While the current list of Fight of the Year candidates in the UFC is made up exclusively of championship fights, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event between Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson has the potential to bring some diversity to that collection when the dust settles in Austin, Texas.
As far as non-title tilts go, this is as good as it gets.
Edgar has been an elite talent in two divisions for the last five years, competing in seven consecutive championship fights beginning with his UFC 112 upset win over B.J. Penn and concluding with his featherweight title loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 156. Since dropping that closer-than-it-looks-on-paper unanimous decision to Aldo in February 2013, “The Answer” has picked up consecutive victories over Charles Oliveira and Penn to cement his place in the upper tier of the 145-pound weight class.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC Fight Night: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson Saturday on Sportsnet 360 starting at 8 p.m. EST
Clocking in at No. 3 in the rankings, the Toms River, N.J., native fits the Urijah Faber mould – a veteran competitor capable of beating just about anyone in the division on any given night, save for the champion. He’s a dynamic offensive talent inside the cage, blending tremendous footwork and movement with high volume, combination striking and takedown attempts that come in unexpected moments.
Slotted one spot ahead of Edgar in the rankings, Swanson is the MMA equivalent of a post-hype sleeper in other sports – a fighter that couldn’t find the consistency to live up to early expectations at the start of his career before putting it all together a few years later and emerging as a legitimate contender.
After struggling to string together victories and stay healthy during his WEC days and through his UFC debut – a second-round submission loss to Ricardo Lamas in a fight he controlled for the opening five minutes – “Killer Cub” has found his rhythm and reached his full potential.
Entering Saturday’s main event showdown with Edgar, Swanson has won six straight, earning four stoppages and four post-fight bonuses during that span. From a skill standpoint, the key to his breakout has been his boxing, which is some of the best in the organization. He’s technical and quick, showcasing the work he’s done with trainer Joel Diaz and world champ Timothy Bradley Jr., and packs the kind of pop you don’t often see in the featherweight division.
From a stylistic perspective, the interplay of Edgar’s movement and volume against Swanson’s steady power shots and creative offensive attack should make for interesting theatre. Will Swanson be able to cut off the cage and hem Edgar in or will the former lightweight champion stay on his horse and work the stick-and-move strategy that has been his trademark to halt the Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter’s momentum?
The fact that this really is a coin-flip fight adds to the intrigue.
As much as there has been a number of entertaining fights and fun finishes over the last few weeks, the majority of the results have been fairly predictable. Most people expected Luke Rockhold to beat Michael Bisping and Fabricio Werdum to defeat Mark Hunt, and having those consensus ideas about how a fight is going to play out causes the anticipation levels to dip ever so slightly.
The fact that you can genuinely see this fight playing out in a number of different ways – Edgar wins in a high volume masterpiece, Swanson starches him and finishes quick, a split decision slobberknocker – cranks the anticipation levels on this one up to 11.
But wait! There’s more!
In addition to being a potential barnburner to rival the championship tilts from UFC 171, UFC 175 and UFC 179 that lead the Fight of the Year race, this contest also carries championship implications.
Here’s where things sit heading into Saturday:
Swanson has the longest winning streak of anyone in the division not named Jose Aldo and you could make the case that he probably should have fought for the title already. On Monday evening following the “The Time is Now” press conference in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Swanson will earn that elusive championship opportunity with a victory.
Of course, the following morning, there were stories featuring White suggesting that Irish supernova Conor McGregor could secure a title shot with a dominant performance against Dennis Siver in January.
While Swanson has always stepped into the Octagon intent on finishing his opponent and putting on a show, the uncertainty surrounding who has next in the 145-pound division could very well up his sense of urgency against Edgar. A victory still might not bring any further clarity to the situation, but it does keep the pressure on “The Notorious” and whether you like him or not, you have to concede that the surging McGregor has a knack for rising to the occasion.
But it’s also entirely possible that Edgar just walks into the cage, outworks Swanson over 25 minutes and rains on the title hopeful’s parade. He’s got the style to frustrate anyone (as previously mentioned) and there is nothing that can happen during the fight that is going to shake his confidence and cause him to fold.
Remember, this is the guy that was on the business end of two of the worst first rounds that didn’t get stopped in UFC history, only to go back to his corner, take a couple deep breathes and then come back out like the previous five minutes didn’t even happen. Edgar is unflappable and that can be a frustrating characteristic to encounter inside the cage, especially with a potential title shot on the line.
Saturday’s main event might not have a championship belt on the line or feature the biggest names in the sport, but make no mistake about it: Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar are elite talents and their pivotal featherweight encounter deep in the heart of Texas should be electric.