UFC legend Cub Swanson has been around for a long time now. Making his professional MMA debut way back in 2004 and his UFC debut back in 2011, the 38 year old is still around and fighting just like he always has been.
Coming off of a win over Darren Elkins back in December, Swanson is now 28-12 and looking to break back into the rankings of the UFC’s featherweight division.
Swanson was recently in the Chicagoland area as Legacy Fighting Alliance’s LFA 123 came to the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN. Main eventing the event was Orland Park native Dan “The Determined” Argueta. Argueta and Swanson have been training as teammates at JacksonWink Academy in Albuquerque, NM and Argueta has now officially received the label of Swanson’s “protege.” That doesn’t come lightly to Argueta, though, who told Sports Mockery that being called Swanson’s protege “gave me butterflies.” Argueta explained that Swanson is “probably my favorite fighter, probably my favorite personality of a fighter. He’s one of my biggest role models… He’s helped me turn my life around and reach goals that I probably wouldn’t have been able to without him.”
Before Argueta took to the cage, I visited the team’s locker room to talk with the UFC legend and cornerman-for-the-night Swanson.
What does it mean when you hear Dan Argueta say it gives him “butterflies” to be called your protege?
“I’m just kind of honored that guys… I get these guys around me and I invest a lot of time in them and they’re just training partners to me and friends and I mentor them. So being called a protege, I take honor in that because I do put a lot of time into them and a lot of emotion so I just want them to win. I don’t really want any kind of credit, I just want to see people chase their dreams like I’ve been able to do so that to me is the biggest thing.”
“Killer” Swanson can be seen here in Sports Mockery exclusive locker room footage warming up with Argueta before his main event fight at LFA 123:
What do you see in Dan and what do you think his future is?
“The biggest thing about Dan is he has talent. Everybody kind of has their own strengths; he’s very strong, he’s a good wrestler, his striking is getting better and better. He’s dangerous with knees and elbows so he has his tools but his biggest asset is he’s such a hard worker. He puts in the work. I don’t have to worry about him, I don’t have to go and check on him, I know he’s training 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I have to tell him hey pull back and don’t beat your body up. That’s the kind of guys you want. You want the hard workers, you want the guys that you gotta tell to kind of chill out and save your body. The guys that you’ve got to motivate, those are the guys that are going to give you trouble. They’re not going to make it as far.”
What’s next for you and your career?
“For me I’m just coming off a broken hand and I had Covid so I’m just trying to get back in the gym and get my weight down so I can talk to the UFC about my next option. A bunch of people are excited about me possibly fighting Urijah [Faber]. I’d love for that to happen but once I get back in the gym and I talk to the UFC I wanna see where they’re at. But ultimately if the fans want it, it’ll happen.”
For a few months now, there have been talks about Swanson taking on fellow WEC and UFC legend Urijah Faber for an “honorary WEC title,” which is what he was referencing in our interview.
Admittedly it would be a fun fight among two legends and it would be nice to see a legend face off against someone their own age for once instead of being fed to a young contender and forced to act as a gatekeeper.
Ultimately Argueta was able to secure a victory at LFA 123 via a third round TKO stoppage.
