Cub Swanson on how he’s had the desire to box since his WEC days

Cub Swanson has been fascinated by boxing lengthy earlier than it grew to become in style for MMA fighters to dabble within the candy science.

Swanson (27-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) revealed that he was critically contemplating taking over a professional boxing profession whereas he was signed with the WEC, however matchmaker Sean Shelby put a cease to his request.

“I introduced it as much as Sean (Shelby) many, many instances years in the past,” Swanson informed MMA Junkie Radio. “Even once I was in WEC, I requested if I might do boxing on the similar time as a result of my coaches had been fairly impressed with how I used to be doing, they usually stated completely not. They informed me that if I wasn’t centered 100% on MMA, then they might let me go. They stated that they needed all their fighters to be centered 100% on making an attempt to win the belt.

“So I thought of switching to boxing for some time, and I simply thought to myself what’s going to occur is I’m gonna spend three, 4 years a minimum of making an attempt to make it to the highest, after which I’ll be proper there presumably within the prime 10, prime 20, after which I’m going to be having to do this additional to make it to the very prime. I’m already there proper now in MMA, so it simply didn’t make sense, and so I wasn’t capable of do it.”

Swanson has all the time had a love for boxing, coaching with the likes of former professional boxer Joel Diaz and sparring with former boxing champion Timothy Bradley. He even tried boxing Paulie Malignaggi on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor combat in 2017, however the combat by no means got here to fruition, regardless of Malignaggi verbally agreeing.

McGregor stays the one marquee fighter to field whereas underneath a UFC contract, and whereas it irks Swanson that he wasn’t granted that very same alternative, he understands why McGregor was the one who bought to interrupt that barrier.

“I used to be just a little irritated when the UFC allowed Conor to do it, however that was some huge cash to be made,” Swanson stated. “I see why they might go that route, however I used to be positively making an attempt to do it a very long time in the past.”

To see the total interview with Swanson, try the video under.