Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy: Is Either Man Worthy of a Title Shot?

With UFC 105 just a few short days away, I started thinking this morning about how neither Mike Swick or Dan Hardy are legitimate contenders, yet they find themselves in a position to earn a shot at Georges St. Pierre and the UFC welterweight championship this weekend with a win.

It was brought to my attention by a few people who had read my predictions for the bout between Swick and Hardy that I was being a little hard on both fighters. I am a fan of both men and enjoy watching them fight, but the fact remains that neither fighter has an impressive enough resume to be considered a contender for one of the premier championships in all of MMA.

Let's start with Swick, since he has a larger body of work within the organization. He holds an impressive 9-1 record inside the octagon, but when you take a good hard look at who he has beaten, you will certainly find that he has been something of a bottom feeder.

At this point in his career, his biggest victory was against David Loiseau , a fighter who has been released twice in the three years since they fought.

After losing an agonizing and boring decision to Yushin Okami , Swick decided to drop down to the welterweight division. I, for one, was happy with the move as I felt he was a bit undersized at 185lbs to begin with.

I will give him a pass on his first bout in the division. He took on a tough Josh Burkman in the main event ofUFC Fight Night 12 . He seemed lethargic and hesitant which was to be expected as he was dealing with the weight cut for the first time.

What has he accomplished since that time? He defeated Marcus Davis at UFC 85 and while I like to watch Davis scrap, he is not going to be confused with GSP any time soon.

Up next was "The Road Warrior" Jonathan Goulet , a fighter who has a penchant for getting knocked out in the first minute of his fights. Swick became the third man to accomplish that feat as he put Goulet to sleep in just 33 seconds.

Ben Saunders was coming off an impressive win against Brandon Wolff on The Fight For The Troops card last December. He showed an impressive array of knees as he tortured Wolff in the clinch. With that being said, he is inexperienced and that showed in his fight with Swick. It took just two rounds for Swick to dispose of "Killa B."

Hardy is a little unknown to the American fan but he is certainly developing a following due to his outlandish hair and his go for broke style. He is 3-0 in the UFC but two of those bouts have gone to the judges.

For someone who came in with a reputation for knocking people out, Hardy has managed to finish just one of his opponents. That poor soul was Rory Markham , who was put out of his misery in just over one minute.

Let's not forget how Hardy narrowly escaped with a split decision victory over veteran Akihiro Gono in his debut with the organization at UFC 89 . Fighting in front of his home crowd wasn't enough to will Hardy to a more decisive victory over a fighter who is better known for his ring entrances than he is for his actual fighting prowess.

Don't get me wrong, Gono, at one time, could compete with just about anyone but his best days are far behind him.

The one common opponent these men both have is Davis. Neither fighter was able to finish "The Irish Hand Grenade" in the allotted 15 minutes. I believe that fighters who are supposed to be in the top of their division should be able to finish the fighters who are not, and Davis, my friends, in nowhere near the top of the UFC's food chain.

I have heard the phrase "a puncher's chance" more times than I care to admit. People like to point out that Matt Serra used his "puncher's chance" against GSP to capture the UFC welterweight crown.

The great thing about MMA is that there is always the possibility that an underdog can land that one shot that will send him into super stardom as he opponent is sent crashing to the canvas. My bet is that when it comes to GSP it will not happen again.

What do Swick and Hardy possess that make them a viable opponent for one of the greatest fighters in the world? GSP is bigger, stronger, faster and much more technical than the two of them combined. He is dominating fighters that would most likely school both Swick and Hardy. He has made a great fighter like Jon Fitch look ordinary.

He took Thiago Alves down at will when people were saying that Alves had developed the best take down defense in MMA.

I understand that someone has to fight GSP, the title has to be defended but in my opinion that person should at the very least have to fight one fighter that is ranked within the top five of the division.

I'd much rather see the winner of the Anthony Johnson- Josh Koscheck matchup get an opportunity at GSP. I understand that GSP has already defeated Koscheck and up until this bout with Koscheck, Johnson hasn't fought anyone significant either, but he is fighting the "Blond Bomber," and I think it's safe to say that Koscheck is in the top five of the division.

As I stated before, I am a fan of both Hardy and Swick but unlike Brock Lesnar who was afforded his title opportunity because of his drawing power, neither fighter can bring that quality to the table at this point in their careers. Ok, I am ready, let me have it!!

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