Cub Swanson is one of the top guys at 145 pounds, and in what once seemed like a shallow division, the featherweight division is now one of most top-heavy divisions in the UFC.Swanson had a chance to move up in the division at UFC 152 when he faced tal…
Cub Swanson is one of the top guys at 145 pounds, and in what once seemed like a shallow division, the featherweight division is now one of most top-heavy divisions in the UFC.
Swanson had a chance to move up in the division at UFC 152 when he faced talented Charles Oliveira. With yet another knockout win, it’s safe to say he’ll be on his way up.
Coming off knockout wins against Ross Pearson and George Roop, Swanson was on one of the best rolls of his MMA career. Tonight, Pearson impressed again with a lethal combination that finished Oliveira in the first round.
So, what’s next for the exciting featherweight?
Swanson has lost to both Ricardo Lamas and Chad Mendes in his career, so it’s likely a rematch won’t be booked. Therefore, two opponents come to mind: Chan Sung Jung or Erik Koch.
Chan Sung Jung recently underwent surgery and will be out of action until early 2013, but upon his return, Jung could find himself matched with Swanson. Both men have looked top notch in their past few bouts, therefore a fight between the two men will really show which one is the true contender at 145.
On the flip side, Erik Koch has had some terrible luck lately. First, his title shot was forced to be rebooked following an injury to champion Jose Aldo. Then, Koch was forced to pull out of the fight scheduled for UFC 153 and was replaced by former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, creating a superfight. Last week, Aldo was forced to pull out once again, causing the fight with Edgar to be postponed.
With all that mess, it appears Koch will not receive his title shot, therefore a matchup with Swanson would make sense.
Either way, Swanson has transformed into one of the must-watch fighters in the featherweight division, and I, personally, can’t wait to see him again.
Everyone can talk about Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann, but the real can’t-miss fight from the UFC 152 pay-per-view is the featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson and Charles O…
Everyone can talk about Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones vs. VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann, but the real can’t-miss fight from the UFC 152pay-per-view is the featherweight matchup between Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira.
Both of these fighters are threats to finish the fight anywhere. Both are black belts in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and both have very solid striking.
Swanson’s last two fights have both been won by TKO, and both have been impressive victories over good competition. He beat George Roop with a huge punch that knocked out Roop‘s mouthpiece, and he followed that up with a TKO of former lightweight contender Ross Pearson.
Meanwhile, Oliveira‘s last two wins have been submissions, one of which was a rarely seen calf-slicer, which he scored against Eric Wisely. The other was an anaconda choke against Jonathan Brookins.
These two are going to have an absolute war with Swanson likely looking to knock out Oliveira, and Oliveira likely looking to submit Swanson.
Both have shown vulnerability to submission and TKO losses, so either of these two could win the fight anywhere it may go.
As featherweights, you know there will be non-stop action, and cardio will not be an issue.
Look for this fight to be a contender for “Fight of the Night,” and if the rest of the card weren’t so stacked, this probably would be the front-runner as the best fight of the night.
Tim McTiernan is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter.
(RagePotato: Using the sleekest technology possible to combine MMA and stupid internet trends since 2007.)
Not many of us expected Brazilian up-and-comer Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira to absolutely manhandle TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in the fashion he did at the TUF 15 Finale. Sure, Brookins’ head movement and general striking stance most closely resembles a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot when his block has been knocked off, but Oliveira’s performance, which improved his featherweight record to 2-0, was truly a coming out party for a fighter who already had a considerable amount of hype behind him. Given the circumstances, it’s all the more appropriate (not to mention exciting) that Oliveira has been booked to take on fellow ever-rising featherweight Cub Swanson at UFC 152, which goes down on September 22nd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Swanson has looked nothing short of spectacular lately, blistering George Roop and Ross Pearson in consecutive bouts at UFC on FOX 2 and UFC on FX 4.
After falling to the secret death-touch taught to Demian Maia by Sensei Seagal at UFC 148, Dong Hyun Kim is set to return to action against the always dangerous but struggling Paulo Thiago at UFC on FUEL 6, which will make for the UFC’s first ever trip to China on November 10th from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. Thiago last performed a dead-on impression of a cadaver in his bout with Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on FUEL 2 (his first career loss via KO) and has dropped three of his last four bouts, so look for him to try and end things impressively against Kim because his career may be on the line.
And in heavyweight booking news…
(RagePotato: Using the sleekest technology possible to combine MMA and stupid internet trends since 2007.)
Not many of us expected Brazilian up-and-comer Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira to absolutely manhandle TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in the fashion he did at the TUF 15 Finale. Sure, Brookins’ head movement and general striking stance most closely resembles a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot when his block has been knocked off, but Oliveira’s performance, which improved his featherweight record to 2-0, was truly a coming out party for a fighter who already had a considerable amount of hype behind him. Given the circumstances, it’s all the more appropriate (not to mention exciting) that Oliveira has been booked to take on fellow ever-rising featherweight Cub Swanson at UFC 152, which goes down on September 22nd at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Swanson has looked nothing short of spectacular lately, blistering George Roop and Ross Pearson in consecutive bouts at UFC on FOX 2 and UFC on FX 4.
After falling to the secret death-touch taught to Demian Maia by Sensei Seagal at UFC 148, Dong Hyun Kim is set to return to action against the always dangerous but struggling Paulo Thiago at UFC on FUEL 6, which will make for the UFC’s first ever trip to China on November 10th from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. Thiago last performed a dead-on impression of a cadaver in his bout with Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on FUEL 2 (his first career loss via KO) and has dropped three of his last four bouts, so look for him to try and end things impressively against Kim because his career may be on the line.
And in heavyweight booking news…
Former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga is set to return to action for the second time in 2012, at UFC 153 in Rio. Since being fired from the UFC, then retiring from the sport over two years ago, the star of the Jack Links beef jerky commercials has collected two straight victories, including a first round submission over promotional newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira in his return to the octagon at UFC 142.
Gonzaga will have his hands full when he takes on 6’2”, 264-pound powerhouse Geronimo Dos Santos. Dos Santos will be making his UFC debut after collecting 9 victories in 2011 alone (You hear that Travis? Step it up!). While his win streak is pretty impressive, the fact that he is debuting doesn’t bode well against a guy like Gonzaga, who has built a career out of the crushed dreams of promotional newbies. Based on his last performance, it seems that Gonzaga has also learned to finally use his BJJ wizardry to his advantage, so let’s hope he doesn’t revert back to the guy who thinks he can stand and trade with the best of ‘em, or he could be in for a long night against Dos Santos.
To familiarize you with Dos Santos a little bit (and to spice up these fight booking-style posts), here is a video of a fight in which Dos Santos goes all Kongo vs. Barry on some fatass.
Cub Swanson is hitting his stride as a professional mixed martial artist. After years spent attempting to live up to his potential, the proud Southern Californian is finally firing on all cylinders. In his past two outings, Swanson has taken his game t…
Cub Swanson is hitting his stride as a professional mixed martial artist.
After years spent attempting to live up to his potential, the proud Southern Californian is finally firing on all cylinders. In his past two outings, Swanson has taken his game to the next level as he has scored TKO victories over George Roop and former TUF winner Ross Pearson.
Two outstanding performances where Swanson’s showed off elusive footwork, pinpoint accuracy and put away power have opened eyes as he attempts to climb the ladder into the divisional upper tier. He has always had the talent, but skill alone doesn’t produce a champion, and this is a fact Swanson is painfully aware of.
In order to reach the top of the sport, it takes an intangible called confidence, and when a fighter’s belief in his abilities equal his comfort level in the heat of live competition, it is a beautiful thing to watch.
“My confidence is great right now,” Swanson told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “I’m coming off a big win and it is important because I haven’t been able to put together any type of win streak in awhile. I’ve had some rough times in this sport but I’ve made it through them and I’m still here.
“I’m still improving and it feels good. I’ve always trained hard and I’ve never slacked. After everything I’ve been through I’m starting to feel like all the work I’ve put into this is starting to pay off. Just knowing that makes me happy. I’m in a good place and I’m happy to be fighting for the UFC.”
Swanson faced a difficult task when he stepped into the Octagon against Pearson in Atlantic City. The heavy-handed Brit had looked impressive in his featherweight debut against Junior Assuncao and was garnering early talk for possible title contention. There was the feeling Swanson was to be a solid test on his way up the ladder, but the Palm Springs native had other plans as he finished Pearson with a flurry in the second round.
“I was happy with my performance against Pearson,” Swanson said. “I think I did very well but I’ve watched the video a ton of times and there are things I didn’t like. That’s just me though. I’m very critical of myself. But I executed the overall game plan nicely and I was accurate. What we saw going into the fight worked exactly as we had planned.
“It was tough for this camp because I started heavy and when I was trying to catch my flow I felt a little sluggish on my feet. But it was due to the extra weight and I knew after weigh-ins I couldn’t allow myself to regain too much weight because it was a critical issue. I knew if I was cautious of my weight going into the fight I would be able to be light on my feet and that was a huge factor.
“Getting off first and beating him to the punch was going to be key and that is how it played out.”
Swanson is a proud member of Team Jackson/Winkeljohn, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The camp is heralded as one of the most successful in the sport. While he was riding high after his hard earned victory over Pearson, the backlash Coach Jackson received following the performance of Clay Guida, certainly got under his skin.
“I think the criticism Coach Greg Jackson gets is ridiculous and it makes me angry,” Swanson said. “He’s my coach and I think it’s unnecessary. When we fight and do well nobody has anything to say. But when one of us doesn’t have a great performance then it is our coaches fault. I think it’s stupid and it’s not fair. He’s never once told me to take it easy, relax or pace myself. He wants you to finish the fight and to get out there and give it all you have.
“Obviously he wants you to fight smart but he wants you to be looking to finish. For him to be criticized about that stuff is a bunch of bull. It’s just haters man. So many people have so many nice things to say about him that people get annoyed by that and start looking for anything they can find to be negative.”
While Swanson’s striking was certainly the highlight of his bouts with Roop and Pearson, it may be his improved footwork that is the unsung hero. He has always been an extremely active fighter, but the power he has been able to generate in his most recent outings have made the difference.
“Footwork isn’t something you hear people talk about too much but it’s something as fighters we have to be able to utilize,” Swanson said. “We have to learn our body types and what style of fighting suits us. I’m fast and I move well so I know how to come in at weird angles and keep my feet under me. I’m looking for that power shot and I might not be able to fire off anything after it if my feet aren’t under me. Footwork is a huge part of my game.
“I do a lot of hurdles and ladders in training. I mix those in with a bunch of crazy agility drills to make sure my footwork is where I want it to be. I’m always working on balance and I have to give it up to my two strength and conditioning coaches for always pushing me. I have a coach in California and one in New Mexico, they both have different variations in their drilling and between the two places it has been awesome.”
His recent success has Cub Swanson feeling like the fighter he always knew he could be. Despite the roller coaster ride which comes with wins and losses in this sport, he knows those challenges have only served to make him a better competitor. They will also prepare him for the tough challenges which lie ahead.
If he is going to make a run at the featherweight title, he will most likely have to face a few familiar faces along the way.
“I definitely see myself in that top five mix but I’m in a weird situation now,” Swanson said. “I have a couple of people ahead of me and a few of them are injured. I’m just sitting behind them waiting to fight. The way I won my last two fights has pushed me up there and I’m excited about it.
“I’d like a title shot soon and I’d be very grateful but I’m really just having fun out there right now. I’m trying to make a name for myself and get the fans to know who I am. I’m not the most popular fighter but I’ve always tried to be exciting and put on good shows. That’s what I’m really focused on and if the opportunity comes for a title shot I will gladly take it. I’m not afraid of Jose Aldo.
“Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas are both fights I’d like to get back. But it all depends on how the UFC is with rematches. In the past they haven’t been too big on rematches unless they really need to be done and I don’t know how this is going to play out. It’s not my call but I’d definitely take them.
“I’m just happy to be here to be honest. I’ve been here a long time. I think I’m the original 145-pound fighter still in the division and I’ve definitely been here the longest. I’ve been around and I’m happy that I’m still around. I’m really getting to my full potential right now and feel like this is my time.”
Gray Maynard has never been the most popular UFC fighter. Maybe it’s because it’s almost impossible to picture him as an underdog; he’s an enormous lightweight who lives up his “Bully” moniker. (His choice of entrance music probably doesn’t do him any favors, either.) He’s always Goliath, and in our society we’re conditioned to root for David. That attitude was epitomized in Frankie Edgar’s back-to-back comebacks against him, with the crowd firmly in favor of the smaller fighter who seemed to rely on his will and technique, while Maynard relied on his size and power. As long as Maynard’s achievements were contextualized within that narrative, he would always be the villain.
Clay Guida won the first two rounds of their main event last night by constantly remaining out of Maynard’s reach, dictating the pace, occasionally landing jabs, and landing a solid head kick in the latter half of the second round. The action had been sparse throughout, but it seemed understandable; Guida obviously didn’t want to engage Maynard head on at first, he’d tire him out and then wear him down. Well, that didn’t happen. For the majority of the third round, Guida squandered whatever momentum he may have built by circling, dancing, and circling some more. It was UFC 112 Anderson Silva on meth. By the end of the round, Maynard was flailing with power punches, frustrated by Guida’s unwillingness to engage.
Midway through the fourth round, Maynard had enough. With Guida still circling and refusing to engage, Maynard finally grabbed a hold of him, landed some knees and then proceeding to embody the audience’s frustrations by dropping his hands and bellowing epithets, daring Guida to just stop running and hit him. Guida proceeded to oblige him, only to have Maynard walk through a hard overhand right, stuff a takedown and almost secure an arm-in guillotine in an unprecedented display of attitude and badassery that it actually caused fans to cheer him. Round 5 was unfortunately more of the same, which is to say, not much at all.
Gray Maynard has never been the most popular UFC fighter. Maybe it’s because it’s almost impossible to picture him as an underdog; he’s an enormous lightweight who lives up his “Bully” moniker. (His choice of entrance music probably doesn’t do him any favors, either.) He’s always Goliath, and in our society we’re conditioned to root for David. That attitude was epitomized in Frankie Edgar’s back-to-back comebacks against him, with the crowd firmly in favor of the smaller fighter who seemed to rely on his will and technique, while Maynard relied on his size and power. As long as Maynard’s achievements were contextualized within that narrative, he would always be the villain.
Clay Guida won the first two rounds of their main event last night by constantly remaining out of Maynard’s reach, dictating the pace, occasionally landing jabs, and landing a solid head kick in the latter half of the second round. The action had been sparse throughout, but it seemed understandable; Guida obviously didn’t want to engage Maynard head on at first, he’d tire him out and then wear him down. Well, that didn’t happen. For the majority of the third round, Guida squandered whatever momentum he may have built by circling, dancing, and circling some more. It was UFC 112 Anderson Silva on meth. By the end of the round, Maynard was flailing with power punches, frustrated by Guida’s unwillingness to engage.
Midway through the fourth round, Maynard had enough. With Guida still circling and refusing to engage, Maynard finally grabbed a hold of him, landed some knees and then proceeding to embody the audience’s frustrations by dropping his hands and bellowing epithets, daring Guida to just stop running and hit him. Guida proceeded to oblige him, only to have Maynard walk through a hard overhand right, stuff a takedown and almost secure an arm-in guillotine in an unprecedented display of attitude and badassery that it actually caused fans to cheer him. Round 5 was unfortunately more of the same, which is to say, not much at all.
At the end of the fight, Maynard was awarded a split-decision, with two 48-47’s and one 47-48. I don’t have a problem with the decision, though I can understand why some might; the fight was difficult to score just because so little happened during it. But that’s not what this night should be remembered for; this is the night that Gray Maynard broke the narrative paradigm that has plagued him throughout his UFC career. By expressing the frustration that so many of us felt, Maynard wasn’t a bully anymore; last night, he was one of us.
Well, and the night that Clay Guida single-handedly destroyed his reputation as a fan-favorite. Hey, I’m trying for the glass half-full approach here, people. Moving on…
Disappointing main event aside, this was a pretty good card. Sam Stout and Spencer Fisher lived up to expectations, in what was – I imagine – either the most difficult or the easiest fight to live blog of the night. (It depends if you try to actually give a play by play, or simply copy and paste “They engage. Both land shots,” over and over.) Although Fisher seemed to get the better of the standup exchanges ever so slightly, Stout sealed his victories by nailing takedowns in each round, securing the unanimous decision in their trilogy fight.
Just as interesting was the ground war waged between young gun T.J. Waldburger and battle-tested, immaculately manscaped Brian Ebersole. Waldburger got off to a fast start, dropping Ebersole with a straight left, and almost finishing him on the ground with a D’Arce choke. Despite his face turning the color of Prince’s garments of choice, Ebersole survived. In the next round, Ebersole escaped from an omoplata, an arm bar, and two triangle chokes. Despite Waldburger’s active guard, Ebersole took the round on the strength of his ground and pound, turning it on in the final seconds. The deciding round saw Ebersole secure a takedown, escape yet another triangle, and deliver shoulder strikes and elbows until the bell rang. It was enough for Ebersole to take a unanimous decision, 29-28 across the board. With this momentum, Ebersole plans to set up a higher profile fight at 170 in an attempt to… wait, no, apparently he’s going to try to cut to 155. Huh?
Cub Swanson and Ross Pearson was another highly entertaining fight, in which Swanson really got to show off just what was in his arsenal. Although Pearson was clearly the larger and stronger of the two, Swanson’s speed and ingenuity allowed him to get the better of the exchanges. At one point in the first round, Swanson threw a capoeira kick that would impress Anthony Pettis, which Pearson didn’t even flinch from, with Swanson following with upkicks from his back. The end came as Pearson pushed forward, Swanson landed two jabs, pivoted to his left and unleashed a counter left hook that sent Pearson crashing into the fence at 4:14 of the second round. Bring on Do Bronx, please.
The prelims were generally solid, but the highlight had to be Ricardo Lamas’ upset of Hatsu Hioki. Hioki had passed on a title fight with Jose Aldo because he believed he wasn’t ready to face him, and took the fight with Lamas as a tune up to that title shot. Well, it proved to be the right decision, because there was no way Hioki was ready for a title shot. After winning the first round and losing a competitive second round, Hioki was utterly ineffective in the third. It’s not so much that Lamas dominated him, although he did almost submit him with a number of guillotines, so much as Hioki just didn’t do anything in the final round. His standup looked atrocious, and his cardio looked almost as bad.
Fight of the Night went to Fisher-Stout, KO went to Swanson, and Sub went to Dan Miller for his third-round guillotine win over Ricardo Funch.
A lot of fans got really excited when this fight was made, and Cub Swanson and Ross Pearson made sure they did not disappoint when they finally stood toe-to-toe on Friday night. Swanson threw everything but the kitchen sink at Pearson and the Brit was …
A lot of fans got really excited when this fight was made, and Cub Swanson and Ross Pearson made sure they did not disappoint when they finally stood toe-to-toe on Friday night.
Swanson threw everything but the kitchen sink at Pearson and the Brit was eager to return fire, as both men put on a hell of a fight.
In the end, Swanson landed a fantastic combination that ended with a big left hand that sent Pearson crashing to the canvas. The punches that followed gave Swanson his second straight victory inside the Octagon.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
That it was fun to watch.
Swanson was at the top of his game tonight and he made life difficult for Pearson with his relentless attacks throughout the entirety of the fight.
Pearson was game, and landed some solid punches and a few takedowns to keep the fight close, but eventually Swanson’s pace and endless barrage of strikes was a bit too much.
What We Learned About Cub Swanson
We knew Swanson was extremely exciting, but he may have outdone himself with tonight’s performance.
Swanson looked crisp on the feet and was incredibly active off of his back. Now that he seems to have finally put everything together, he is going to be a dangerous fighter, going forward at 145 lbs.
What We Learned About Ross Pearson
Despite a lackluster win over Junior Assuncao in his featherweight debut back at UFC 141, a lot of people thought that Pearson was going to be a force in his new division.
He may not have gotten the win tonight, but he put on a solid show and with his size and skill set Pearson still has a chance to be one of the premier fighters in the division.
What’s Next for Cub Swanson
It’s been a long time coming for Swanson to enter the featherweight title picture, and while he says he wants a number one contender fight, he’s going to have to win some more before that happens.
A rematch with Ricardo Lamas, who won earlier tonight and defeated Swanson at UFC on FOX 1 last November would be a fun fight, but there’s another option that would be even more attractive for the UFC brass to put together.
Even though he’s coming off a loss, Dustin Poirier is one of the best fighters in the UFC’s 145 lb division and would be a solid test for Swanson going forward.
What’s Next for Ross Pearson
After a tough loss to Swanson, I don’t see Pearson getting any favors from Sean Shelby for his next bout.
It’s always fun to see Pearson get into a technical standup war, so a fight on the UFC 152 card in Toronto against Canada’s own Mark Hominick would be a ton of fun for everyone involved.
Cub Swanson is one of the top guys at 145 pounds, and in what once seemed like a shallow division, the featherweight division is now one of most top-heavy divisions in the UFC.
