A beloved UFC star wants to take on MMA legend Urijah Faber.
Appearing recently on MMA Junkie Radio, featherweight contender Cub Swanson shared his desire to try his hand at potentially becoming a 135 pounder. And if he makes the drop in weight, he’d love to fight Faber for “an honorary” WEC belt.
Swanson and “The California Kid” both competed in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion before it was absorbed by the UFC. While in the WEC, Faber earned the featherweight title and defended it several times, and “Killer Cub” competed in the 145-pound division as well.
Although the two fan favorites have been fighting for years, they’ve never crossed paths. Swanson has been at featherweight since 2006 while The California Kid committed to bantamweight in 2010. He moved back up to featherweight in 2015 to fight ex-UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar but dropped back down to 135 pounds after the bout.
Swanson earned a victory over Darren Elkins to close out 2021, whereas Faber hasn’t competed since a KO loss to future UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan in 2019.
GettyCub Swanson & Urijah Faber
“After fighting a stretch of up-and-comers, I was excited to fight Elkins because it was somebody that’s been around for a while, someone there’s tons of tape on, somebody close to my age,” Swanson said via the outlet. “There were a lot of things where I was like, ‘Ah, we’re two veterans, we’re going to go and throw down.’ I think fighting Urijah is the same thing on another level. People love him and people have loved me for years, so I think it always makes for a great fight. We should have fought many, many times and just never did, so why not now?
“We should do it for an honorary WEC belt. They did the ‘BMF’ belt, so why not? Throwback.”
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Swanson is Going to Keep His Weight Low While Helping His Teammates, Testing to See How His Body Manages
GettyCub Swanson punches Daniel Pineda in their featherweight bout during UFC 256.
Killer Cub has never fought lower than 145 pounds in his professional MMA run. He started as a lightweight, but he has essentially been a career featherweight.
So, he plans on training at a lower weight than he usually does to test whether or not his body can manage a cut down to bantamweight.
“As far as dropping to 135, this was the easiest cut for me at 145 that I’ve had maybe since my first couple of WEC fights. But I could have made 140 on the scale pretty easily,” Swanson said. “I think 135 would have been tough, but I think with some strict dieting, it wouldn’t be a problem for me.
“My plan is to get back into the gym once my hand heals, and I’ve got Juan Archuleta, Dan Argueta and T.J. (Dillashaw). I’ve got a bunch of 135’er teammates that are all getting ready for their fights, trying to get back in there. So I want to keep my weight down and help them, and I want to see how my body performs while I’m keeping my weight a little lower than normal and see if it’s doable for me.”
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Swanson Is 3-1 in His Last 4 Fights
Killer Cub got back on track with a first-round spinning wheel kick TKO over Elkins on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight night 199. He’s 3-1 in his last four contests, losing to Giga Chikadze and beating Elkins, Daniel Pineda and Kron Gracie.
Although Swanson has been a favorite fighter for well over a decade, he’s never fought for a major promotional championship. He has a pro record of 28-12, with 13 wins coming via KO/TKO.
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Beloved UFC Star Wants Legacy Fight With Urijah Faber: ‘Why Not Now?’