New year brings new opportunities, new perspective for local UFC star Cub Swanson

New year, new opportunities, and a new perspective for UFC star Cub Swanson after losing his December 9th fight against Brian Ortega. A new contract in hand and still a lot of fight left as Sports Director Blake Arthur has the story.

Killer Cub Swanson wears his heart on his sleeve. Win or lose, he’s going to tell you how it is, straight up.

“Other than being sick going into the fight, I felt that I performed well. I was a little more confident in the clinch than I should’ve been and after he caught me in the submission at the end of the first round I felt that I was fine but I should have been more cautious.”

But as we all know, that’s not his style. Luckily for Cub however, he may not have earned a title shot in the UFC, but he did earn a new contract.

“The UFC did make me an offer already and it was a good offer with a bump in pay even though I’m coming off a loss. It was just from what I’ve done so far. But whoever comes with the best package for me and my family, that’s what I’m going to have to do,” said Swanson.

That is what Cub fights for, especially his newborn daughter Royal Rae.

“After the fight it was so pianful but I had to make her a bottle and feed her. As soon as I got backstage it made me forget about all the other things. I’m at a point now in my career where it’s not about wins and losses but more about performances and opportunities I’m creating for myself,” said Swanson.

And at the moment, that is still controlled by Cub, who, at 34-years-old, plans to keep fighting.

“I’ve never felt better physically so I’m excited about that. I didn’t want to have a lot of losses and not have it be my choice. So when I retire, it’ll be my choice. It’ll be when I want to stop.”

Which is good news for all of us. We get to watch Cub continue to do what he does best here in the new year.