Three and a half years removed from his first-round loss to current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo back at WEC 41, Cub Swanson can't seem to shake the stench from his eight-second loss to "Scarface."
Not that he dwells on it, it's just that fans and media can't seem to talk to him without bringing up the fact "Junior" defeated him via a double-knee combo almost 44 months ago under the now defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) banner.
Since the loss to Aldo, Swanson has racked up an impressive 5-2 record including a 4-1 stretch thus far inside the UFC's Octagon with his lone loss to Ricardo Lamas back at UFC on FOX 1.
Nevertheless, it seems the mixed martial arts (MMA) community, for the most part, won't let go of a loss that happened long ago and on his recent appearance with The MMA Hour, the Jackson-Winkeljohn - trained fighter asked the question: Hasn't he done enough to redeem himself?
His words:
"People just keep throwing that in my face and that was like three and a half years ago. Have I not redeemed myself? Am I not doing everything that I need to do to deserve a shot and deserve to get my name back up in the mix? It is a little annoying but it is what it is. That's the fight game."
Currently riding a three-fight win streak in the UFC's 145-pound division and arguably a few impressive wins away from a title shot, Cub gave his thoughts on Anthony Pettis, a lightweight, getting the next crack at Aldo's featherweight title:
"It is what it is. It's an exciting match-up and as a fan I'm excited for it, but, for someone who is in the division, it's kind of like, ‘Oh, okay, this guy can just come over and get a title shot?' It is kind of annoying, but, my time will come, I'm not too stressed about it and if everybody keeps dropping to 45 then who knows, maybe I'll just move up to 155. I could, I walk around at 180-85. But, I think I'll stick around 45 for awhile, but, I think at some point I will move up."
Cub will next take on Dustin Poirier this weekend (Feb. 16, 2013) at UFC on FUEL TV 7: "Barao vs. MacDonald" at Wembley Arena in London in a fight he says will give him the opportunity to showcase his skills:
"I am impressed with him (Poirier). He kind of reminds me of me when I was in the WEC. Kind of up and down, trying to figure it all out, still young in the sport. I feel like he is really tough, always comes in shape and he is good everywhere. I don't think he is great anywhere yet. I feel like he is a really good match-up for me to go ahead and showcase my skills and really show the best me so far. I am not taking this guy lightly at all, very game and very tough fighter. I know I match-up well and I am excited for this match-up."
What say you Manaics, would you be interested in seeing a rematch between hard-hitting Swanson against the crafty Brazilian Aldo if he can manage to move up in the rankings?
Or will Poirier derail all possibilities of that fight ever happening again this weekend in London?
No comments:
Post a Comment