UFC on FOX 15 is officially stacked. Immediately following Max Holloway’s victory over Cole Miller this past Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 60, UFC broadcaster Jon Anik revealed in Holloway’s post-fight interview that his next opponent will be none other than Cub Swanson, and the two featherweights will clash at UFC on FOX 15, which takes place April 18 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It’s rare to see the UFC announce a fight so soon after a fight just competed — literally seconds after Holloway got his hand raised, actually — but it’s a move I hope the UFC keeps making, barring of course injury to a winning fighter, because it gets fans invested and drums up immediate interest for a fight. As far as Holloway vs. Swanson goes, it’s a great fight between two elite strikers in the featherweight division. Following the win over Miller, Holloway is now riding a five-fight win streak with four of those wins coming via stoppage. With an 8-3 record overall in the Octagon, it was clear Holloway deserved a big step up in competition, and a fight against Swanson certainly represents just that. As far as Swanson goes, he was so close to getting a UFC featherweight title shot after he had reeled off six-straight wins with four stoppages, but after getting beat down and submitted by Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 57, he’ll have to work his way back up the ladder to get that title shot he craves, and a win over Holloway would certainly keep him relevant in the division. As for how the fight breaks down, it’s more than likely going to be a fight that stays standing for all three rounds and it’s going to match up Holloway’s volume and length against Swanson’s technical boxing and pure power. I don’t think either fighter will be attempting too many takedowns on each other, but you never know. If it goes to the ground, though, I do favor Holloway by a wide margin, but if it stays on the feet it’s going to be close, if not a slight edge towards Swanson. I expect Swanson to enter the bout as the favorite based on the fact he has a more impressive body of work overall in MMA and based on the fact he is more experienced against elite competition, but don’t sleep on Holloway here. I think the 23-year-old Hawaiian has a very good shot of winning this fight, and if he’s available at good dog money on fight day, I might have to take a stab. But I fully expect Swanson to enter the contest as the rightful favorite.
