Rivalries: Cub Swanson

Cub Swanson has reached the stage in his career where any appearance could be his last.

An integral part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster for well over a decade, the 41-year-old Californian will toe the line against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 graduate Billy Quarantillo in the UFC on ESPN 63 featherweight co-main event this Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Swanson owns a 14-10 record in the UFC, his run highlighted by victories over Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier and Tatsuya Kawajiri. He last suited up at UFC 303, where he wound up on the wrong side of a three-round split decision against Andre Fili on June 29.

As Swanson makes final preparations for his upcoming battle with Quarantillo at 145 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Jose Aldo

The Brazilian blindsided Swanson with a wicked flying knee in the first round of their WEC 41 co-headliner on June 7, 2009 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. It lasted all of eight seconds. Swanson never stood a chance in his first brush with true greatness. Just 22 years of age at the time, Aldo scored a direct hit with his knee shortly after the opening bell, and Swanson crumbled immediately to the mat in pain, his left eye cut by the blow. Follow-up strikes finished it, but it became clear soon after Swanson folded that he was finished. He had won 13 of his previous 14 bouts and had never been knocked out. Aldo went on to capture the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight crown some five months later. Swanson sought a rematch for years, though their paths have yet to cross again.

Jeremy Stephens

Swanson made the most of his first main-event assignment in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he outstruck the Alliance MMA export to a unanimous decision atop UFC Fight Night 44 on June 28, 2014 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Stephens was game but outmatched in suffering his first defeat at 145 pounds. Swanson utilized a multi-pronged standup attack and twice doubled over the California-based Iowan with body kicks, first in the third round and again in the fifth. On both occasions, he unleashed right hands to the head in an effort to secure a stoppage, and on both occasions, Stephens stood his ground. Down on the scorecards, the underdog made his final pitch for an upset late in the fifth round. There, he tagged Swanson with multiple clubbing right hands but failed to author the finish he needed.

Doo Ho Choi

Swanson outlasted “The Korean Superboy” in a firefight for the ages, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision in their epic UFC 206 featherweight showcase on Dec. 10, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Choi found success in the first round with standing knee strikes from the front headlock position, precision jabs and stabbing straight right hands to the body. A brawl developed in the middle frame, giving way to perhaps the most memorable five minutes of 2016. Both men were hurt during wild exchanges. Swanson executed a takedown and briefly moved to mount before returning to his feet, where he landed everything from a spinning backfist and a cartwheel kick to sweeping hooks with both hands. Still, Choi refused to go away. Swanson was in trouble early in Round 3 but regained momentum with a head-and-arm throw. They spent the final minute firing power punches at one another. Choi collapsed in the waning seconds and absorbed heavy ground-and-pound until the horn sounded, a crowd of 18,057 roaring its approval.

Frankie Edgar

“The Answer” improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series against Swanson with a unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night 128 co-main event on April 21, 2018 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Edgar, who had submitted Swanson with a neck crank in their first encounter three-plus years earlier. The 15-minute rematch was contested entirely on the feet. Edgar set the tone at the start, opening a cut under the Californian’s right eye with a left hook in the first round. The Toms River, New Jersey, native held narrow statistical advantages in all three rounds and kept Swanson guessing with routine level changes, occasional clinches and well-timed takedown attempts.