Swanson: I don’t hit a heavybag that hard

The Korean Superboy Choi Doo-ho won ten fights in a row and was signed by the UFC. His first UFC fight was a Performance of the Night winning KO, over Sam Sicilia. His second UFC fight was a Performance of the Night winning KO, over Thiago Tavares.

Then he called out the #4 featherweight Cub Swanson, who accepted. The pair fought at UFC 206 in a fight of the year candidate, with Swanson taking a unanimous decision. The Korean took a biblical amount of punishment and kept on throwing.

Swanson appeared on Luke Thomas’s Sirius XM show and offered his thoughts.

I was telling my coaches backstage that I don’t even try to hit a heavy bag that hard,” said Swanson, as transcribed by Thomas Myers for MMA Mania. “I remember wanting to turn around a couple of times. Toward the end, I had him on the fence, I wanted to turn around and look at the ref, like, ‘Are you serious?’ But, he just kept reviving.

For his part, Choi is taking the loss as a lesson.

“I knew I had shortcomings in my game, but hadn’t had the chance to experience them until now,” he wrote on his social network. “I learned so much last night. At first, I was disappointed in myself, but now I am full of anticipation and confidence that I can become stronger. I will not be defeated again. I will come back stronger than ever. I thank everyone so much for your concern and encouragement.”