MIAMI – Cub Swanson hung up his gloves Saturday after a 22-year career. Unlike a lot — nay, most? – MMA retirements, his feels like it’ll stick.
Swanson went into his featherweight fight against Nate Landwehr at UFC 327 at Kaseya Center pre-determined to walk away at the end. His wife, former UFC host and spokesperson Kenda Perez, and three kids were on hand for his swan song hoping to see him head into the sunset with a win.
Advertisement
Swanson (31-14 MMA, 16-10 UFC) delivered and then some. He took out Landwehr (18-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) with a brutal knockout sequence in the first round. And though the powers-that-be decided his fairy-tale perfect ending wasn’t worthy of a post-fight bonus, Swanson knew the time was right.
“It feels great – I’m over it,” Swanson told MMA Junkie at his post-fight news conference. “Fighting is painful, and I’ve been able to have a high threshold of pain for a long time and be able to ignore it and tell yourself, ‘You’re good, you’re good.’ But I’m over that part.”
Now Swanson says he’ll pour all his MMA energy into continuing to build younger fighters who are part of the team he’s putting together at Bloodline Combat Sports in Palm Springs, Calif.
“I feel like I’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge in this timespan, and feel like I’m better off sharing that knowledge with the next generation,” Swanson said. “I’m 42 years old. Sometimes I sit back like, ‘What are you still doing, dude? Get a job. Do something else.’ I’ve had plenty of time to think about it.”
Advertisement
Swanson already is in the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing thanks to his 2016 unanimous decision win over Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206 in Toronto. That win came during a four-fight winning streak in the UFC – Swanson’s second best run in the promotion.
After he lost his promotional debut to future title challenger Ricardo Lamas in 2011, Swanson went on a six-fight tear that included four bonuses. Almost unfathomable to think about now, those wins included a bonus-winning knockout of future lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and a decision over future interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier.
Along with his 2022 UFC Hall of Fame induction, Swanson has more post-fight bonus awards than any featherweight in UFC history.
Check out Swanson’s post-fight interview in the video above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Cub Swanson not planning MMA unretirement after UFC 327: ‘I’m over it’
