Stunningly, Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson have never crossed paths over their many years circling one another in mixed martial arts (MMA). But if it were up to “The California Kid,” he wouldn’t say no to the opportunity.
Both Faber and Swanson’s histories date back to the days of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) where they led the 145-pound Featherweight division to the forefront. By the time Faber’s reign as champion had passed, Swanson earned his shot against the new sheriff in town, Brazil’s Jose Aldo.
All these years later and Swanson remains active while Faber came out of a brief retirement in 2019 but hasn’t fully re-closed the door since.
“It’s been two years since coronavirus hit and since I’ve fought and I wasn’t going to fight without a crowd,” Faber told MMA Junkie. “And now that crowds are back, I love Cub a lot. I think he’s a guy I respect. We were almost going to fight a couple of times and we were very close to a fight.
“So if I was going to come back and do it, that would definitely be an exciting fight and a fight that would get me excited. I have to have everything. I need to have the right fight, the crowd. It’s got to be an experience for me. Nothing guaranteed. I think he had a broken hand at the time and I haven’t hit training like a regimen. I’m always in good shape. There’s something that could happen, absolutely.”
Faber, 42, had his comeback fight in July 2019 in his home of Sacramento, Calif. when matched with hot prospect Ricky Simon. Only 46 seconds were needed for the former WEC champion to shock the world and put away Simon with strikes (watch highlights). Afterward, he’d be launched up the ladder for a bout with future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan. This, unfortunately for Faber, would be far less spectacular as he suffered a third-round knockout loss via head kick (watch highlights).
As for Swanson, he’s 2-1 since Faber last fought and most recently scored a TKO against Faber’s teammate, Darren Elkins, at UFC Vegas 45 in Dec. 2021 (watch highlights).