Cub Swanson isn’t too sure about being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as an individual fighter.
A UFC title may have evaded him, but Cub Swanson is one of the sport’s respected veterans today. The 38-year-old holds a number of accolades, including having the most number of post-fight bonuses in UFC featherweight history with a total of nine.
Swanson was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his UFC 206 barnburner with “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi in 2016. But as an individual fighter, he is doubtful about getting the same recognition.
“I really am proud of it, and the whole belt thing is something that – it’s like when people go, ‘Oh, you’re gonna go into the Hall of Fame again for your career,’ and I’m always like, ‘I don’t know,’” Swanson told MMA Junkie Radio.
“I really can’t call that. It’s kind of hard to say that that’s gonna happen because it’s usually guys that are longtime champions or double champions.”
For Swanson, not getting to achieve championship status could be a possible hindrance.
“Like I said, I never fought for a title, but I didn’t really feel like that was my fault. I felt like there’s other reasons for that. I was right there for a long time and my goal has always been putting on exciting fights, and I really hope there’s some kind of a WEC wing in the Hall of Fame at some point. That would be cool.”
A professional since 2004, Swanson spent three years of his career in the WEC where he faced the likes of José Aldo, Jens Pulver, and Chad Mendes, to name a few. He last saw action in December 2021 against fellow veteran Darren Elkins and won via first-round TKO which earned him another performance bonus and improved his record to 28-12.