ultimate fighter 12 reviews and highlights

Move over Mike Swick, and take that "Swickotine" with you.




A cast member of the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Swick hasn't used his cleverly titled submission hold since 2006.



Meanwhile, "The Ultimate Fighter 12" cast member Cody McKenzie has utilized his modified guillotine choke (which he's aptly dubbed the "McKenzietine") to earn victory in his past nine official contests, and every finish has come in the very first round.



"I've got caught tons of guys in it," McKenzie told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm hoping to catch Georges St-Pierre in it before the season's over.



"It's an angle thing. [In a traditional guillotine], you're missing an artery. When I push up, you're hitting both arteries. There's no room."



Growing up, McKenzie didn't appear to be heading toward a career in professional fighting. The Alaska native took a little judo and wrestled for a spell, but sports didn't really appeal to him right away. Instead, McKenzie spent more time trapping, fishing and hunting both in Alaska and during his time down south in the Pacific Northwest.



Of course, that didn't mean he was totally immune to the fight game during his formative years.



"I have an older brother who's a lot bigger than me, and I've always fought with him, and his friends always beat me up," McKenzie admitted. "I was in plenty of fights, and growing up in a small fishing community in Alaska, there's not much to do in a place like that other than drink and fight, so I saw a lot of that growing up.



"It would be a big old circle of kids, and they would throw two pairs of 16-ounce gloves in the middle, and two people would walk in the middle, glove up, and bang-bang-bang-bang."



But once McKenzie caught a glimpse of the UFC on TV, his life's direction was changed forever .



"I watched it on TV my sophomore year of high school," McKenzie said. "From then on out, I knew what I wanted to do. Right when I first watched it, it clicked for me, and I knew I wanted to become a professional fighter.



"I found a Muay Thai gym up in Canada. I used to drive an hour and 15 minutes to practice every day, then drive an hour and 15 minutes home and go to high school. Then I'd drive to practice again. It was the same routine six days a week."



McKenzie eventually relocated to rural Washington where he began to focus on a professional career in fighting. He would return to Alaska during the summers to make money as a commercial fisherman, but other than that, fighting was his focus.



A chance encounter with fighter-in-the-making Lyle Beerbohm led McKenzie to his current training home as a part of the Fancy Pants Fight Team.



"I met [Beerbohm] a week out of prison," McKenzie said. "We hit it off, and we've been good friends since then.



"He came into one of the gyms I was at where I was kind of coaching. He said, 'I want to fight! I want to fight!' He was all gung ho to glove up. I was like, 'Alright.' We gloved up, and I beat him up. A few people beat him up, actually, but now he's the top dog."



McKenzie feels his life up to this point has him well-prepared for success on "The Ultimate Fighter" - both in the cage as well as in the difficult environment at the "TUF" house.



"Growing up commercial fishing and stuff, we're out on a boat for long periods of time," McKenzie said. "It's a small compact, environment. I'm pretty used to cabin fever and stuff like that.



"I ain't too worried about it. I'll be fine."



How far McKenzie goes in this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" remains to be seen, but thing is certain: If the rangy lightweight's opponents don't watch their neck, he'll undoubtedly be fishing for a "McKenzietine."



"I do other things," McKenzie said. "In amateur fights, I caught guys in triangles and triangle-armbars and rear-naked chokes and stuff, but for some reason as a pro I just keep getting them in the guillotine."



MMAjunkie.com interviewed all 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter 12's" preliminary round winners, each of whom was featured in the debut episode of "TUF 12: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck." Two new interviews will be released each day from now until the season's second episode airs next Wednesday at 10 p.m. PT/ET on Spike TV. Full series coverage can be found on "The Ultimate Fighter 12" page.