DaMarques Johnson (UFC)
Welterweight fights for first time in more than 2 1/2 years
Mike Swick will fight for the first time in more than two and a half years when he steps into the Octagon later this summer.
Swick has agreed to a welterweight bout against DaMarques Johnson at UFC on Fox: Stann vs. Lombard. UFC officials announced the fight Tuesday, saying verbal agreements were in place from both fighters.
UFC on Fox 4 takes place Aug. 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and features a main event middleweight bout between Brian Stann and former Bellator champion Hector Lombard, who will be making his UFC debut. A light heavyweight bout between former champion Lyoto Machida and “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Ryan Bader also is on the card.
Swick (14-4, 9-3 UFC) has been out of action since a February 2010 loss to Paulo Thiago at UFC 109. That fight was his second straight loss after dropping a unanimous decision to Dan Hardy at UFC 105 in a welterweight title eliminator. A combination of illnesses and injuries has kept him on the sidelines since those back-to-back losses, though.
Swick got his UFC start on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and started his career in the promotion 5-0 before a loss to Yushin Okami. After the loss to Okami, at middleweight, Swick dropped to welterweight and rattled off another four wins in a row before losing to Hardy.
Johnson (16-10, 4-4 UFC) will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since 2009, when he lost the Season 9 TUF final against the recently retired James Wilks. For the last two years, Johnson has alternated wins and losses in the UFC, most recently tapping out to an armbar against John Maguire at UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva in Sweden.