Another action-packed weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 57 went down this past Saturday night (Nov. 22, 2014) from Austin, Texas.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Bobby Green, who lost a unanimous decision to Edson Barboza in the co-main event of the evening (highlights). And Brad Pickett, who lost his second straight fight inside the Octagon at the hands of Chico Camus (video).
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed?
Cub Swanson.
The scrappy featherweight contender was on a mission to prove once and for all that he, not Conor McGregor, was the rightful owner of the next title shot, by building on his current six-fight win streak. All he had to do was get one more victory under his belt by taking out Frankie Edgar in the main event.
Unfortunately for Cub, "The Answer" had an agenda of his own.
Edgar, the former Ultimate Fighting Championsip (UFC) lightweight champion, looked to move past everyone in the 145-pound division and inch himself closer to another title shot. And after Saturday's performance, it's going to be hard not to include Edgar in the conversation.
Through the first four rounds, Edgar flat out dominated Swanson using his outstanding wrestling offense. After finding some success with his striking early, Cub spent the remainder of the bout staring up at the lights, as he couldn't do anything to get off his back.
Edgar took Cub down with ease for the most past. Once there, Frankie wasn't content with just keeping him down, but punishing him repeatedly, refusing to play the lay-and-pray game. And punish him he did, as Swanson absorbed strike after strike once on the ground.
And just in case you didn't get enough, Edgar did the exact same thing for every round, securing himself what would've been a unanimous decision victory. Finishes, though, are far more exciting.
A sentiment Edgar agrees with, as he tried tirelessly to get the finish every time. And with only four seconds remaining in the fifth and final round, "The Answer" latched on with a rear-naked choke-turned-neck crank that had Cub tapping as soon as he felt the pain.
And though Swanson has proved time and again his striking is his forte, Edgar showed him that he's going to need a lot of improvement in his wrestling, too, if he wants to contend for the title.
Something Cub himself isn't too proud to admit.
Now, Swanson will be forced to start from scratch and build another win streak in order to get to back to title contention. It won't be easy, but as he has shown time and again, he has what it takes to pick himself up and dust himself off to fight another day.
And taking on someone like Dennis Bermudez, who recently saw his win streak go out the window after he lost to Ricardo Lamas, would be a good starting point.
Unless, of course, you have a better idea.