Cub Swanson Reportedly Returns In Headlining Spot

Following four straight victories, many MMA fans thought No. 4-ranked UFC featherweight Cub Swanson was deserving of a title shot.

That reportedly won’t be the case, however, as Swanson posted on Instagram today that he was headlining a December 9 event from Fresno, California, versus unbeaten No. 6-ranked contender Brian Ortega:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZu7SPxhmZw/?taken-by=cubswanson

Rebounding from a down stretch in late 2014-early 2015 where he was finished by current champion Max Holloway and perceived top contender Frankie Edgar, Swanson has won four straight fights by decision, the most recent an impressive beating of Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 in April.

He won ‘Fight of the Night’ for the bout, but it paled in comparison to his previous win, a UFC 206 decision over prospect Doo Ho Choi that was dubbed 2016’s “Fight of the Year.”

Swanson brings the action each and every time out to the cage, and his losses have only come to the absolute cream of the featherweight crop such as Holloway, Edgar, and longtime champion Jose Aldo.

He’ll meet a fighter who does the same, as the 12-0(1) Ortega was last seen submitting Renato Moicano in the “Fight of the Night”-winning bout at July 29’s UFC 214. The Torrance, Calif.-based fighter has won four straight bouts himself (five if you including his stoppage of Mike De La Torre that was overturned for a positive drug test), but all of his wins have come by some form of finish.

It’s not the title shot Swanson called out for after declaring Edgar had already had multiple chances to win the belt (which is true in a sense), but it is a top-ranked opponent that would make Swanson tough to deny if he does win.

Will the longtime veteran be able to stop the surge of “T-City?”