After wars with Doo Ho Choi and Artem Lobov, Cub Swanson is keen on some time off

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Nashville, Tennessee, featherweight veteran Cub Swanson defeated Artem Lobov with a hard-fought, unanimous decision. With this win, Swanson established himself as one of the top contenders in the division, and perhaps the most deserving man of a featherweight title shot.

The next featherweight title fight will occur at UFC 212 this June, when undisputed champ Jose Aldo attempts to unify his title with the interim title owned by Max Holloway. Swanson could well meet the winner.

Speaking to the media in the wake of his defeat of Lobov, Swanson broke down this upcoming featherweight title fight.

“I’ve lost to both those guys, so they both equally sting,” He said (via MMAFighting.com). “In my whole career, I’ve never fought for a belt, so that’s something that I would like to do, or at least have the opportunity to do.”

“For the division, I think it’s exciting for Holloway to win, and just kinda build more buzz. But I think my chances of fighting for a title, it’s more likely if Aldo wins, because then there’s not going to be a rematch [between Aldo and Holloway], things like that. So I see both sides.”

Swanson then weighed in on a possible title rematch with Aldo, who he lost to years ago under the WEC banner.

“I think it’d be a great fight,” Swanson said. “I’ve studied him for a long time. I know what he’s good at, I know what I’m good at, and I just know that I can make any fight a war and make it my fight, so I think it’d be a good match-up. I’m excited to do it again. I took a lot of lessons away from that fight, some that have molded me into who I am. All my losses, really, but that one in particular, and I’d like to get it back.”

Whatever the future holds, Swanson explained that, with his first child on the way, he now plans to take some time off – well-deserved after his consecutive wars with Doo Ho Choi and Lobov.

“I’m definitely going to take some time off, but I’m going to be training the whole time,” Swanson said. “I’ve got good people around. I enjoy training at this point in my career. I feel like I’m a lot smarter at it, I enjoy pushing myself, so I’ll be training. But realistically, fighting, probably not until late December or early next year.”

Do you think Cub Swanson deserves a UFC featherweight title shot? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/23/2017.