Photos courtesy of AKA Thailand

There is no end to the list of sad stories we hear about retired professional fighters trying to find their path outside of competition, but Mike ‘Quick’ Swick is definitely not going to add to it.

Undeniable determination and enthusiasm are noted in conversation with the former UFC fighter, who has managed to fit me in between business meetings regarding his AKA Thailand facility that has been open for just a little over a year. It is been a troublesome and arduous journey for Swick. Buying land in a foreign tongue cannot be the easiest process in the world and, on top of that, MMA is illegal in Thailand. However, finally, Swick’s dream has become a reality.

“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to build a gym out here,” says Swick as he jumps into his truck. “I’ve had some problems that have forced me to start over twice. It’s tough to do business here sometimes, so it’s so good to have the gym fully operational now. We’re building a lot more so it’s far from being complete, but it’s already one of the biggest gyms in the world. It’s just amazing for me to come in here every day and see all of these guys training.”

Having first visited the rain-forested province in 2000, Swick always has seen Phuket as an ideal destination for training. While the Muay Thai training in the region has always been second to none, The Ultimate Fighter season 1 contestant saw a gap in the market for an MMA gym, which could provide fighters with an opportunity to train full time with a backdrop unlike anywhere else in the world.

“When I first came out here back in 2000, I was coming strictly for Muay Thai. Obviously, that’s a big aspect of MMA and I’m a striker by nature so I’ve always gravitated towards learning more techniques in that area. Thailand was great for learning Muay Thai and getting a lot of striking experience.

“It’s cheap, the economy is very friendly in terms of being able to afford to live here, you can train here at very little expense, the food is good, the people are friendly – but the problem was there was no high-level MMA facility where you could actually train for a fight. You would have to come here during your off time and train Muay Thai and then give up your normal MMA training, which would force you to play catch up when you returned to your gym back home.

“My dream was always to build that perfect, dream gym. When it came to deciding a location, I think there is no better place than Phuket, Thailand. You get a full Muay Thai program with authentic Thai coaches and fighters that you can’t get anywhere else in the world. You got that aspect, and then you have the economy.

“Fighters are able to come here and train for very little, and the cost of living is very cheap too. Most fighters can’t afford to live a big lifestyle anyway. Most of them have got to work to support their careers, but here in Thailand you can live and train full-time.

“Phuket is an island too so you have the beaches and the island lifestyle, which is very low stress. It’s just a very nice environment in general. Phuket also has pretty much everything Thailand has to offer in one location. You have the beaches, the food, the people, the culture and the wildlife. There are high-end restaurants and high-end malls here too, so it kind of appeals to everyone. For me, it’s the perfect place for a fight camp.”

Although Swick will tell you that it is still very early days in terms of his final plans for AKA Thailand, the fact that heavyweight superstar Mark ‘The Super Samoan’ Hunt has based his UFC 193 camp on the premises should be an indication as to how far the gym has come in a short space of time. According to Swick, Hunt is now in the best shape of his life ahead of the record-breaking Australian show next weekend.

“Mark came out to help his buddy Soa Palelei train for a UFC fight and I was kind of backed up at the time with my own training camp, so I missed a big part of Soa’s camp when Mark was here for the first time,” he explains. “When Mark came he really enjoyed the gym. He thought it was a fantastic facility, he liked the training regiment and the location, and he just seemed to fit right in with the family that we have here.

“He contacted us again and told us that he would like to come back, and he did. After that he got in touch again and said that he wanted to do his full fight camp out here, he wanted to us to get him sharp and get him in good shape. I promised him that I would get him in the best shape of his life. He did all the heavy training, all of the Airdyne routines we gave him and that is what happened.

“I pushed him hard, but I also took his age and other factors into consideration. We put together a perfect camp for him. He trained really hard, but with low impact. He did amazing, and I really feel like this is the best Mark Hunt I’ve ever seen. I’m very excited for this fight.”

Going off AKA Thailand’s Instagram page, you would have to agree with Swick. Not only does Hunt look a lot leaner, but he also seems a lot happier than usual in the photographs capturing him during his camp.

“He is definitely a lot leaner. Since he’s been out here he has pretty much stopped eating anything that isn’t healthy because we all want him to be in great shape for this fight. The training does a lot in itself, he’s training really hard. The curriculum at AKA is unlike anywhere else.

“We’ve been right at the top for so long and we built so many champions and that’s because the curriculum is very tough. If you can make it through the fight camp in one piece, you will usually do very well. You will be conditioned, you’ll have all the experience from sparring and training, and you’ll be ready to go.

“I think that really helped a lot. His diet has been great too as I said, and I think a lot of that is because the guys that he’s around in the gym. We all live very healthy lifestyles and eat very clean, Mark has just followed suit. He fits right in and I feel like this experience has changed his life and body.

“He seems really happy, he’s got a great glow about him every day when he comes in and it’s just so awesome to see. I know he’s going to walk out there so confident after this camp, and I know it’s going to be one of his best performances even though he’s 41 years old.”

Swick also highlights that even though he had a very high opinion of Hunt before he ever met him, the New Zealander has only gone up in his estimation having seen what he can do first hand.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Mark because he’s a warrior. When you see his fights, take his last fight with Silva, you watch that fight and you just know that this guy will fight to the death. He’s a true fighter and I’ve always been a fan because of that.

“Now, having seen him and train and having put him through training, that respect only grew. Being honest, there are not a lot of people that can just come in and train with AKA, you know? A lot of people think they can and there have been plenty of UFC level fighters that come into the HQ over the years that didn’t hang around. It’s a very brutal training regiment. He takes it like a champ, as I said, the guy is a warrior.

“When it’s go time, let me tell you, he goes. And he goes until it’s done. He doesn’t complain, he doesn’t make excuses. He basically just lived up to everything I had already thought about him. He’s a great fighter and a great person as well,” he tells me.

Considering the most dramatic change in Hunt since his camp began in Phuket, Swick pointed to the conditioning and experience that his AKA coaches brought to the table to help with the heavyweight’s UFC 193 preparation.

“He’s been working a lot on his striking with all of the Muay Thai guys and his trainers,” he says. “The biggest change we’ve made is definitely to his shape. We did a lot of conditioning with him. It comes down to experience too. We fight when we spar and we spar a lot. We put him in the situations we believe he will be in during this fight. Experience and conditioning are some of the things that we’ve added to his game a lot as a gym and a team.

“Between myself and the rest of the trainers, we were able to add a lot. However, you’ve got to understand that we’re talking about a legend. Mark has been one of the best fighters in the world for years. I’ve been watching this guy fight since I was in highschool. He’s fought in 100,000 seat stadiums and he’s one of the best K-1 fighters in the world, it’s crazy to be coaching him and training him.

“We all add to each other, we all have experiences we can share. That’s what makes us a family and what makes us so happy as a group. He just fits right in.”

Swick maintains that he had to close the book on his fighting career after his UFC 189 loss to Alex Garcia. According to the AKA man, he couldn’t completely immerse himself in his own camp without being selfish, which would mean neglecting family and gym obligations.

“I had to take my own advice basically. The problem was that as competitive as it is, with all these guys being so high-level, you have to be 100 percent dedicated to fighting, to the point where you have to selfish.

“You’re going to have to do things that aren’t technically right and moral. You’re going to have to miss family events, you’re going to have to not be there for your family, not be there for your friends – you have to make those sacrifices to make it in this day and age. Otherwise, you’re not going to be able to keep up with the guys that do make those sacrifices.

“I was juggling family, I had taken on the enormous task of building this gym in Thailand, I had to coach the other fighters and I was trying to focus on my own fight career because I was working toward a comeback. I realized I definitely was not all in like the other guys. I knew that going in, but I still felt confident that I could do well. I was in the best shape of my life for sure and I was injury free, my health was the best it’s ever been.

“For whatever reason it might have been, whether it was ring rust or just not being as committed as I could have been, I just didn’t do as well as I wanted and I knew that wasn’t going to change. The fight timing wasn’t there, I wasn’t as comfortable as I used to be when I was active and I had to make a choice between going back fully into fighting and doing everything else. For me, it would have been selfish to continue fighting because I would’ve had to sacrifice my family and the gym again.

“Now that the gym is built, I would be putting a lot of people out if I was still fighting. Not only the staff but the fighters too, and this gym is bigger than anything I’ve ever done in my career. I’m so proud that I’ve built this and I’m able to help these guys like Mark and Soa, and all the other people coming through. It makes me much happier than pursuing my own fighting career, to be honest.”

In Mark Hunt, Swick believes he has found the perfect project to show the world how effective AKA Thailand can be. The American head coach is hopeful that Hunt’s showing in Melbourne will lead to even more fighters taking their camps at his state-of-the-art facility.

“Mark was the perfect person to have out there for us to prove ourselves. He’s just a perfect student so you don’t have to worry about that aspect of it. He’s not going to quit and he won’t make some of the mistakes that the other fighters will make and I have full confidence that he will be able to utilize what we bring to the table. Some fighters might not be able to make those functional changes to their games, but Mark is the perfect example. I think he’s definitely going to make a big statement when he fights Silva.

“We did our job in getting him in the best shape of his life and also in getting him ready for this fight. When people see the changes in Mark I’m sure it will attract a lot more fighters to the gym in the future and that’s great. We want to see as many people as possible out here in the future so they can use our coaching and facilities to propel their careers to the next level.”

Check out AKA Thailand’s Facebook page for behind the scenes footage of Mark Hunt’s camp and live feeds from the Phuket facility.

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