UFC vet Cub Swanson will be facing Kron Gracie in the UFC on October 12th at the Amalie Arena in in Tampa, Florida.
Swanson has disclosed that because of Kron’s famous last name, he has received backlash from a few Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies.
Swanson is himself a black belt under Rigan Machado.
Swanson said in a recent episode of UFC Unfiltered (transcript by MMA Junkie):
“I’ve been able to get a lot of jiu-jitsu in because he’s a Gracie, and he has the name. It’s been an interesting one,”. “I’ve been kicked out of a couple of jiu-jitsu schools because of the respect. They don’t want to train somebody that isn’t a Gracie, which really pisses me off.”
Swanson has a specific strategy against Kron:
“Fights like this I need to be technical. I think I need to not show him any respect when it comes to getting comfortable and just start punching him in the face. I also am a black belt. I’ve gotten criticized for my jiu-jitsu before, but I wasn’t able to always roll with the best of the best grapplers because I was focusing on my striking.”
“I feel like I’m the best fighter I’ve ever been,” Cub Swanson said. “It’s unfortunate that I’ve had some losses, and I haven’t been able to show that. But this is another chance to make a statement and against a Gracie. I think it’s an honor for me.”
