What was the best second of Cub Swanson’s lengthy MMA profession, and what will he be remembered for many fondly after his retirement combat at UFC 327? Plus, what can the wrestle to get a Conor McGregor combat throughout the end line inform us about the UFC’s present monetary incentives?
All that and extra on this week’s mailbag. To ask a query of your personal, hit up @BenFowlkesMMA on X or @Ben_Fowlkes on Threads.
@nickj812: What’s your favorite Cub story (& combat)?
Realised penning this Choi Do Ho was 10 years in the past. He wasn’t imagined to win, however we received 5 friggin rounds of full on coronary heart & injury. Choi was arguably by no means the similar.
& Cub’s STILL preventing….. OMG
Cub Swanson has quite a lot of “Fight of the Night” performances to select from, however that win over Choi Doo-Ho was additionally the finest combat of the entire 12 months again in 2016. Which is, my god, 10 entire years in the past. Swanson appeared like a grizzled veteran of this sport even then. Now he’s received over 20 years {of professional} MMA expertise, which implies he’s been in the cage for primarily the total fashionable evolution of the sport. Let that sink in, as the youngsters say.
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As for my favourite Cub story, I did a function on him final 12 months that attempted to inform the story of his lengthy and memorable profession through the injuries he picked up along the way. One of the issues we talked rather a lot about have been his experiences recovering from damaged jaws, which many fighters will let you know is one in every of the most psychologically taxing accidents to take care of. Swanson discovered he couldn’t take the ache treatment as a result of it made him nauseous. And feeling nauseous is a probably major problem when your jaw is wired shut. If you vomit, you could possibly choke on it. Swanson stated his physician even advised him to hold pliers with him always, simply in case. (He by no means did.)
But the worst half, he stated, was the isolation. Teammates didn’t precisely rally round him in his convalescence.
“I remember not really hearing from anybody and feeling very alone,” Swanson stated. “And I realized that fighters, they have that fault. They think: It can’t happen to me, it won’t happen to me. They feel the bad stuff and know it’s possible, but you can’t let that seep in. You have to put up these blinders because you have to feel confident. You have to feel secure and ready. If somebody you know gets hurt, you don’t want to think about it too much, but you need to believe it won’t happen to you. You have to convince yourself that you’re going to be able to get through it without that happening.
“So I remember feeling pretty alone in that moment and just realizing, ‘Oh, OK, it’s not that they don’t care about me. It’s just that I had a serious injury.’ And people, they don’t want to face the reality that that’s always a possibility.”
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Take my phrase for it after I let you know there aren’t quite a lot of fighters with that type of consciousness and skill to speak brazenly and honesty on these tough topics.
Cub Swanson is all smiles after a knockout victory towards Billy Quarantillo throughout a UFC Fight Night occasion at Amalie Arena on Dec. 14, 2024, in Tampa, Florida.
(Chris Unger through Getty Images)
@shadore66: Curtis Blaydes is just a tiny betting favourite over Josh Hokit this weekend. I’ll preface my query with the stipulation that betting on heavyweight mma is dumb and no person ought to do it…butttttttt is that this a possibility to make some cash?!?!?
You may have ended this query with “betting on heavyweight mma is dumb and nobody should do it.” That’s very true on this combat. With simply eight professional fights on his report — solely two in the UFC, towards two guys you couldn’t select of a police lineup — do we actually have any concept what to anticipate from Josh Hokit but? And on paper Curtis Blaydes solely loses to the prime canine, however did you see his final combat towards Rizvan Kuniev? That didn’t appear to be a man who’s not on the decline.
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What I’m saying is, there’s nearly no consequence right here that might shock me. And that features all method of weirdness that’s virtually endemic to the heavyweight division. Bet on this one at your personal danger, my buddy.
@FakeJonYoung: Does the finish of the PPV period imply the UFC has misplaced its incentive to make the greatest fights? What is their motivation to pay McGregor now that the broadcast deal has been secured?
Kind of seems like the prolonged wrestle to get a Conor McGregor combat on the books is an indication that the UFC (or, extra precisely, mum or dad firm TKO) is having this argument with itself proper now. Even with a billion bucks per 12 months coming in from Paramount, you’re nonetheless in the combat promotion enterprise. You nonetheless, at the least theoretically, have to placed on large fights that followers wish to see. But what’s it actually value to you now that you just aren’t being paid per view, because it have been?
I don’t know if the UFC has settled on a solution for that but. We can really feel a rising sense of discontent from followers. The large fights simply aren’t occurring proper now. Instead we’re getting backup plans and budget-friendly choices. An enormous, loud summer time spectacle would certain be a pleasant approach to remind us that you would be able to nonetheless blow the roof off T-Mobile Arena once you wish to.
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Ironically, it sort of feels like the UFC as a complete is exhibiting a few of the indicators of what UFC CEO Dana White as soon as stated have been the perils of paying fighters an excessive amount of. They get lazy and complacent, he stated. They develop into risk-averse with these large assured purses. They don’t want to placed on a present anymore, in order that they play it secure. Tell me that doesn’t describe the UFC’s present vibe.
@RMullaly: What do you suppose GC and Petesy are doing?
Remember when Stone Cold Steve Austin would take two open beer cans and bang them collectively earlier than attempting to pour them each in his mouth at the similar time, thus creating an enormous mess that someway felt value it simply to show a degree? Yeah. Something like that. Then perhaps they’ll finish the evening with a crisp sandwich.
@AzzaHausen: After Grasso’s holy s*** end , Is that the finest end in the ladies’s division or does Ronda Rousey getting sparked out or Valentina sending Eye to the shadow realm beat it.
Alexa Grasso’s win was principally the WMMA model of when Demetrious Johnson threw Ray Borg up in the air after which armbarred him on the approach down. That is to say, we didn’t know a sequence like this was potential till we noticed it.
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But as nice as that second was, I believe you additionally should account for who did the large stuff in the large moments. When Holly Holm put Ronda Rousey away, you could possibly nearly really feel the floor of the total MMA world shake. When Amanda Nunes beat Cris Cyborg, you could possibly really feel the GOAT standing shift.
But nonetheless, you could possibly watch this sport for an additional decade and never see something fairly like Grasso’s win, which is saying one thing.
@BenTheBaneDavis: 1. How a lot lettuce do you suppose you could possibly eat in an hour
2. What is the worst fantasy soccer punishment you’ll be able to consider?
3. Greatest leg kick checker in MMA historical past
4. If you could possibly make any fighter a foot taller who would it not be?
5. If you could possibly add carbonation to a nonetheless drink which is it
1. Loads. I’ve eaten Caesar salads you’ve by no means dreamed of with croutons you couldn’t comprehend.
2. Anything that requires you to elucidate to different grown adults that you just’re in a fantasy soccer league that also does stuff like that.
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3. Jose Aldo. For a man who may shred different individuals’s legs, he was additionally actually good at conserving his personal out of hurt’s approach.
4. Stefan Struve. Because I’m a sicko like that.
5. If something, I’d take away carbonation from a bunch of drinks. It’s gone too far, don’t you suppose?
@DarthIrritable: I share a sports activities physician with Robert Whittaker. Should I inform him that his affected person is called Bobby Knuckles, or let him discover out the subsequent time he does a spinal adjustment?
My first response was to imagine that, clearly, his physician already is aware of this data. But then, how would that come up in dialog? I’ve by no means had a health care provider ask: Do you have got any rad nicknames I ought to pay attention to? I say you go in there and simply say “Bobby Knuckles” after which search for a flash of recognition in the physician’s eyes. There’s a really actual likelihood you could possibly find yourself trying like a serious weirdo, but it surely’s a danger I’m keen to take.
@LCombatsports: As a brand new fight sports activities author, what would you advocate so far as undertaking objectives when writing a chunk, ensuring you are constant even in case you really feel it isn’t the highest high quality(just like a brand new photographer taking pics on a regular basis), & getting higher when writing a brand new piece?
The finest writing recommendation I’ve can also be the most boring: Try to write down on daily basis and browse as a lot as you’ll be able to. Read every kind of various stuff. Cram it into your mind and take into consideration what works and what doesn’t and why. Then, when it comes time to write down your personal items, prioritize readability of language and velocity of narrative. Also don’t torture your self over perfectionist impulses. You get extra follow by writing the story, ending it, and shifting on to the subsequent one.
