Kron Gracie has a world-class jiu-jitsu game. But they call this game mixed martial arts for a reason.
The son of Rickson Gracie took a big step up in competition in the featherweight co-feature bout of UFC on ESPN+ 19 on Saturday night, where he met a veteran who mixes the aspects of the sport as well as anyone in Cub Swanson.
And while Gracie (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) proved himself plenty tough, Swanson (26-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) showed Gracie’s standup game still needs work, as he pieced up his opponent in a grueling unanimous-decision victory. The judges’ scores at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., were 30-27 across the board in favor of the Palm Springs, Calif., native.
Gracie, who had won all five of his previous MMA fights via submission inside of two rounds, attempted to push the pace and stalk forward, but he was met with a wide variety of strikes by the veteran Swanson. Swanson swiftly mixed combos to the head and body, threw in kicks to the calf and body, and kept his foe off-balance.
To his credit, Gracie took everything Swanson dished out and kept coming back for more. Swanson’s pace slowed toward the end of the second, but he had the presence of mind not to engage Gracie when he tried to take it to the ground.
A riveting third round saw two tired fighters push through exhaustion, including a sequence in which Swanson willingly went into Gracie’s guard in the final minute and lived to tell about it. The fight ended with both men throwing bombs.
With the win, 11th career decision victory, Swanson snapped a four-fight losing streak.
“I’m tired,” Swanson said with a laugh in his post-fight interview. “It takes two to make a fight, my hat’s off to him, he tried to stand with me. There was some talk before the fight but I have so much respect for the Gracie family.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 19 results include:
- Cub Swanson def. Kron Gracie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Niko Price def. James Vick via knockout (punch) — Round 1, 1:44
- Amanda Ribas def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Matt Frevola def. Luis Pena via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Eryk Anders def. Gerald Meerschaert via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ryan Spann def. Devin Clark via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:01
- Mike Davis def. Thomas Gifford via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 4:45
- Alex Morono def. Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Tim Elliott via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:08
- Marlon Vera def. Andre Ewell via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:17
- Miguel Baeza def. Hector Aldana via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:32
- Marvin Vettori def. Andrew Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- J.J. Aldrich def. Lauren Mueller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
