Featherweights
Andre Fili (23-11, 11-10 UFC) vs. Cub Swanson (29-13, 14-9 UFC)His appearances are increasingly rare, but Swanson still keeps chugging along at an impressively high level. Swanson had a prolific career full of exciting fights without ever getting over the hump into championship contention, and he figured to have a style that would age poorly. A lot of his approach centered around a funky striking style that relied heavily on his reflexes and athleticism. However, Swanson has aged in surprisingly graceful fashion. His four-loss slide out of the UFC’s rankings contained some hard-fought efforts, and while he has suffered two knockout losses—his first since 2009—in his last four fights, he has also put together some electric finishes of Daniel Pineda and Darren Elkins, along with a hard-fought decision victory over Hakeem Dawodu in August. Swanson’s slowing down but still viable at 40 years old, so it’s worth appreciating each of his fights; and the UFC did well to pair him with Fili in a matchup of action-focused veterans that somehow hasn’t already happened. Fili had some hype as a top prospect ahead of his UFC debut in 2013, though that slowly petered out after an inconsistent start to his UFC career. He’d mix in impressive victories with frustrating losses, though defeats to Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar would all age well in the long run. Once known for his lapses in decision making, “Touchy” has rounded into a smart and versatile fighter who’s as sharp as ever, settling in as a gatekeeper to the divisional elite. Even in his career-best form, quick knockout losses to Joanderson Brito and Dan Ige in recent years have shown that Fili will always struggle with an athletic ceiling. This should be the type of go-everywhere scrap where the result is secondary. Fili gets the nod as the younger and sharper fighter, but it wouldn’t be a shock if this goes either way, particularly since either man can end the fight with one well-paced counter. The pick is Fili via decision.
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