No Quit in Cub

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- When Cub Swanson meets Ricardo Lamas on the UFC on Fox 1 “Velasquez vs. Dos Santos” undercard this Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., it will have been 366 days since he last set foot in the cage.

A hard-fought split-decision victory against Mackens Semerzier at WEC 52 last November earned Swanson a $10,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus and gave the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative what appeared to be a solid wave of momentum heading into the promotion’s merger with the UFC at the start of 2011. Instead, injuries have derailed Swanson, twice forcing the Palm Springs, Calif., native out of proposed bouts with featherweight contender Eric Koch -- first at UFC Live 3 in March and again at UFC 132 in July.

The first ailment was a tooth infection that forced Swanson to withdraw 10 days prior to his bout with Koch. The second was more serious, as Swanson ate a knee during a training session and was left with “about seven fractures” in his face.

“I had my cheekbone caved in; my orbital, my nasal and my upper jaw was pushed in, as well,” Swanson says. “It took two surgeons to work on me at the same time, but everything is back to normal. It’s strong. I’ve got some metal in there, and I’m ready to go.”

While some might have taken the opportunity to wallow in their misfortune, Swanson made it a point to remain positive. Instead of friends and teammates comforting him, it was the other way around.

“I think a lot of people on the team took it harder than Cub did,” says Strikeforce fighter Isaac Vallie-Flagg, Swanson’s housemate in Albuquerque. “I’m sure he took it hard, but he didn’t show it. A lot of us were really disappointed and real sad when he hurt himself. Even on the way to the hospital, everybody else was all upset and sad, and Cub was making jokes about it and staying strong.”

Swanson believes it was the best way to handle the situation.

“When your jaw is wired, people keep asking me, ‘Are you freaked out? I would freak out.’ I’m like, ‘No, stop talking about it.’ Only people make you want to freak out, and I just stayed positive,” he says. “I knew what my ultimate goal was, and I knew how close I was to my goal. My goal is being here and showing people what I work hard for.”

As far as debilitating facial fractures go, Swanson’s timing could not have been much better. On June 1, Ultimate Fighting Championship parent company Zuffa LLC implemented its new insurance policy that provided its fighters with $50,000 in annual coverage for training and other unforeseen injuries. Swanson’s setback came on June 2; had it occurred earlier, the consequences might have been dire for the WEC veteran.

“That probably would have put me into retirement. I would have had to get a regular job and pay for it somehow. I’m super thankful for the insurance. I’m glad it happened when it did,” Swanson says.

With losses to current UFC featherweight king Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender Chad Mendes on his record, the former community college soccer standout has already seen some of the division’s finest talent up close. Swanson acknowledges that those performances -- an eight-second knockout loss to Aldo and a unanimous decision defeat to Mendes -- were not his best, but he believes a serious run at 145 pounds remains a possibility. His 5-3 record within the WEC included three “Fight of the Night” efforts.

“I feel like I’ve had some mediocre performances. Maybe they got the best of me, but I don’t feel like anyone’s better than me on the whole. I feel like I can be right there; I just need a couple of fights strung together,” he says.

Vallie-Flagg and Swanson met through Joe Stevenson. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner brought Swanson to Albuquerque for a camp approximately three years ago while he was living with Vallie-Flagg, and the two have been tight ever since.

“He’s a great person as far as character goes, and you’re not gonna get a better person as far as training,” Vallie-Flagg says. “As far as his character as a friend, he’s a stand-up dude. He’s one of the best dudes you’ll meet.”

In the weeks leading up to his bout with Lamas, Swanson began handing out limited-edition shirts bearing the message “I Love Cub,” with a heart in lieu of the word love, printed on the front. The design was created by Swanson and his muay Thai coach in California years ago. Though it is not typical MMA fashion, plenty of the Jackson’s MMA clan -- from UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 contestant John Dodson to Greg Jackson himself -- were willing to spread the message by donning the shirt. Cub is indeed loved around the gym.

“That’s me being a little bit of a prick in wanting to get some big, tough guys to wear an ‘I Love Cub’ shirt,” Swanson says. “To me, that’s funny, and they’re all willing to do it because we’re all close.”

That is just a small taste of Swanson’s usual mischievous nature. Whether it is spraying cologne in Clay Guida’s towel, leaving cups on the top of teammates’ cars or various other antics, some unsuitable for print, Swanson -- with Vallie-Flagg as his accomplice -- is one Jackson’s main jokesters.

“It’s nothing but pranks,” Swanson says.

More serious is the task at hand: Swanson’s UFC debut after a year-long layoff. Adding to the magnitude of the moment is the fact that Swanson is part of the card that marks the promotion’s first time on network television. Only the heavyweight title tilt between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos is scheduled to air on Fox, but that is fine with Swanson, who is taking a business-as-usual approach to the historic event.

“For me, it’s just a fight. It’s my UFC debut, something I've been waiting for. The Fox thing -- I’m excited for it. It’s so huge for our sport, but right now it means nothing to me. It’s something I’m gonna look back on and be proud of,” he says.

The drive to Anaheim from Palm Springs takes a little less than two hours, so Swanson expects to have a large contingent of his extended family on hand at the Honda Center. Swanson will not be able to reconnect with everyone, however. Cathedral City High School will be having its 10-year reunion for the class of 2001 the same night. Swanson, obviously, is booked. So, too, is Timothy Bradley, whom Swanson refers to as “my more famous classmate.” Bradley will be battling Joel Casamayor on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III boxing event in Las Vegas.

“He’s the fastest dude I’ve ever sparred [with] in my life,” Swanson says.

With the way his luck has gone of late, Swanson is grateful to be able to spar with anyone. He will finally get another shot at the real thing when he steps into the cage against Lamas.

“[Injuries] are part of the sport,” he says. “Once it happens, you just gotta work with the cards you’re dealt. I was not gonna let anyone get me down.”