Mike Swick moving back up to middleweight, reveals plans for UFC return

Looks like Mike Swick is going to make good on last year's promise.

The former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season one standout is preparing for his return to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but you can forget about seeing "Quick" at 170 pounds. Especially after he rushed himself back in 2012 and got laid out for his efforts.

From his conversation with Submission Radio:

"I've got my health back a lot from before, obviously I was not doing too good during that time for those fights, walking at 170, but I'm back up to 210 now. I feel good, I'm able to eat, getting my strength back. I'll fight middleweight. Yeah, I've got my size back. For the last six or seven years I've been walking really light because of my health issues with my esophagus, so I haven't been able to eat a proper diet and basically just really malnourished. So, I'm able to do that now and get my diet back and my size so yeah I'll definitely be fighting at 185. I wanna just go back in and just fight! No, a title is not in my mind at this time, I just wanna fight and fight healthy for the first time in years and years."

The last time Swick was a healthy middleweight, he went 5-1 inside the Octagon with four finishes.

After he was out-muscled by Yushin Okami at UFC 69, Swick (15-5) dropped down to the welterweight division. While he found success early, racking up four straight wins, "Quick" was anything but during the second half of his run, thanks to a spastic esophagus that required surgery.

Now he's back ... but is he better than ever?

That remains to be seen. The 34-year-old striker and master of the "Swick-o-tine" has a long road ahead of him in a division that has gotten exponentially better since his departure, but it sounds like he's staying realistic about his short-term goals.

That said, who would you like to see him fight in his UFC return?