Cub Swanson wants title shot with Max Holloway; '100 percent' would've got it if Jose Aldo won

Cub Swanson is 13 years and 32 fights into his pro career, and “I’ve never been better than I am right now,” he said.

That’s why, he told MMAjunkie Radio, “All I’m asking for is the opportunity.”

The opportunity? A title shot, which thus far has been elusive during his decade-plus in the WEC and UFC.

However, Swanson’s time could be here. Or maybe it’s here (again) for multi-time title challenger and former champion Frankie Edgar (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC). We don’t know who’s up first, but it does appear it’ll be either Swanson or Edgar who gets the first crack at new undisputed featherweight champion Max Holloway (18-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), who dethroned longtime 145-pound great Jose Aldo (26-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) via third-round TKO this past weekend in UFC 212’s pay-per-view headliner in Rio de Janeiro.

Edgar has made his case for the fight, as has Swanson. In fact, Swanson, who’s No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, suffered back-to-back submission losses to both No. 3 Edgar and No. 1 Holloway in 2014-2015. Since then, though, the 33-year-old has posted four consecutive victories, which included a decision victory over durable Artem Lobov in UFC Fight Night 108’s recent headliner.

With the way UFC 212 played out, Swanson thinks he deserves the Holloway fight next.

“We both knew going in that if Aldo won, I 100 percent was going to get (the next title shot),” he said. “And then if Max won, it was going to be a tossup between the two of us. That’s just because Frankie never fought Holloway.

“The reason I was going to get it over him either way was just because Frankie has fought for the title a bunch of times. And when you fight for the title a bunch of times and you don’t win, it’s hard to sell that.”

Swanson just hopes his sales pitch isn’t taken as a slight at Edgar, a fan favorite who’s fought nearly every major name at 145 and 155 pounds, though he’s come up short in recent title fights to Aldo and Henderson (both twice).

“I’m not taking anything away from him,” Swanson said. “I respect the guy. I think he’s an amazing fighter. He has a win over me. But since then, I’ve been on a tear. And the fact is he’s 0-4 in his last four title fights.

“That fact you can get that many title fights is crazy. I’m just looking for one. I’ve never had the opportunity, and I’ve been promised multiple times and had it taken away. … All I’m asking for is the opportunity.”

For complete coverage of UFC 212, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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