Cub Swanson Admits He Was Close to Signing With Another Promotion

Cub Swanson has re-signed with the UFC, but that almost wasn’t the case.

The last fight on Swanson’s previous contract occurred against Brian Ortega back in December. “Killer” lost the bout via second-round submission. Swanson didn’t know if he’d be able to reach an agreement with the UFC after losing.

Swanson ended up re-signing with the UFC on terms he was comfortable with. The first fight under his new contract will be a rematch with Frankie Edgar. It’ll take place on April 21 in the co-main event of UFC Atlantic City.

During a recent appearance on MMA Junkie Radio, Swanson admitted he was close to signing with another promotion that he didn’t name but it wasn’t Bellator:

“I was really close to signing with a company. I was really thinking hard about it. Me and my manager talked about it. I said, ‘Man, I really would like to be with the UFC, and I don’t like how this has all been playing out because I just wish that they would hit me with a number that I felt comfortable with and be happy to push forward.’”

Before his loss to Ortega, Swanson was riding a four-fight winning streak. He defeated Hacran Dias, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Doo Ho Choi, and Artem Lobov in that span. He hadn’t lost since a May 2015 bout with Max Holloway, who now rules the featherweight division.

In his first encounter with Edgar, Swanson was simply no match. He was dominated throughout the fight before finally being submitted in the fifth round. Many believe Swanson has a better chance at success this time as “The Answer” is returning just over one month after suffering his first knockout loss.