Although it may have been plagued with several near-misses and injuries, last Saturday’s (December 10, 2016) UFC 206 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto ultimately ended up providing mixed martial arts (MMA) fans with one of the most riveting cards of the year.
The biggest part of that is definitely the card’s “Fight of the Night” (watch highlights here) between No. 4-ranked Cub Swanson and touted prospect Doo Ho Choi. The two threw down in a legendary brawl that will be remembered as quite possibly the Fight of the Year and one of the best 145-pound bouts in Octagon history.
“Korean Superboy” had rolled through all of his prior UFC competition and looked for a huge step up in competition when he called out the veteran. While the up-and-coming star fell short i his bid to skyrocket into the division’s Top 10, he certainly didn’t lose any fans because of his bout with Swanson. Both fighters threw, landed, and absorbed a seemingly never-ending streak of full power shots, resulting in a unanimous decision – and statement – win for “Killer Cub.”
It appeared the Jackson’s MMA stalwart was well on his way to stopping Choi at several points, but somehow the Korean knockout artist was able to weather the storm and fight back. Swanson told Luke Thomas on his MMA on SiriusXM show that he had never faced a fighter with such an iron chin when asked about his otherworldly ability to take damage:
“No, definitely not. I was telling my coaches backstage that I don’t even try to hit a heavy bag that hard. I remember wanting to turn around a couple of times. Toward the end, I had him on the fence, I wanted to turn around and look at the ref, like, ‘Are you serious?’ But, he just kept reviving.”
Indeed he did, and the result was one of the most scintillating fights in MMA history from start to finish. Choi has vowed to rebound even stronger and to never lose again, and his fight with a crafty vet like Swanson should only serve to motivate him to fix the leaks in his game and come back to the cage stronger and more well-rounded.
The sky’s certainly the limit for the “Korean Superboy,” and he proved he could take a full assault from one of the top featherweights in the world, who admittedly hit him with everything he had and then some.
But for now, it’s “Killer Cub’s” time to enjoy his reserugence following a downward trend against top-ranked Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, two fights he could be looking to rematch following his return to the spotlight.
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