Kawajiri

By FCF Staff

It looks like PRIDE and DREAM vet Tatsuya Kawajiri wants to jump right into the deep end of the UFC’s talent pool for his Octagon debut, as the highly regarded featherweight says he wants to fight contender Cub Swanson.

The Japanese fighter’s Twitter account features several posts relaying he hopes to face Swanson in his Octagon debut, including the following:

@TitaniumRhino @danawhite @joerogan I want to fight with @CubSwanson. He won the hiroyuki takaya in WEC. Takaya is my friend.

— 川尻達也tatsuya kawajiri (@CRUSHER_MMA) October 26, 2013

Kawajiri (32-7-2) will arrive in the UFC armed with a five fight win streak, which includes wins over veterans like Joachim Hansen, Drew Fickett and most recently Michihiro Omigawa. The only men to defeat the former lightweight in his last ten fights are Shinya Aoki and Gilbert Melendez.

Swanson (20-5) has also won five in a row and has worked his way into the featherweight division’s #4 ranking. Although the noted finisher isn’t currently booked for a bout, it remains to be seen if the UFC would look to match the contender against an unranked, newcomer like Kawajiri next.