Frankie Edgar won over Cub Swanson at the UFC Fight Night 57 on November 22 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
In a report by Sherdog.com, Edgar did a neck crank on Swanson, causing the latter to submit in the fifth round. Before that, Swanson was dominated by Edgar for about 25 minutes during the earlier rounds. Swanson finally surrendered at 4:56 in the fifth round, making it the latest finish in the history of the UFC.
Coming into the fight, Edgar was 17-4-1, 12-4-1 in the UFC, while Swanson was 21-6, 6-2 in the UFC. MMA Mania reported that Swanson was aiming for a major win to earn a rematch against Jose Aldo. Edgar also won his last three fights in an attempt to face Aldo again, proving that he is indeed among the best in the featherweight division.
Early in the match, Edgar was getting more hits but managed to finish a number of takedowns against Swanson. After another takedown, Edgar passed to half guard and hit Swanson with a lot of punches and elbows, based on the same report by MMA Mania. Edgar was dominant throughout the second round.
By round three, Swanson was already bloodied. In the fourth round, Swanson was continually beaten to a bloody pulp as Edgar maintained a mounting position. In round five, Edgar attempted several submissions until he finally caught Swanson in a rear naked choke/face crank. Swanson tapped with four seconds remaining.
Swanson was good with his butterfly guard and he managed to hurt Edgar during the early rounds with body shots. However, Edgar was more vicious than usual and his ground game significantly improved, leaving no room for Swanson to capitalize. Sherdog also reported that Edgar fully mounted Swanson three times in round four and two times in round five.
MMA Mania added that Edgar's ground and pound improved much and he was more aggressive than ever before. Swanson is the second best fighter in the featherweight division, opening the possibility that Edgar might face Aldo again. However, Conor McGregor is expected to take the next shot against Aldo.
Chad Mendes, who is ranked higher than Edgar, also previously lost to Aldo, so the two might make a good match.
There is also a chance that Edgar might face Ricardo Lamas next. Swanson, on the other hand, will have to wait for his next chance against Aldo. He might fight Max Holloway next.