UFC
Mike Swick, Josh Grispi return at UFC on Fox 4 this August in Los Angeles
May 22, 2012 - 8:10:36 PM Mike Swick, Josh Grispi return at UFC on Fox 4 this August in Los Angeles

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Two fighters who have been out of action for a considerable amount of time will return to the Octagon on August 4 in Los Angeles. The UFC announced on Tuesday that Mike Swick will return after two and a half years on the shelf to take on DaMarques Johnson, and Josh Grispi will step back into the cage in a bout against Pablo Garza.

Additionally, the UFC announced that featherweights Nam Phan and Cole Miller will square off on the card, and they confirmed a reported matchup between Michihiro Omigawa and Manny Gamburyan.

Swick, a cast member on the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter, has battled illnesses and several injuries that have kept him out of the cage since February of 2010. The 32-year-old holds a 9-3 record in 12 UFC bouts, though he lost his last two appearances, to Dan Hardy and Paulo Thiago, respectively.

He'll now return against Johnson, who has posted a 4-4 mark in eight UFC appearances since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter's ninth season. The 29-year-old has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights.

Grispi returns to the cage for the first time since last June, and will hope to halt a two-fight losing streak that sent him catapulting down the featherweight rankings. Grispi was originally going to make his UFC debut against Jose Aldo in a Championship bout, but when Aldo's debut was postponed, Grispi took on Dustin Poirier instead. He was dominated for 15 minutes in a decision loss, and in his return he was taken out by George Roop with a third round body punch after another poor performance at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.

He looks to break that slide against Garza, who is in a similar position. After impressive bonus-winning performances over Fredson Paixao and Yves Jabouin, Garza has lost two straight fights to Poirier and Dennis Bermudez.

Phan and Miller as well are fighters looking to get back on the winning track. Phan dropped a decision to Jimy Hettes in December, dropping him to 1-3 in the UFC, while Miller dropped a decision to Steven Siler in his featherweight debut in March.

UFC on Fox 4 takes place on August 4 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., headlined by a middleweight bout between Brian Stann and former Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard.