Only Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone (with eight each) have earned more Fight of the Night honors in the WEC and UFC than Cub Swanson.
To celebrate his appearance on the cover of the November 2017 issue of Fighters Only, here is a rundown of Swanson’s most action-packed Octagon appearances.
Artem Lobov
UFC Fight Night 108
April 22, 2017
A main-event berth means five whole rounds and 25 minutes for Swanson to flex his handiwork and put on a real show. He landed an enormous 209 significant strikes – including flashes of capoeira – but also absorbed a career-high 123. The combined total was the second highest in a UFC fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrxB8SmDY7A
Doo Ho Choi
UFC 206
December 10, 2016
An all-out brawl for 15 minutes between two highly-skilled martial artists. Some of the power shots and combinations absorbed by both were nothing short of scandalous. It took until the final seconds for the Korean to finally drop. It had just about everything you could ever want from an MMA fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN4IiiunyZs
Jeremy Stephens
UFC Fight Night 44
June 28, 2014
As well as being a high-volume offensive dynamo, Swanson is capable of playing the master tactician, too. He was just too quick, outmaneuvering and countering to outlast one of the hardest hitters at 145lb, despite taking some heavy fire in the first 10 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62w1I9ncOQQ
Dennis Siver
UFC 162
July 6, 2013
Talk about putting a stamp on a dominant performance. The German started strong, but couldn’t stand up to the rising tide of So-Cal strikes in the second and third rounds. A big exchange was the beginning of the end, as Swanson followed a flurry by pounding away for a third round finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC27i-jycpE
Mackens Semerzier
WEC 52
November 11, 2010
Making a highlight reel of this one would be a tough ask. It would be hard to cut out any of the 15 minutes of back-and-forth bedlam that took place in the blue cage of the UFC’s sister organization. How both men stayed standing throughout is a mystery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9R2nUFPneE
John Franchi
WEC 44
November 18, 2009
With honors even after two rounds, Swanson needed a big final frame. He delivered, turning things up and sealing the deal with just 10 seconds left. He locked up a guillotine and, as Franchi struggled to escape, screamed until his opponent finally tapped.
Hiroyuki Takaya
WEC 37
December 3, 2008
WEC promoted the wildest fights. Tragically, though, no one could see many of them because preliminary bouts just never made it to air. Case in point: many who weren’t at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas for this one were for years unfamiliar with its greatness, which was a shame because it’s a doozy. Thank God for the invention of UFC Fight Pass.
