Cub Swanson

By FCF Staff

Recently the UFC announced that Conor McGregor has relinquished the featherweight title, and longtime contender Cub Swanson was clearly thrilled by the news.

The announcement came not long after McGregor took out Eddie Alvarez in November, and in doing so, he grabbed the lightweight championship. Leading up the event, Dana White said that McGregor would have to vacate a title if he became a two division champion.  The Irish star never ended up defending the 145 title that he earned last December, by knocking out Jose Aldo. McGregor fought Nate Diaz twice earlier in 2016, and both fights were contested at 170.

Swanson will face rising featherweight Dooho Choi tonight at UFC 206. At the pre-fight media day, Swanson had this to say about McGregor’s exit from the featherweight division (quote via MMA Fighting):

“I think a lot of people look at it like, oh man, this division sucks now, but I couldn’t be happier,” Swanson said. “I think what he was doing to the division was ridiculous. I thought the way it was handled was stupid. There’s only one belt, and you hold it hostage for so long. We had a champion in [Jose] Aldo who has been dominant, and amazing, but he hardly fought.

“So if we’re lucky enough to get a fight with him, your next chance would be so far down the road. And then Conor comes in, wins, [you think] okay, this is exciting…and then he fights one time, and leaves the division for two different weight classes.”

The 33 year-old Swanson is coming off a decision win over Tatsuya Kawajiri in August. UFC 206 will take place in Toronto, Ontario.