Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy will, in fact, take place at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.UFC president Dana White had confirmed last night to FanHouse that the fight was in the works but now both the fighters and UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik have confirmed the welterweight bout with title shot implications.
Swick (14-2) is looking at an opportunity to challenge George St-Pierre for the belt if he beats Hardy, but it's uncertain how many fights away Hardy is from a title shot. According to an article linked on Hardy's official website, The Sun suggests that Hardy may have to face teammate Paul Daley for the title shot after Swick.
Swick had already been booked for a No. 1 contenders bout against Martin Kampmann at UFC 103, but the bout was called off due to Swick suffering a concussion during training. Kampmann took the risk of staying busy while waiting for Swick and was stopped at the event by UFC newcomer Paul Daley, further confusing the UFC's already completely speculative welterweight title situation.
Hardy (22-6) jumps in the title mix, benefiting from the Kampmann loss and an injury to his UFC 105 scheduled opponent Dong-Hyun Kim.
The two bouts previously official for UFC 105 are Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera in a light heavyweight bout and Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang in a middleweight tilt.
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