Cub Swanson with Brother Steven Coach Joel Diaz and his TRU MMA Team
By: Jonathan M King The Clinch Report
To begin the story of Cub Swanson (21-5 MMA), lets start halfway through the tale, to eliminate the 300 lbs elephant. In June 2009, Swanson ate a knee :08 seconds into his fight with Jose Aldo that ended the night for Swanson. ow he lost has since been the screw his haters turn whenever Swanson gets close to that title shot again. The problem is, it appears the UFC is listening, or at least agreeing.
Cub Swanson is a throwback fighter, in a world where title shots are talked into existence, Swanson prefers to let the wins pile up. His 6 fight win streak was punctuated with a 5 round dismantling of Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night. Still after the win Swanson stayed true to his mantra, “I don’t beg!” Swanson said. Should he have too?
His current win streak has seen him beat Denis Siver, Ross Pearson, Dustin Poirier, and Charles Oliveira, as well as the aforementioned Stephens, with four of those six wins coming via stoppage.
Currently champion Jose Aldo is set to face Chad Mendes in Los Angeles in August. What is odd is that the same stereotype that haunts Swanson (vicious loss to Aldo) should also haunt Mendes (who was also KO’d by an Aldo Knee), however for some reason it doesn’t. Both fighters have been on a roll since the tile loss. Mendes has maintained an unblemished record, where as Swanson stumbled once when he was caught in a triangle by former title challenger Ricardo Lamas. (A fight Swanson was dominating before getting caught in the submission!)
So, whose next? If the UFC had its way, they would probably lobby for Connor MacGregor. Who is quickly replacing Chael Sonnen as the mouth of the UFC. Will he be able to talk his way into contention? What happens if Mendes gets hurt while preparing?
Hopefully Swanson’s status as a headliner at a Fight Night Event, was the UFC’s way of seeing if he was a viable headliner. As the UFC grows glaring hole has been the amount of legitimate headliners that can sell a PPV. Recent declines in numbers have people wondering if the amount of events (some weekends now how 2 events!) have watered down interest.
Sure this is all conjecture, and monday morning quarterbacking, but I question anyone to find someone more deserving of a title shot than Cub Swanson. Its been 5 years since he lost to Aldo the first time. In that time, no featherweight has shown more improvement. Each win has been punctuated by drastic improvements.
Swanson is also not the type to ‘ride out a win’. As his win over Stephens showed, even when clearly ahead on points, Swanson is constantly looking for the finish. Winning decisively is not enough for ‘Killer Cub’, he has to finish. This determination is what makes him one of the UFC’s most entertaining fighters to watch.
To deny a fighter what he has earned, because of what others perceive is shameful. It reduces effort, and makes the sport look more and more like a popularity contest, than a combat sport competition!
Maybe if the sport was actually regulated by the ranking system already in place, we wouldn’t run into these issues. The Bottom line is the UFC decides who fights who, not the rankings.
We can only hope that the deserving, and the anointed are one in the same!
THE CLINCH REPORT 