Cub Swanson avoids upset at UFC Fight Night 108
Featherweight contender Cub Swanson got more of a fight than he expected Saturday.
Swanson was taken the distance by unranked and unheralded Artem Lobov in the main event of UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lobov won the first round on two scorecards before Swanson took control of the second en route to a unanimous decision.
Swanson said he wasn’t surprised Lobov was up to the challenge.
“You’ve got guys like this who are willing to call me out and test themselves,” he said. “I knew he was going to step up to the plate, and it was a hell of a fight.”
Swanson has won four straight fights and 10 of his past 12. He said he hopes to fight the winner of June’s featherweight title unification bout between champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Max Holloway.
Lobov’s stock also might get a boost.
“I thought I could beat him, but it wasn’t to be tonight,” said Lobov, the training partner of Conor McGregor. “I’ll just keep working and improving and come back stronger.”
Also on the card, Al Iaquinta didn’t miss a beat in his first fight in two years because of a contract dispute. The lightweight star needed 1:38 to finish Diego Sanchez with two straight rights.
It was the fifth consecutive win for Iaquinta, who has spent his time away selling real estate.
“I’m on top of the world right now,” the 29-year-old said. “It couldn’t have gone any better. Everything has just been great. I visualized that exact moment over and over again.”
Ovince Saint Preux became the first fighter in UFC history to finish two fights with a Von Flue choke when he used the maneuver to submit Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the second round. The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for the former light heavyweight interim title challenger.
Bantamweight contender John Dodson proved too elusive for Eddie Wineland on his way to a unanimous decision.
According to FightMetric, Wineland landed just 21 of 138 strikes in the 15-minute fight, and Dodson did enough damage to make his defensive performance stand up on the scorecards.
“Fans may not like every fight they see, but they should show more respect than that to the people who are fighting their hearts out,” Dodson said. “I didn’t see the fight playing out that way, either, but Eddie is a very dangerous fighter, so I had to be on the lookout for that right hand.”
After getting mauled for most of the first round, Stevie Ray recovered to win a majority decision over veteran lightweight Joe Lauzon. Ray closed the fight in control, almost finishing Lauzon with a big flurry in the final 30 seconds.
“I thought it was close, so I wanted to finish out the third round strong,” Ray said. “I knew his takedowns and top control during some of the fight could be held against me — even though I was being very active from the bottom — so I wanted to put it all on the table at the end. I expected this kind of fight from the beginning. Joe has all of those bonuses, and that’s because he fights like a warrior. I knew he would be tough and that I’d have to be tougher.”
Welterweight Mike Perry bounced back from his first career loss by knocking out veteran Jake Ellenberger in the second round with a short right elbow in the first fight of the main card. Perry is 3-1 with three knockouts in the UFC.
“I was ready to redeem myself and show the world that the first two weren’t a fluke,” Perry said. “I wanted to show everyone that I really do this every single day of my life. I had been setting up the left hook and the right elbow for this entire camp. We trained for something. I got to come here focused and calm and do what I trained for. I hope this moves me up in the division. I just beat one of the top 15 fighters in the world, someone who has been doing this for a long time, and I’m ready to beat even more of them.”
Rising flyweight prospect Brandon Moreno highlighted the preliminary card with a technical submission of Dustin Ortiz. Moreno won his 11th consecutive fight overall and improved to 3-0 in the UFC when his rear-naked choke rendered Ortiz unconscious.
Welterweight Bryan Barberena knocked out Joe Proctor with knees and punches in the first round, and Hector Sandoval also finished flyweight Matt Schnell with punches in the first round.
The remaining preliminary card fights went the distance.
Thales Leites won all three rounds over Sam Alvey in a middleweight bout, and Scott Holtzman claimed a unanimous decision over lightweight Michael McBride.
Danielle Taylor defeated Jessica Penne in a women’s strawweight bout, and Alexis Davis beat Cindy Dandois in a women’s bantamweight bout.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
