There were several standout moments from UFC Tampa last night, with arguably the best of the bunch being Cub ‘Killer’ Swanson’s insane third-round knockout of Billy Quarantillo in the co-main event.
The 44-fight MMA veteran was expected to announce his retirement; however, after earning yet another post-fight bonus and a standing ovation from the crowd, it seems like Cub Swanson is torn on whether it’s time to hang up the gloves.
Cub Swanson addresses retirement speculation after insane KO at UFC Tampa
Speaking with Michael Bisping in the octagon following his sensational knockout win at UFC Tampa, Cub Swanson refused to confirm his exit from the sport outright.
“Well, I kind of told my wife that this would be the last one, so we’ll see,” stated the popular veteran as he then addressed the crowd: “I’m kind of old guys, I want to say that I appreciate you letting a 40-year-old dad come out here and entertain you!”
At the post-fight press conference, Cub Swanson explained why he’s torn on the matter; especially since the finish of Billy Quarantillo is as good of a send-off as you could possibly hope for in the UFC.
“My biggest thing for this fight was to not put pressure on myself to perform… I was trying to be fast and loose, paint a picture, and make it beautiful – something that I can be proud of so if it was the last, that I can say ‘Man, I’m happy with that’.”
Swanson shared that he’s “always going to be tempted” by the idea of taking one more fight, but that he’s also got both a family and a growing team of athletes to take care of.
CUB SWANSON #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/UXmkARUyct
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 15, 2024
“We’ll see how I heal up; I got three little kids who are getting a bit older now and definitely want my attention more. I’ve got a bunch of fighters on my team, Team Bloodline who I manage and coach, I put a lot of effort into them.
“I’m honestly more excited to be a coach at this point, I love this sport and the nice thing about being on the other side of the cage is that I don’t go home with lumps and bruises.”
Interestingly, whilst Dana White would state that such a flush KO is “the way to go” when it comes to retirement, he’d be more than happy to offer Cub Swanson another fight, if he so wishes.
“It is the way to go, and what’s funny is he says ‘I promised my wife that this would be the last one, but I don’t know we’ll see’… When a fighter wins and especially wins as spectacularly as he did tonight, it’s just so hard for these guys to walk away.
“But to be honest with you, if Cub says ‘I promised this to my wife, I’m going to walk away’ then I’ll be happy for him… If he says, ‘You know what, I definitely got one more in me’, I don’t disagree with him.”