There’s good news for you: There exists legitimate (and, most importantly, LEGAL) footage of the fight’s best parts.
Edgar beat Swanson to the punch throughout their five-round affair last night. He also beat him to the takedown, too, dragging Swanson to the mat and smashing him with ground and pound (as much as a 145-pound man can smash someone, at least). In the fifth round, Edgar managed to submit Swanson via rear naked choke with only four seconds remaining. This was arguably Edgar’s finest performance to date — a fight so one-sided the word “fight” really isn’t appropriate. Use “ass-kicking” or, if you’re a language-sensitive baby, “shellacking” instead.
There’s good news for you: There exists legitimate (and, most importantly, LEGAL) footage of the fight’s best parts.
Edgar beat Swanson to the punch throughout their five-round affair last night. He also beat him to the takedown, too, dragging Swanson to the mat and smashing him with ground and pound (as much as a 145-pound man can smash someone, at least). In the fifth round, Edgar managed to submit Swanson via rear naked choke with only four seconds remaining. This was arguably Edgar’s finest performance to date — a fight so one-sided the word “fight” really isn’t appropriate. Use “ass-kicking” or, if you’re a language-sensitive baby, “shellacking” instead.
Edgar wants a title shot off the back of such an amazing performance, which is hard to disagree with since he really did look that good. Though, with the way the UFC works, we’re sure Conor McGregor will get one when he finished trouncing Denis Siver at UFC fight Night 59 in January.
There were some other fights last night featuring the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Edson Barboza, Isaac Vallie-Flagg, and Yves Edwards — though our favorite fight was BY FAR Oleksiy Oliynyk vs. Jared Rosholt (Ruslan Magomedov vs. Josh Copeland was pretty good, too). See how they all fared below:
Main Card
Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:56 of R5
Edson Barboza def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brad Pickett def. Chico Camus via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Jared Rosholt via KO (punches) at 3:21 of R1
Joseph Benavidez def. Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matt Wiman def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card
Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar) at 1:52 of R1
Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO (punches) at 2:54 of R3
Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO (punches) at :18 of R1
Frankie Edgar had all the answers for Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57.
The stage was set on Saturday night at the Frank Erwin Center in the heart of Austin, Texas, for a featherweight showdown between top contenders Edgar and Swanson. A win would hav…
Frankie Edgar had all the answers for Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57.
The stage was set on Saturday night at the Frank Erwin Center in the heart of Austin, Texas, for a featherweight showdown between top contenders Edgar and Swanson. A win would have guaranteed Swanson an opportunity to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title and erase a humiliating eight-second loss from five years ago.
For Edgar, it was a chance to step back into the forefront of the UFC title picture after coming up short in his last three attempts.
In a vintage performance of takedowns and top control, the former lightweight champ steamrolled Swanson for the better part of 24 minutes before latching on a rear-naked choke with four seconds left in the fifth round.
“Dana [White], you said you’d be watching. I’m coming for that belt,” Edgar told UFC commentator Jon Anik after the fight. “But if you don’t give it to me right away, I’m coming for it. For all the people that doubt me, this is just the beginning, I’m just getting started.”
Swanson, who showed significant strides in his striking, was completely overwhelmed in the grappling department. Fans have watched for years as the usually undersized Edgar was consistently forced to rely solely on lightning speed and superb timing to score takedowns at 155 pounds.
But in the featherweight division, Edgar is proving to be a bit of a bully on the ground. There were times in the fight where he just powered Swanson to the ground. His ability to control from top also opened up the opportunity for sustained and more focused ground-and-pound.
Similar to his fight against BJ Penn, Edgar maintained good posture from top position and smashed Swanson with steady dose of punches and elbows, leaving the Team Jackson featherweight star a bloody mess.
The No. 1 contender’s spot likely still belongs to ConorMcGregor if he defeats Dennis Siver in January. But Edgar has renewed his position as a front-runner in the long list of contenders at 145 pounds.
As for Swanson, it’s back to the drawing board. There are some who will question his decision to even take the fight against Edgar, especially considering he was riding a six-fight win streak.
Perhaps it would have been wiser to have just waited for a title shot.
Cub Swanson entered UFC Fight Night 57 with a title shot hanging in the balance, but as he tried to climb the ladder to claim his shot, Frankie Edgar was there to pull him back down.
Edgar dominated the fight for nearly 25 minutes on Saturday and got t…
Cub Swanson entered UFC Fight Night 57 with a title shot hanging in the balance, but as he tried to climb the ladder to claim his shot, Frankie Edgar was there to pull him back down.
Edgar dominated the fight for nearly 25 minutes on Saturday and got the rear-naked choke stoppage in the closing seconds of the bout.
Swanson stuffed a couple of takedowns early, but Edgar closed the first round by finally putting Swanson on his back. The takedowns kept coming. Swanson could not get up off his back to have success on the feet. Edgar didn’t just control him; he pummeled him.
What’s next for Swanson?
Don’t expect a bout with a Top Five opponent for the current No. 2-ranked featherweight contender. The rest of the Top Five are tied up in bouts or don’t make sense following this performance. So, who does that leave? Let’s take a look at three solid options for Swanson’s next task.
Dustin Poirier
Poirier is coming off a loss to ConorMcGregor, but he is still a Top 10 featherweight. This is a good stylistic matchup for both men to shine. How do I know that?
Poirier and Swanson put on a quality fight in the beginning of 2013. Swanson got the unanimous-decision win.
This has already proved to be an entertaining fight, and the two fighters are in roughly the same place in the division. This bout makes sense on paper, but only if the UFC is keen on the idea of a rematch that we saw almost two years ago.
NikLentz
Lentz is 4-1 in his last five bouts. The lone loss came at the hands of No. 1-ranked Chad Mendes.
The wrestler got in the win column again over Manny Gamburyan in May.
After Edgar took him down time and again, this is a good chance for Swanson to redeem himself. Lentz is going to go after the takedowns relentlessly and give Swanson plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his takedown defense has improved.
It’s a learning fight.
We know what the major hole in Swanson’s game is, and pitting him against another quality wrestler will show us how much he has improved before he gets another shot at the upper echelon of the division.
Dennis Bermudez
Much for the same reasons that Lentz is a good option, so is Bermudez.
There are two key differences: Bermudez is more entertaining and ranked higher than Lentz.
Bermudez is the No. 7-ranked featherweight. Bermudez vs. Swanson would be another high-end matchup the UFC can promote for a Fox Sports 1 card or even a UFC Fight Pass event. It’s marketable.
Bermudez has good wrestling and can test Swanson, but he also loves to brawl. It is a solid matchup to test both men. Bermudez was on the brink of moving into the Top Five earlier in November but came up short against Ricardo Lamas.
I believe this to be the best fight the UFC can make for both men. It will give one a second consecutive loss, but in the stacked featherweight division, there will be plenty of chances to rebound. This is a solid fight to put the winner right back in the thick of things.
Bermudez, Lentz and Poirier are quality options, as it would be a shame to see the UFC stick Swanson back in the cage with a fighter outside the Top 10.
The UFC is live in Austin, Texas, tonight with a lineup of crowd-pleasing fighters and a featherweight main event that could maybe produce the next title challenger, particularly if Conor McGregor isn’t available. On tonight’s menu: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson in the headliner spot, with a side order of Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza, and a light dusting of Joseph Benavidez, Brad Pickett, and Jared Rosholt. Should be pretty okay.
The UFC Fight Night 57 main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and our old friend Matt Kaplan will be stickin’ round-by-round results after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma. Thanks for being here.
The UFC is live in Austin, Texas, tonight with a lineup of crowd-pleasing fighters and a featherweight main event that could maybe produce the next title challenger, particularly if Conor McGregor isn’t available. On tonight’s menu: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson in the headliner spot, with a side order of Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza, and a light dusting of Joseph Benavidez, Brad Pickett, and Jared Rosholt. Should be pretty okay.
The UFC Fight Night 57 main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and our old friend Matt Kaplan will be stickin’ round-by-round results after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @cagepotatomma. Thanks for being here.
UFC Fight Night 57 Preliminary Card Results
– Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
– Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar), 1:52 of round 1
– Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO, 2:54 of round 3
– Doo Ho Choi def. Juan Manuel Puig via TKO, 0:18 of round 1
MATT WIMAN VS. ISAAC VALLIE-FLAGG
Rd. 1 – Wiman opens it up with a lead leg kick and an overhand right. Vallie-Flagg counters, and Wiman presses him against the cage. They separate and Vallie-Flagg lands a nice uppercut. Vallie-Flagg applies shoulder pressure to Wiman in a clinch against the cage; Wiman lands a few elbows, but it’s Vallie-Flagg who lands the punch combinations that keep Handsome Matt on the fence. More short elbows from Wiman, and now a knee; Vallie-Flaggfires back, keeping the pressure on Wiman. Wiman lands a knee to the body and another strong elbow to the head. Wiman stuffs a takedown attempt and takes Vallie-Flagg’s back. Transition to an armbar…triangle control…that’s the round. Most of that roound was spent against the cage.
Rd. 2 – Vallie-Flagg strikes first with an uppercut-cross combo to Wiman’s jaw. Big punches in the clinch from Vallie-Flagg follow, and again Vallie-Flagg has Wiman ‘s back against the fence. More of the same, though: Wiman gets off some inside elbows. Ooh, both exchange elbows inside the clinch. Big uppercut from Wiman on the inside. Wiman lands an overhand right in the center of the cage. Vallie-Flagg pushes him back on the fence. Wiman reverses position and again scores with the ‘bows. Big right hand exchange program in the center of the cage. Uppercut from Vallie-Flagg. His takedown attaempt is again thwarted, his back is again taken, and it’s Wiman working for the RNC. Vallie-Flagg escapes and has Wiman on the fence again. Vallie-Flagg punches the body. Wiman elbows the jaw. Vallie-Flagg hits with elbows of his own. Wiman knees the body. The horn sounds as Wiman lands a big overhand right.
Rd. 3 – A lead uppercut from Vallie-Flagg opens the final round. Just seconds into the third, both are again up against the cage, this time with Wiman pressing the action. Yamasaki separates them, and it’s Vallie-Flagg again landing uppercut-friendly punch combos. Vallie-Flagg knees from inside the clinch. Wiman lands a good left hook to end a brief punch exchange. Vallie-Flagg has Wiman on the fence and wants that single leg. Wiman stuffs it and has Vallie-Flagg’s back for a third time, again searching for the RNC. Wiman punches away as he wants to finish the RNC with a minute left. Vallie-Flagg can’t go anywhere with the hooks in and is taking the short punches. Time. And that’s the fight. Ooh, they’re still shit talking one another. That was a close, competitive opening fight.
”Handsome” Matt Wiman wins the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2).
UFC Fight Night 57 plays host to a top-three featherweight battle on Saturday night.
No. 2-ranked contender Cub Swanson takes on No. 3-ranked Frankie Edgar with a potential title shot on the line. UFC President Dana White has guaranteed Swanson a title…
UFC Fight Night 57 plays host to a top-three featherweight battle on Saturday night.
No. 2-ranked contender Cub Swanson takes on No. 3-ranked Frankie Edgar with a potential title shot on the line. UFC President Dana White has guaranteed Swanson a title shot with a win, but he has not committed the same to Edgar.
Jose Aldo awaits his next contender. Thus, he will be an interested party this weekend.
Swanson is riding in on a six-fight win streak. Edgar comes in with back-to-back victories in the featherweight division. Each man has a loss to Aldo, but Swanson’s is in this distant past. Much has changed in the past year to make each man a viable contender.
Edgar has a long history in five-round main events, but Swanson’s only shot at headlining was in his most recent outing against Jeremy Stephens.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what each man has to do on Saturday to come out on top at UFC Fight Night 57.
Edgar’s Keys to Victory
Make Swanson Work
Swanson has only gone the distance once in his career, and that was in his last fight. He showed he has the ability to go five rounds and keep a healthy gas tank. However, he was not being pushed. He controlled the fight.
Edgar’s high output can make Swanson work harder and begin to tax his cardio. If Swanson does begin to slow down, that will only help Edgar take over in the fourth and fifth frames if the fight goes that long.
He cannot allow Swanson to dictate the pace of the fight.
Be Successful Wrestling
Swanson has shown that he can be taken down, and he can be kept down. It is not easy, but it is doable.
That is an area where Edgar can get control of the fight. If he can take Swanson down repeatedly, he will be in no danger of eating a knockout blow. Success in grappling may be the entire key to this fight.
Tighten Up the Striking Defense
Edgar is hittable. He has taken shots in nearly all of his bouts. Eventually, those add up during a fighter’s career.
He has been rocked several times. If Swanson rocks Edgar, he has the killer instinct to finish in violent fashion.
The former lightweight champion has to become better defensively to extend his career. Sooner or later, he won’t be as durable as he as shown in the past.
Swanson’s Keys to Victory
Hit Edgar
This sounds stupid to say—of course he has to hit Edgar. But I am talking about significant strikes, not just touching him with a jab.
Swanson has to test Edgar’s chin in this fight. As previously mentioned, Edgar has taken a lot of damage in his career and is hittable.
Swanson is dynamic in his striking. He is not just one-dimensional in his stand-up. He must use this to his advantage and keep Edgar guessing, and then he can plant the former champion to earn his long-awaited title shot.
Mix It Up
Swanson’s wrestling is underrated, and he should utilize it to surprise Edgar on Saturday.
Even if he is unsuccessful, he will make Edgar start to think about his shots. That will, in turn, open up his striking. He needs to put it in Edgar’s head that he may attempt a takedown. And if Edgar gets comfortable with Swanson’s striking, it will be easier to get a successful takedown.
This is a five-round fight against one of the most well-rounded and accomplished fighters in recent UFC history. He must show all of his skills this weekend.
Stop the Early Takedowns
Edgar will try to take him down, and he will likely try in the early rounds. Swanson must stop the attempts.
Once he stops the early takedowns, he forces Edgar to fight a stand-up fight, and any takedowns that come later will be telegraphed as he becomes more desperate. If Edgar fails early, he is in trouble against Swanson’s power.
The linchpin to the fight comes down to whether Swanson can stop the takedowns.
The dense plot surrounding the UFC featherweight title got some clarifying edits last Saturday at UFC 180.
Prior to Ricardo Lamas’ quick-and-easy victory over Dennis Bermudez, you could make the case that as many as four men were in the hunt for …
The dense plot surrounding the UFC featherweight title got some clarifying edits last Saturday at UFC 180.
Prior to Ricardo Lamas’ quick-and-easy victory over Dennis Bermudez, you could make the case that as many as four men were in the hunt for the next shot at the 145-pound championship. With Bermudez now out, at least the herd has been thinned a bit.
If Cub Swanson takes care of business against Frankie Edgar this weekend at UFC Fight Night 57—extending his win streak to seven—he’ll be the obvious choice as No. 1 contender. If not, then all eyes will likely turn to ConorMcGregor’s January showdown against Dennis Siver.
But with Swanson, McGregor and Edgar all theoretically still in the mix and a good five or six months between any of them and a potential fight against champ Jose Aldo, it’s not an entirely cut-and-dried situation either. Until we get Swanson and Edgar to further simplify things this weekend in Austin, Texas, the featherweight title picture retains as many potential twists and turns as your average choose-your-own-adventure novel.
No matter which way UFC matchmakers decide to go next, it should make a heck of a story.
UFC President Dana White sought to ease Swanson’s mind this week, making it sound as though recent speculation that McGregor might leapfrog him on the 145-pound ladder was unfounded, so long as he keeps winning.
“Cub Swanson has been screaming for respect and for us to show him the love,” White told Fox Sports 1’s Mike Hill on Monday. “He’s taking on Frankie Edgar, who is a beast, the longtime world champion at 155 pounds … and yes, if Cub Swanson wins this fight, we did tell him we will give him a title shot.”
Indeed, if Swanson bests Edgar, there simply won’t be much of a case to be made against him. It’s taken more than five years and an impressive 8-2 run for him to distance himself from his 12-second knockout loss to Aldo back in June 2009. For much of that time he toiled in relative obscurity, while fighters like Aldo, Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes garnered most of the 145-pound headlines.
But after dropping his UFC debut to Lamas in November 2011, he’s rattled off six consecutive wins, garnering Fight of the Night honors after each of his last two. Finally, Swanson stands at the brink of regaining top contender status and, maybe, a headlining spot on pay-per-view as part of the UFC’s important 2015 schedule.
There is only one potential fly in his soup. As of this writing, he’s is going off as a 2-1 underdog to Edgar, according to OddsShark.com.
The former lightweight champ has been his old, indefatigable self since cutting to featherweight on the heels of back-to-back losses to Benson Henderson during 2012. Matchmakers fast-forwarded Edgar into an immediate shot at Aldo at UFC 156—where he lost—but since then he’s bounced back with wins over Charles Oliveira and BJ Penn.
If the UFC was actively looking for a spoiler to derail Swanson’s run to the title, it couldn’t do much better than Edgar. If he’s able to grind out one of his trademark gritty decision victories, it’ll open the door for McGregor to pounce.
Nobody has been hotter than the 26-year-old Irishman of late. McGregor has jetted to 4-0 in the Octagon and has been such a star on the mic that there was some conjecture he might find his way into a title shot even before his bout against Siver was announced. If he can win that one (where he’ll surely be a heavy favorite), he’ll likely move to the front of the line as a suitor for Aldo.
Unless Edgar has anything to say about it.
The Answer has been largely forgotten in the 145-pound conversation during the last couple of months. Especially after Aldo defeated Mendes for the second time at UFC 179, media and fans have been preoccupied with the developing soap opera between Swanson, Bermudez and McGregor.
Yet, if we’ve learned anything from his near eight-year career in the UFC, it’s that counting Edgar out is a huge mistake. Nonetheless, he told MMA Fighting.com’s Ariel Helwani this week that he’s not losing any sleep over the featherweight pecking order, because he knows he can’t control it.
“They haven’t told me (if I’m a contender),” he said, as quoted by the website’s Luke Thomas. “I’ve got to not give them a choice. That’s the best way to do it. Not give them a choice.”
Choice, of course, being a fairly apropos word here.
There are still many roads that could lead to the next featherweight title bout. Either Swanson fulfills his long trek back to Aldo or McGregor culminates his short one, or Edgar does something so impressive he screws it up for both of them.
Any way it pans out, the journey figures to be quite the adventure.
