Mike Swick Looks Back at Recent Struggles, Forward to a Healthy Future

Filed under: UFCAs anyone who’s ever gone out to dinner with Mike Swick can tell you, watching the UFC welterweight order is an ordeal unto itself. He can’t have garlic, or any of the great stuff that makes spicy food spicy. He can’t have many of the s…

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As anyone who’s ever gone out to dinner with Mike Swick can tell you, watching the UFC welterweight order is an ordeal unto itself. He can’t have garlic, or any of the great stuff that makes spicy food spicy. He can’t have many of the staples of the American restaurant industry, in fact, and it’s not just when he’s cutting weight.

Because of an esophageal issue that he’s struggled with for the past four years, even minor interactions like ordering at a restaurant have become exhausting.

“I know every time I have to order food somewhere, it’s going to be a problem,” Swick told MMA Fighting this week. “When the waitress comes up to ask for my order, I know ahead of time it’s going to be an issue. I have to explain that I can’t have garlic, can’t have spice, go through this whole spiel every time, and then there’s about a 50% chance that I’ll just be ignored and it will be in there anyway. Then I’ll be up for four hours feeling like I’m having a heart attack.”

It’s a problem that’s affected his social life and his fighting career, but now he’s hoping that he may be on the verge of a solution.

Mike Swick Says Prescribed Diet for Misdiagnosed Stomach Ailment Was Impetus Behind Drop to Welterweight

(Video courtesy YouTube/
When Mike Swick lost his last fight to Paulo Thiago a lot of critics wondered if a welterweight with such a gaunt frame might be better suited to compete as a lightweight.
It turns out that Swick’s weight loss and drop to the 1…

(Video courtesy YouTube/

When Mike Swick lost his last fight to Paulo Thiago a lot of critics wondered if a welterweight with such a gaunt frame might be better suited to compete as a lightweight.

It turns out that Swick’s weight loss and drop to the 170-pound class from his usual 185-pound one was a result of a medical condition he now says was misdiagnosed more than four years ago.

Originally diagnosed with dyspepsia, Swick was put on a restrictive diet and was unable to hold onto the muscle mass he put on in the weight room simply due to the fact that he was burning through more calories training on the mats and in the ring than he was taking in.

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Mike Swick Says He Was Misdiagnosed With Stomach Disorder

Filed under: UFC, NewsMike Swick learned recently following his February loss to Paulo Thiago that for the past four years, he’s been a victim of a misdiagnosis.

“I’ve been dealing with a medical condition for the last several years,” Swick revealed i…

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Mike Swick learned recently following his February loss to Paulo Thiago that for the past four years, he’s been a victim of a misdiagnosis.

“I’ve been dealing with a medical condition for the last several years,” Swick revealed in a video blog posted Monday. “It’s affected every part of my life and it’s been an absolute nightmare.”

Swick says he was told he had the stomach disorder dyspepsia when in reality he had esophageal spasms with acid reflux.

What Your MMA Nickname Really Says About You

Nicknames are like tattoos — badass when you first pick them out, generally embarrassing ten years later. And yet for some reason, they’re often the only things that MMA fighters keep forever, even as they change camps, change fighting styles, an…

Nicknames are like tattoos — badass when you first pick them out, generally embarrassing ten years later. And yet for some reason, they’re often the only things that MMA fighters keep forever, even as they change camps, change fighting styles, and change their hair. And while every fighter sends a message with their choice of nickname, it may not always be the message that they’re trying to send. For example, let’s say your nickname is…

A RHYME
Mike Swick Quick UFC
Notable examples: Mike "Quick" Swick, "Bad" Brad Blackburn, Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch, Marvin "Beastman" Eastman
What you think it says: You’re straightforward and to-the-point. You want your nickname to stick in people’s heads.
What it really says: You spent no more than five seconds coming up with that weak bullshit. 

A REFERENCE TO YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Kamal Shalorus Prince of Persia MMA photos nicknames
Notable examples: Kamal "Prince of Persia" Shalorus, Efrain "Hecho en Mexico" Escudero, Sako "The Armenian Psycho" Chivitchian, "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung
What you think it says: You’re proud of your heritage and want to represent the fighting spirit of your people.
What it really says: You will be met with boos and "U.S.A.!" chants every time you fight, even though you’ve lived in Glendale your entire life.

A REFERENCE TO YOUR CITY OF ORIGIN, INCORPORATING THE WORD "BAD"
Phil Baroni New York Bad Ass MMA
Notable examples: Phil "The New York Bad Ass" Baroni, Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz
What you think it says: You came up the hard way. You were the toughest dude in your neighborhood, and now you’re the toughest dude in any neighborhood.
What it really says: There’s a good chance you’re a complete asshole.

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Writer vs. Fighter: UFC 116 Predictions With Mike Swick

Filed under: UFCAfter finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance …

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After finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance for an easy victory. Whatever the reason, Swick was gracious enough to agree to face me in a UFC 116 prediction contest this afternoon, and for that I thank him.

I may have gotten smoked by “Babalu” Sobral in last week’s match-up, but I’m trying to stay positive. I figure it can only help me that I got Swick to make his predictions after he’d stayed up until 5 a.m. playing poker in Las Vegas, where he says he’s been doing “very well.”

Well Mr. Swick, prepare to have your fortunes changed. Maybe. Hopefully.