We're just hours away from tonight's (Sat., Aug. 4, 2012) UFC on FOX 4: "Shogun vs. Vera," which is all set to blow the doors off the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Headlining the card are a pair of 205-pound showdowns -- Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera and Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader -- with clear implications on the light heavyweight title picture.
Before the big boys can shine under the spotlight, Mike Swick and DaMarques Johnson, among others, will be charged with setting the tone for the night. And both men appear to be up to the task albeit for very different reasons.
Here's Swick's:
"The critics are saying I'm done, you know. 'He's done, he's never going to make a comeback.' You can't tell me stuff like that because that is all I've done my whole life, is do what people tell me I can't do. After 2.5 years I came back, I worked hard. I feel faster, stronger. I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, I really do."
And Johnson's:
"The fight is my motivation. To be in there, fighting a guy like Mike Swick, that's where the guy who loves to fight comes out. There is a 50 percent chance I am going to win this fight. There is a 100 percent chance that somebody is going to be taking a nap. And I'm okay with those odds."
I'm okay with those odds, too. Let's just hope for their sake, as well as the millions of mainstream fans watching from the cozy confines of their living rooms, that the entire field goes "all in."
Be sure to hit up our complete UFC on FOX 4 event archive right here before the big event tonight.
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