Cub Swanson Discusses His Future in the UFC After Loss to Brian Ortega

Speaking to MMAjunkie after UFC Fight Night 123, Cub Swanson discussed his future in the UFC after his main event loss by submission to Brian Ortega. The fight was the last one on Swanson’s current UFC deal.

Swanson stated on the loss: “It stings. It just gets thrown back in your face, ‘You don’t win the big ones.’ So, it’s like, what am I going to say? I’m sure we’ll negotiate. Dana said ‘let’s make a deal’ from outside the cage. But do I got to crawl back and say, ‘OK, I’ll take that deal I said no to.’ We’ll see. I’m going to enjoy family over Christmas and all that and try not to be in low spirits. I thought I fought great. I just didn’t get the ending I wanted.”

However, after the fight, UFC President Dana White told Fox Sports that he wants to sign Swanson to a new deal and wants to “keep him happy.” White stated on the FOX Sports post fight show: “I yelled up to him, ‘Let’s get a deal done.’ Cub’s been around forever. He’s a great kid, and I like him, and hopefully we can get something done with him, and I can keep him happy. I want him to be happy.”

Cub Swanson lost to Brian Ortega in the main event of last night’s card by submission in the second round. Going into the fight, Swanson was riding a four-fight winning streak, and his last defeat was a submission loss to current featherweight champion Max Holloway back in 2015.

White and Arum have had a longstanding feud and war of words going back many years. Last night’s UFC event was held at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The main card was shown on FS1. Prelims were shown on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. You can check out 411mania’s full results and coverage of the event RIGHT HERE.