You international folks may not know the name Daniel Swain, but you will soon enough. Swain has made a name for himself on the British Columbia Pro MMA Circuit by going 4-1 over the last year, but for the last few months he has been living back home in Newport, Washington.
I made the decision to move back home because I wasn’t finding fights and I just came off my first loss as a fighter and I thought I need to come back home and figure everything out about what I was going to do with this, get everything situated and make a little money, get a job and whatnot.
Since being home I’ve helped coach my wrestling team again and got back to my roots wrestling and I’ve been training pretty much by myself getting ready for my upcoming Battlefield fight and the fight I just had.
News was floating around the internet that Swain had a fight in Montana on January 21. That indeed was the case as the 21 year old (then 20) fought at the Majestic Valley Arena in Montana for the Kalispell Kombat organization. Swain fought a local favorite in Zach Dickson and he disappointed a few local fans.
I got a phone call from a promoter who said he knew of a promoter in Montana who needed 145 [pound] guys and there was this guy who was meant to be the tough guy around Montana, he was 4-0, home town guy and they wanted to pretty much bring someone in so he could beat up on for the home crowd so I said “Sure, I’ll take that fight” on two weeks’ notice.
It was in an arena that was pretty big for a low-level show and the fight happened and was my first knockout which is pretty crazy for me – I dropped him in the first ten seconds with a knee and I hurt him pretty bad, after that I pretty much stalked him until I got him with a flush knee and he crumbled and went to sleep.
I looked at the ref and he wasn’t going to step in cause he’s the hometown guy so I hit him a few more times and the ref finally pulled me off of him.
When you hear the name ‘Blackzilians’ you think Rashad Evans, Melvin Guillard, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and coach Mike Van Arsdale. You don’t envision a red headed white kid by the name of Daniel Swain. But the Newport, Washington native has drawn the attention of the Blackzilians thanks to his last decisive victory.
The promoter had Anthony “Rumble” Johnson there for autographs and whatnot and after I got done beating up that guy pretty bad he was waiting outside the cage to shake my hand and tell me I have some potential, to keep with it and I’m gonna go somewhere in this sport.
Then later in the night he got a hold of one of my cornermen who was at the bar with him, I wasn’t 21 yet so I wasn’t able to go to the bars with him but he got a hold of my cornerman who gave him my number and whatnot. They got in contact a few days after the fight and now I ‘ve got a paid trip down to Florida to train with the Blackzilians.
Daniel has a fight coming up in Vernon, BC at Battlefield Fight League 13 on February 11, 2012 against a fighter by the name of Russell Davis. This fight was given to him at the last minute, which has become somewhat of a standard thing when it comes to Swain.
It was a last minute fight actually, Jay was looking for someone for me, I didn’t think he was going to find anyone for me but he did, Russell Davis I believe is his name, I’ve watched his tape he’s beat a few guys and looks decent but he doesn’t look like anything I won’t be able to handle though.
My wrestling is better than his and after last fight I know my striking is better than his from what I’ve watched so I‘m ready to go in there and make a statement and make sure the Blackzilians know they aren’t making a mistake by flying me down there to train with them.
The question at hand following this fight is will he become a full time fighter down in Florida or will he stick it out with the BC-based Battlefield Fight League?
I have no clue, theres a lot of talk about me fighting on the Battlefield after this one, this fights only a one-fight contract but if I win here I think Jay [Golshani, BFL President]will want to sign me to a multi-fight deal but my management [Echelon Fighter Management] takes care of that stuff.
Daniel won the 2011 NCWA wrestling championship, which shows that he definitely has his wrestling base down. The Blackzilians are well known for their wrestlers with Davis, Johnson and Spong all having strong wrestling bases. So what will Swain bring to the table?
I’m gonna bring the drive, I want to excel in this sport to the highest level – I want to be with the toughest guys in the gym, I want to train with the hardest trainers, I want to do all I can to make it in this sport and I am going to do all I can do to make it here.
With plenty of people involved in his career thus far, he has plenty to thank.
I’d like to thank West Coast Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for getting me started in this game of MMA, my management team at Echelon Fighter Management, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson because if he wouldn’t have been at that event i wouldn’t have this amazing opportunity and Glen Robinson who manages the Blackzilian Gym.
