Cub Swanson edges razor-thin decision victory over Hakeem Dawodu in UFC Vegas 78 co-main event
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to us tonight, August 12, 2023, for UFC Vegas 78, going down live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
Headlining the event is a Brazil versus Brazil showdown between former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (32-14) and no. 10 ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque (21-9-1).
Co-headlining the event was a featherweight contest between Cub Swanson (29-13) and Hakeem Dawodu (13-4-1).
Swanson, though his best days are certainly behind him at nearly 40 years of age, had gone 3-2 over his latest five appearances coming into tonight’s bout, while 32-year-old Dawodu had gone 1-2 over his last three following a 5-1 start to his promotional tenure.
Continue reading to see how this 145 lb co-main event of the evening went down:
Official Result: Cub Swanson def. Hakeem Dawodu via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dawodu opens up the bout with a jumping front kick and settles into the contest trying to find his range with leg kicks. Swanson lands a hard right hand about one minute into the bout, and another about 30 seconds later. Dawodu counters a lot of Swanson’s combinations with his quick left hand through the second half of the opening round.
Dawodu also started to bust Swanson’s nose up with his jab toward the end of round one, and continued to throughout the second.
Swanson initiates a clinch one minute in, Dawodu pressing him into the cage landing good knees to the body. Once they separate, Dawodu reengages in the clinch and continues landing knees to the body before the two separate once again and swing wildly through the final ten seconds of the middle stretch.
Both men put on a good third and final round, each of them landing good shots onto the other.
Swanson secures a takedown with about 80 seconds left on the clock, eventually taking Dawodu’s back as the Canadian attempts to return to his feet.
Though Dawodu out-struck Swanson in each of the three rounds fought, it wasn’t enough to secure victory.
Even Swanson admitted he didn’t believe he did enough to win. He gets back to his winning ways nonetheless, making it 4-2 in his last six tonight at UFC Vegas 78 by handing Dawodu his second-straight unanimous decision defeat.
Cub Swanson lost to the last kickboxing champion he fought, Giga Chikadze back in May of 2021, but he improves to 1-1 against them with this victory over Hakeem Dawodu. A man that boasts wins over Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira, you’ve got to love Cub Swanson.
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