Montreal native David (The Crow) Loiseau (14-5, 9 KO’s) fought Mike (Quick) Swick (9-1, 5 KO’s) of Houston, Texas
on September 23, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond Arena of Anaheim, California.
Loiseau, the number one contender for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight title was coming off of a
brutal loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Rich ‘Ace’
Franklin. Swick, a contestant from season one
of The Ultimate Fighter reality show has been 5 and 0 in the UFC and
would face his toughest test to date in taking on Loiseau.
Earning a reputation for having the most
dangerous elbows in the business by knocking out tough Brit Mark Weir, turning
former UFC Middleweight Champion and gatekeeper of the division Evan
Tanner into a bloody mess, and destroying Charles McCarthy with a
spinning back kick followed by a flying knee and a vicious ground and
pound, Loiseau has overcome many personal
difficulties to be where he is today. Mixed martial arts fan Bernie
O’Connor remembers the days when Loiseau
drove a beat up car with taped up windows while reigning as TKO (a
Canadian fight organization) middleweight champion. Long before this, at age
seventeen, Loiseau suffered a spinal cord
injury in a car accident; doctors told Loiseau
that he would no longer be able to participate in contact sports. Loiseau
says that he “kept faith and stayed strong” and that UFC 63
was “about the Crow coming back…to put the wrong things
right.”
Mike Swick was
given the nickname “Quick” for finishing all of his UFC
fights in under a minute. A
knockout artist with fast hands, Swick has
shown that he can win a fight both standing and on the ground by
choking out tough competitors Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs and Quebec fighter
Steve Vigneault. Swick
began learning martial arts at the age of seven shortly before his
father passed away. Speaking
of his father Swick says, “I want him
to know that I pursued life to the fullest. I want to win this belt for him.”
Both combatants have wins over common
opponent Gideon Ray. Loiseau cut Ray to pieces with deadly strikes
forcing the referee to stop the fight as blood flowed down Ray’s
head. Swick
made quick work of Ray finishing the fight in seconds through his use
of rapid fire punches leaving a stunned Ray on his back. “Is
tonight the night the crow flies again? Or does Swick
continue his meteoric rise?” asked UFC commentator Mike Goldberg. It was a question that many
fight fans wanted answered Loiseau and Swick entered the octagon in shape with game faces. With no beef behind this fight
and the utmost respect for each other they squared off in the first
round. Loiseau,
wearing blue shorts with white trim, took the center of the octagon to
try and control the pace of the fight. Wearing white shorts with black
trim, Swick quickly started throwing punch
combinations that were all blocked by Loiseau’s
guard. UFC commentators Joe Rogan described Loiseau,
who stood flatfooted while not attacking, as “tense” while
former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture
said that Loiseau was “gun-shy.” Swick’s
strikes caused no damage. The
fight went to the ground with Loiseau
escaping Swick’s submission attempts. The first round went to Swick as he was the aggressor.
Round two was a slower round that saw Swick throw some ineffective flurries. Loiseau
stepped up the pace by landing leg kicks that Swick
seemed unable to block. As
his left thigh swelled and turned red, Swick
took Loiseau to the ground, again unsuccessful
in his attempts to submit Loiseau who trains
with Abu Dhabi Submission Champion Dean Lister. The round was up in the air in
terms of scoring. This
writer saw it as a draw.
In the third and final round ‘The
Crow’ spread his wings.
After being taken down Loiseau got to
his feet and exploded on Swick with a knee to
the body followed by elbows to the face. Swick
backed up and showed fatigue while covering up as Loiseau
rained kicks, body punches, and elbows as a slowed down
‘Quick’ lay against the black chain link fence. Joe Rogan described Loiseu as being “stronger” in the round
and Swick as “fading.”
The crowd roared as Loiseau’s
limbs attacked a limp Swick. Fear was in Swick’s
eyes as fists rattled his rib cage and elbows bruised his forearms that
blocked his head. With Swick’s nose shedding blood, his right cheek
swelled up, his mouth wide open, and with so many unanswered shots it
was a surprise that the referee did not stop the fight. In the final ten seconds of the
five minute round Swick ended on top of Loiseau after a failed flying knee attempt. The fight finished with both men
on the ground and the crowd yelling and clapping in appreciation of
such a hard fought battle.
Swick’s hand was raised in victory
after all three judges awarded him the first two rounds scoring the
bout 29-28. Following the fight Swick said of
Loiseau, “Dude hits hard man…
that hurt like hell,” and “I feel I deserve a title shot.” In an interview with Sherdog.com
Loiseau said, “I think my body was
still in five round mode. I
was just taking my time… If I would have fought the way I fought
in the third round right off the bat… the result would have been
way different, I could have had a very short night.”
