Mike Swick hasn’t fought in two and a half years, but don’t get it twisted. Unlike many foreigners in Thailand, Mike hasn’t been there on holidays taking in the sun and the scenery. On the contrary, even though he’s known as “Quick”, he’s been taking all the time necessary to build his dream gym: AKA Thailand.

 

As part of the world-famous American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Mike has been a mainstay of the UFC’s middleweight and welterweight divisions, always hovering within arms reach of a title shot.

 

Mike Swick’s absence from active competition is not just the result of his entrepreneurial aspirations. For years Mike has been struggling with a debilitating digestive condition that has only recently been properly diagnosed and treated.

Despite the lengthy setback, Mike Swick is now healthy, laser focused and on the cusp of a defining life moment: training through his greatest fight camp ever and making his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 189.

 

With his veteran experience as a headlining fighter at one of the worlds best gyms and his experience training in Thailand, Mike brings an undeniable work ethic and expertise to the creation and direction of AKA Thailand. But as with any major business endeavor, there are numerous financial and administrative pitfalls to contend with: enter Blair Speers, co-owner and chairman of AKA Thailand.

A highly successful entrepreneur who has made his home in Phuket for over 20 years, Blair Speers has been obsessed with mixed martial arts from before it even began at UFC 1 in 1993.

 

A decorated Canadian national level wrestler himself, Blair has been immersed in combat sports since his youth and follows the intricacies of the sport fanatically. He always dreamed of being involved in some facet of the business of MMA but was either busy with other projects or never presented with the right opportunity.

 

Incidentally, he’s also a huge fan of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 where he discovered AKA standouts Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck, much like the rest of the MMA world.

Having taken note of these fighters and the AKA camp as a whole, fate would have it that that Blair Speers would be introduced to Mike Swick in 2012. A friendship quickly developed and once the plans for AKA Thailand were laid out, it became apparent that the two possessed perfectly complimenting skill sets to bring the dream to life.

 

Join us for this exclusive podcast where Mike Swick and Blair Speers elaborate in depth about how they came together to create the most ambitious MMA facility in Thailand, and how Mike has overcome a series of daunting challenges to re-emerge and make his first step back towards a title shot in the ferocious Welterweight division of the UFC on July 11th!

Mike Swick can be followed at the following links on social media:

 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

 

Blair Speers can be followed at the following links on social media:

 

Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

 

AKA Thailand can be followed at the following links on social media:

 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

 

Photography graciously provided by Mitch Vizquez.

 

Make sure you check out our other podcast episode regarding the creation of AKA Thailand with gym manager Adrian Shead and fighter manager Francisco Vidal!