MIAMI – Cub Swanson couldn't fight the urge to compete one more time before calling it a career.

Swanson, 42, (30-14 MMA, 15-10 UFC) takes on Nate Landwehr (18-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in Saturday's main card opener at Kaseya Center (Paramount+).

His knockout win over Billy Quarantillo in December 2024 would have been a perfect send-off for the longtime featherweight contender, however, Swanson found himself lured into one more fight.

"That's what we do – we're fighters," Swanson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day. "I honestly was very content to be done at that point. I had been talking about retirement, and being very open to it, and I wanted to be 100 percent sure.

"I didn't want to make an emotional decision. I kept it to myself. I tried to for a while. I was really close to being done and then Sean Shelby started asking if I wanted to fight again, and saying they'd love to have me. The opportunity came to shine a light on what I'm doing next, and it made sense."

Swanson admits he never imagined he'd compete past his 40s, but points to why he was able to stretch his career beyond many other fighters during his era.

"My stubbornness, one," Swanson said. "My ability to ask for help, my ability to adapt, and try to be better and never – I never bought my own hype. I think that's important. I never believed everybody when they said, 'Oh, you're the best right now.' So I was able to continue to grow as an athlete and try to stay ahead of the curve.

"A lot of fighters will start to buy their own hype, and they don't think they need to mature or get better, and then the sport passes them by. This sport is still so young that every five years, it's a new era, and so if these younger fighters aren't constantly developing and trying to get better, then they just disappear."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Cub Swanson attributes 'stubbornness' for longevity in UFC