Inside Fights has confirmed with sources inside the UFC that Mike Swick and Dan Hardy will meet for a number one contender’s bout, and it will likely be held at UFC 105.
UPDATE: The bout has been agreed to for UFC 105. The official reason being given is that Dong Hyun-Kim, the originally scheduled opponent for Hardy, was injured during training. The winner of the fight will receive the next shot at Georges St. Pierre, likely in February 2010 when St. Pierre returns from mending an injury.
The addition of the title shot stipulation likely means that this bout will move into headliner status, right below the Randy Couture/Brandon Vera main event. Even more importantly, it shows just how quickly the UFC can reverse the fortunes of individual shows. Two weeks ago, we were looking at Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang in the main event and very little in the way of excitement throughout the rest of the card.
Today, the card is headlined by Randy Couture’s return to the light heavyweight division, and we also get to see a welterweight number one contender bout between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy, two guys who are new to the title challenger scene. And the old “styles make fights” adage has never been more true than this bout; Swick and Hardy are two guys who will stand and trade reckless punches until one or the other goes down.
