Some scores have yet to be settled.
Unfinished Business
One fight from the past that never happened was between UFC veterans Cub Swanson and Urijah Faber. The two were supposed to fight back in 2004, under the ‘King of the Cage’ banner. Nearly 18 years later, Swanson is looking to finally get the ‘one that got’ away.
After his latest KO win against Darren Elkins in December, Swanson would call out ‘The California Kid’ for a fight. Not just an ordinary fight. He’d want the former WEC Champion for a special bout.
“After fighting a stretch of up-and-comers, I was excited to fight Elkins because it was somebody that’s been around for a while, someone there’s tons of tape on, somebody close to my age,” Swanson told MMA Junkie Radio.
“There were a lot of things where I was like, ‘Ah, we’re two veterans, we’re going to go and throw down.’ I think fighting Urijah is the same thing on another level. People love him and people have loved me for years, so I think it always makes for a great fight. We should have fought many, many times and just never did, so why not now?”
Throw A Belt In There
While the two were supposed to fight on the regional scene back in 2004, Swanson and Faber would eventually make to the WEC. They would never fight there but that’s the promotion they built their names at. So naturally, Swanson wants to drop down to 135lbs for a legacy fight against Faber.
“We should do it for an honorary WEC belt.” Swanson added. “They did the ‘BMF’ belt, so why not? Throwback.”
Faber Responds
It wouldn’t take long for the former WEC king to take notice of Swanson’s comments. You can count Faber in for a fight with ‘Killer’ Cub.
“(Swanson said) directly afterward in the press conference that his dream fight would be to fight in Palm Springs against yours truly.” Faber said on his YouTube channel. “He wants to drop to 135lbs. Honestly, I know he broke his hand, that might give me enough time to train, he said he would drop down to 135s. We were supposed to fight back in 2004 in King of the Cage on short notice for $1000. I think they were going to pay him a couple hundred bucks and they were going to pay me like $1000.”
Uriah Faber responds to Cub Swanson’s call out 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wYqdgXXA61
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) January 6, 2022
“That never happened, so Cubbie, I’m honored that I’m your dream fight in this scenario. So we might find out who the king of California is.”
Faber hasn’t fought since 2019, where he was knocked out by current UFC interim bantamweight champion Petr Yan.
Both veterans of the sport will make a ton more than the hundreds of dollars than they were offered in 2004. The two look to meet inside the Octagon to decide California royalty in 2022.
