In an absolutely thrilling 25 minute featherweight war, Cub Swanson earned his 6th straight win inside the octagon by besting up and coming prospect Jeremy Stephens in the main event of UFC Fight Night 44 live from the AT&T center in San Antonio. And he did so in absolutely impressive fashion.
Stephens started out strong, knocking the So Cal fighter down and forcing him to respect his striking power while Swanson struggled to find his rhythm. Swanson attempting to lead his combinations with body kicks but worked to no avail as Stephens constantly stopped Swanson in his tracks with his amazing power.
The second round saw Swanson start to find some success but every time Swanson threw, Stephens came back 10 times harder, landing some nice 3-2 combinations in the process. The first two rounds definitely favored Lil Heathen more.
As the fight went on however, the tide started to turn in favor of Swanson who's fancy kicks started to gain some openings for him. The kicks to the body which he had been landing but not necessarily following up with started to pay dividends and opened up the head of Stephens' which complimented his top level boxing skills.
The kicks forced Stephens to switch over to his wrestling and do some cage holding against Swanson but Swanson's takedown defence and cage drills were too much for Stephens and Swanson showed some supremacy in the clinch hitting Stephens with a knee from a defensive position up against the cage.
Then towards the end of the fight, the body kick started to create some more openings for Swanson who eventually earned the judges decision with close scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.
Swanson then took to the mics asking the San Antonio crowd if he'd redeemed himself. Swanson's last loss was in November 2011 to Ricardo Lamas.
Swanson now rises to 6-0 in his last 6 fights. After a lengthy layoff following his TKO win over Denis Siver, Swanson had not fought since July of last year beating the likes of Siver, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Ross Pearson, and George Roop along the way. The win arguably puts him next in line for a title shot against Jose Aldo.
Stephens has now experienced his first loss in the weight class after dropping down from the UFC Lightweight Division. Prior to the loss to Swanson; Stephens defeated Esteven Payan, Rony Jason, and most recently Darren Elkins. He is now 3-4 in his last seven fights.
Results:
Cub Swanson def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Nicholas Musoke via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Cezar Ferreira def. Andrew Craig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Ricardo Lamas def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Clint Hester def. Antonio Neta via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Joe Ellenberger def. James Moonstasri via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Colton Smith via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:38 of rd. 1
Cody Gibson def. Johny Bedford via TKO at 0:38 of rd. 1
Marcelo Guimarães def. Andy Enz via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Ray Borg def. Shane Howell via technical submission (rear naked choke) at 2:17 of rd. 1
Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Anthony Hamilton via submission (neck crank) at 2:18 of rd. 1
Author: Alex Cochrane
Cited source: Brian Tucker (mmafighting.com)
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Okay, I'm somewhat impressed with Cub Swanson.
I still hate his ink though.
Stephens started out strong, knocking the So Cal fighter down and forcing him to respect his striking power while Swanson struggled to find his rhythm. Swanson attempting to lead his combinations with body kicks but worked to no avail as Stephens constantly stopped Swanson in his tracks with his amazing power.
The second round saw Swanson start to find some success but every time Swanson threw, Stephens came back 10 times harder, landing some nice 3-2 combinations in the process. The first two rounds definitely favored Lil Heathen more.
As the fight went on however, the tide started to turn in favor of Swanson who's fancy kicks started to gain some openings for him. The kicks to the body which he had been landing but not necessarily following up with started to pay dividends and opened up the head of Stephens' which complimented his top level boxing skills.
The kicks forced Stephens to switch over to his wrestling and do some cage holding against Swanson but Swanson's takedown defence and cage drills were too much for Stephens and Swanson showed some supremacy in the clinch hitting Stephens with a knee from a defensive position up against the cage.
Then towards the end of the fight, the body kick started to create some more openings for Swanson who eventually earned the judges decision with close scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.
Swanson then took to the mics asking the San Antonio crowd if he'd redeemed himself. Swanson's last loss was in November 2011 to Ricardo Lamas.
Swanson now rises to 6-0 in his last 6 fights. After a lengthy layoff following his TKO win over Denis Siver, Swanson had not fought since July of last year beating the likes of Siver, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Ross Pearson, and George Roop along the way. The win arguably puts him next in line for a title shot against Jose Aldo.
Stephens has now experienced his first loss in the weight class after dropping down from the UFC Lightweight Division. Prior to the loss to Swanson; Stephens defeated Esteven Payan, Rony Jason, and most recently Darren Elkins. He is now 3-4 in his last seven fights.
Results:
Cub Swanson def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Nicholas Musoke via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Cezar Ferreira def. Andrew Craig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Ricardo Lamas def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Clint Hester def. Antonio Neta via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Joe Ellenberger def. James Moonstasri via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Carlos Diego Ferreira def. Colton Smith via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:38 of rd. 1
Cody Gibson def. Johny Bedford via TKO at 0:38 of rd. 1
Marcelo Guimarães def. Andy Enz via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Ray Borg def. Shane Howell via technical submission (rear naked choke) at 2:17 of rd. 1
Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Anthony Hamilton via submission (neck crank) at 2:18 of rd. 1
Author: Alex Cochrane
Cited source: Brian Tucker (mmafighting.com)
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Okay, I'm somewhat impressed with Cub Swanson.
I still hate his ink though.