Dana White Wants to Keep Cub Swanson on the UFC Roster

Cub Swanson gambled on himself Saturday night when he stepped into his main event fight against Brian Ortega on the final fight of his current UFC contract.

Swanson wouldn’t be the first fighter and certainly won’t be the last to test the free agency waters but it’s possible he damaged his negotiating power by suffering a loss to Ortega by second round guillotine choke.

Despite that setback, UFC president Dana White says he’s already told Swanson that he wants to keep him a part of the roster and hopes they can iron out a new deal in the near future.

“I yelled up to him, too, let’s get a deal done,” White said when speaking about Swanson on Saturday night in Fresno, Calif. “Cub’s been around forever, he’s a great kid and I like him and hopefully we can get something done with him and I can keep him happy.

“I want him to be happy.”

Swanson spoke often about the status of his contract with the UFC leading up to the fight with Ortega and how he hoped to increase his salary after spending the majority of his career competing between the UFC and WEC.

While it’s always tough to suffer a loss before entering a period of free agency, that doesn’t mean Swanson’s any less valuable to the UFC or any other rival promotion.

Former welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald suffered two losses in a row in the UFC before signing a very lucrative deal with Bellator MMA last year.

Now it’s just a matter of time before Swanson sits down with the UFC to try and hammer out a new contract or potentially test free agency waters once his exclusive negotiating period has been completed.