UFC 327: CUB SWANSONG

Tomorrow, UFC fans—and Cub Swanson fans in particular—say goodbye to Cub Swanson. His retirement fight comes against Nate Landwehr, who is an appropriate opponent for him—even if this wasn’t his final fight. This is a typical matchup for Cub: someone who is tough and poses a real threat, but one that Cub has generally been able to get past using his speed, toughness, craftiness, and veteran savvy.

Personally, I do have to ground myself and look at the harsh reality of most MMA retirements… which is that there are generally no MMA retirements. The sport retires the fighter before the fighter retires the sport. And fairy tale endings are almost non-existent. Even the good ones come with asterisks.

Cub has been rocked in a lot of his recent fights. He isn’t moving as quickly or sharply as he used to. But will it hurt my heart any less knowing a possible knockout loss is completely reasonable tomorrow night? Unfortunately, no. It will hurt my poor little heart. And these feelings, I’m quite aware, are 100% selfish because it’s the end of an era for me, as the sport I fell in love with is slowly aging out. All the phenomenal, entertaining fighters from days of yore have mostly left the MMA space at this point.

Cub is my all-time favorite fighter. If he’s getting old, I’m getting old.

That being said, Cub at 42 years old looks really good given his last performances and the division he is in. It’s really an underrated feat, as Cub has been quietly performing at a high level. Even if it’s been win, lose, win, lose… he’s still getting wins—and KNOCKOUT wins at that. It’s impressive. Fighters should be studying his career—the pros and cons, his longevity, and his craft.

Cub didn’t always do it right and missed out on some very big opportunities. He was in a prime position to fight Conor McGregor and never got a fight with Urijah Faber. He was never able to win that one fight that would’ve earned him a title shot. But god damn it, Cub stayed true to himself, never sold out, faced the elite of the division, and even beat some of them—and it was ALWAYS entertaining.

I’ve never missed a single Cub Swanson fight in the UFC. I missed his early WEC fights, but caught on later.

Cub Swanson via Round 1 KO/TKO is what I have selected on Verdict, but being completely transparent, I may switch that to Round 2 because Nate Landwehr is one tough mother fucker. In all likelihood, it’ll go to a decision.

This should be a war.

My UFC 327 Full Card Picks

Wow... if my picks are any indication of what might go down tomorrow, this card is gonna be insane. I also haven't checked the odds to see if I picked more favs or underdogs. 😂

Follow me on Verdict

Enjoy the fights!