Cub Swanson is thinking about the future as the Las Vegas card approaches

The UFC veteran, who turned 40 in November, will face Andre Fili on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Cub Swanson broke bones in his hands fourteen times.

He broke his jaw twice, and his ribs repeatedly. He tore the cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee. His body is covered in scars and wounds from spending his entire adult life practicing mixed martial arts.

When he turned 40 last November, the Cathedral City native promised his wife Kenda that he would reevaluate his career in the UFC. He had become one of the most popular and successful featherweights in company history, with his famous “beautiful destruction” fighting style.

But after a two-decade fighting career, culminating in an induction into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 for his 2016 Fight of the Year win, it was finally time to consider whether this was the end.

Then came the opportunity to fight another veteran, Andre Fili, at UFC 303. It was a chance for Swanson, who hasn’t fought in front of a live audience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to prove once again he can do that. still holds his own in the Octagon.

So June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, that will be his goal.

“I don’t know if this fight will be my last,” Swanson said. “But I approach them all from here as if it could be.”

After his last fight, a win over Hakeem Dawodu on August 12, 2023, Swanson came close to calling it quits. He had dealt with back problems for years, and after the Dawodu fight, Swanson said it felt like he was being stabbed in the back every night before he went to bed.

Everyone he talked to about it advised him not to have any more surgery because it would mean the end of his career. But then he found a doctor in Northern California who last October gave Swanson relief from his sciatica by removing a cyst and removing scar tissue near the spine.

Full recovery took only 6 to 8 weeks, but Swanson was back training within two weeks.

“Everyone who told me I shouldn’t have back surgery asked me for this doctor’s number,” Swanson said.

Despite his many ailments over the years, Swanson said he doesn’t feel like growing older has affected his ability to fight at the highest level. He said he is still in the best shape of his life – showing a resting heart rate of 37 beats per minute – and that his experience in the fight game has helped him immensely in training.

“I think my Swedish genes and my family history played a role,” Swanson said. “But I’m also smart, and that’s what kept me in the game. I’ve carefully adjusted my training as I’ve gotten older, and I know it better on a body-by-body basis.

“I have been taking care of my body for 20 years,” he added.

In recent years, Swanson has lived in Anaheim with his wife and three young children, where he now trains and manages other fighters, including UFC’s Danny Silva, Rafa Garcia and Dan Argueta. Swanson said a few others he works with are “on the doorstep” of the UFC.

Respected boxing coach Joel Diaz, who has helped shape Swanson’s striking ability over the years, said Swanson is ready to retire whenever he is ready.

“He has a family, three beautiful children and a wife,” Diaz said. “It is getting closer that it is time for him to devote his time to his family and stay in the company as a manager and pass on his knowledge. He has so much to give to help others.”

Still, until that time comes, Swanson admits that, despite his decorated resume, one question continues to push him:

“Have I done enough?”

Swanson has fought six world champions and four UFC Hall of Famers. His name is all over the record books of the UFC featherweight division. After he leaves the Octagon for the last time, whenever that is, he wants to know that he left no doubt about who he was and what he could do.

On a recent Tuesday at the Diaz Brothers Training Camp in Indio, Swanson wore a black shirt with white lettering that his wife designed, which has all his fights listed on the back like a concert tour shirt. At the top of the list are the words: ‘Beautiful Destruction Tour’.

It remains to be seen whether the final tour will take place on June 29, but Swanson expects it to be a memorable tour.

“I feel great,” Swanson said, “and I can’t wait to get back in front of the crowd.”

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected].

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Cub Swanson is thinking about the future as the Las Vegas card approaches

The UFC veteran, who turned 40 in November, will face Andre Fili on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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