Cub Swanson knows he has the ideal opportunity to ride off into the sunset on a high note — but he isn’t closing the door on his mixed martial arts career just yet.
The 41-year-old WEC veteran authored a memorable performance in the UFC Tampa co-main event on Saturday night, as he knocked out hometown favorite Billy Quarantillo at the 1:36 mark of Round 3 following a back-and-forth battle that garnered “Fight of the Night” honors. In his post-fight interview, Swanson revealed that he had told his wife beforehand that “this might be the last one.” However, he also acknowledges that the fighting itch won’t go away completely. “I’m always going to be tempted. We’ll see how I heal up,” Swanson said at the post-fight press conference. “I’ve got three little kids that are getting a little bit older now and definitely want my attention more. I’ve got a bunch of fighters, my Team Bloodline, my guys I manage and coach. I put a lot of effort into them and these last couple of fights have really allowed me to show them how to do it and not just talk about it. I was able to be about it and show them, lead by example. I honestly am more excited to be a coach at this point. I love this sport, and the nice thing about being on the other side of the cage is I don’t go home with lumps and bruises. “For sure, that definitely could be a storybook ending, so it’s going to have to be something exciting to get me motivated.” Swanson initially considered walking away from the sport more than a decade ago. “My mom and my stepmom, who both are very close to me, begged me to stop fighting in 2011 when I fractured my face and I could have stopped then. I could have stopped at any moment, but I just always felt like I had more to do,” he said. At this point, I feel like I’ve done a lot and I’m proud of it, so like I said, it would have to be something really exciting, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Palm Springs, California, native, has compiled a 30-14 mark over the course of a tenure that began in 2004. Though he never captured a title in the UFC and WEC, he enjoyed plenty of success while emerging as a fan favorite over the years. His ledger includes triumphs over the likes of Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Jeremy Stephens, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Darren Elkins, among others. His 2016 triumph over Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206 was enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame and remains one of the highlights of his career.
“I mean, the Doo Ho Choi fight is hard to top,” Swanson said. “I have so many fights that are special for different moments. People don’t understand there’s so many things that happen in camps and in life that you need to overcome, so there’s special fights for different reasons, but for sure the Doo Ho Choi fight because I had the fight of the year, I made the Hall of Fame because of it, and then I found out I was going to be a father that night, so it’s pretty hard to top.” His most recent work also figures to rank among his top performances when all is said and done. Whether it turns out to be Swanson’s swan song remains to be seen.
“I try not to put too much on it because it’s ultimately my decision and what I want to do,” Swanson said. “But my biggest things for this fight is to just not be pressured or put the pressure on myself to perform and be tense and just have this war. I had a little bit of a war. I was trying to be fast and loose and paint a picture and make it beautiful and something I could be proud of, and if it was the last, something I could be proud of and say, ‘I’m happy with that.’”
