wasn’t until 2005, when he appeared on the inaugural season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ that he found his big break.
Swick competed as a light heavyweight on the landmark show, falling short to eventual runner-up Stephan Bonnar in the season’s semifinals. He made his post-TUF run count though.
Swick racked up nine victories across two weight classes over the course of his first 10 UFC fights, including a trio of knockouts in 33 seconds or less.
His run of success finally screeched to a halt in 2009, when Swick dropped a No. 1 contender match against Dan Hardy. Hardy went on to challenge then-champion Georges St-Pierre, while Swick lost three of his final four bouts while dealing with a myriad of injuries plus a crippling bout with an esophageal spasm.
Though Swick ultimately overcame his illness to return against Garcia after 945 days on the shelf, the time off proved to be too much and Swick dropped a tepid decision to the up-and-comer. Days later, he posted the following statement on his Facebook page.
July 11th 2015 at UFC 189 was officially my final fight. I was healthy and injury free for the first time in 8 years but still couldn’t put my game together. There comes a time when every fighter realizes he is older and not what he use to be and I want to acknowledge this and stay true and honest to what I have always said, that I will leave when I know I am done. It’s a hard thing to do considering everyone wants to go out on top, unfortunately when your actually on top, you never wanna go out.
It’s unfair to the UFC, the fans and to my family and friends for me to keep chasing this career while giving performances that I am not proud of.
I remember sitting in class during high school(’98) watching UFC’s with the football team during off season and telling them I will be there one day. Now at 36 years old, I have been contracted with the UFC going on 11 years and it has completely changed my life. I am very proud to have fought and been a part of this organization for so long.
Though I am retiring from fighting, I will stay a big part of this sport as I continue to build fighters and grow my dream gym AKA Thailand. This gym is a massive project that has taken us 5 years to put together and once we are done, it will be the largest and most unique fight gym in the world. I am so proud to have such a great team of people behind it and I will now give my full effort towards its progress and the business surrounding it.
I want to thank everyone out there who has helped me over the years… My family and friends, Javier Mendez/Team AKA/AKA Thailand and all the coaches and fighters that have been a part of them, the UFC, all my sponsors, and finally the wonderful fans that have made this sport so great! It is because of all of you, that I was allowed to live my dream and that I will now be able to continue living it after my fighting career.
I also want to thank the haters and negative people who have entered my life from time to time. The fire that you guys created inside me is what has maybe helped me the most in my attempts to prove you wrong and succeed through your doubts. Thanks for being that fuel when I was running low on gas. 😉
Thanks for all the support and I love you all!