UFC fighters Gegard Mousasi and Mike Swick have announced their plans to move to the UFC’s middleweight ranks.
A former Strikeforce champion, Mousasi made his UFC debut at 205lbs back in April in Sweden against late replacement Ilir Latifi, picking up a unanimous decision victory.
Afterwards he revealed that he was suffering from a knee injury and would require surgery, but he’s now confirmed on Facebook that he’s back in training and will make his return at 185lbs. He’s also suggested Vitor Belfort as a potential first opponent at his new weight class.
Meanwhile, Mike Swick has gone 1-1 since returning to the UFC’s welterweight division following a long layoff due to illness and injuries. He’s now announced that he too is headed to the 185lb weight class for his next fight.
“I wanna come back at a big and healthy 185. No more sickly 170 for me,” Swick revealed on Twitter.
Swick originally entered the UFC as a middleweight after a run on The Ultimate Fighter season 1 and went on to produce a very respectable 5-1 record. He’s since gone 5-3 as a welterweight.
Both Mousasi and Swick are well respected, talented fighters who’ll certainly add to the overall quality of the middleweight roster, though I would have liked to see how Mousasi continued to fare at light-heavyweight, but he always has the option to return there in the future if this move doesn’t go according to plan.
