UFC will be wrapping 2024 with UFC on ESPN 63 at Tampa as Colby Covington steps in to headline the event against Joaquin Buckley. But we also have a stellar 145-pound clash between two experienced fighters – Cub Swanson and Billy Quarantillo, and today, we’ll be making a brief analysis of the featherweight as we approach the fight this weekend.

Perhaps there is no more seasoned veteran than Cub Swanson in the UFC. Well, we can add Clay Guida beside him, but that’s not the point. The point is that we have a veteran who, unlike Tony Ferguson, just can’t seem to get on the winning side and has done pretty well in his last few fights compared to his opponent, Billy Quarantillo. On paper, it does look like it will be a close fight in Tampa, but let’s look at the statistics first so here’s the first part of the analysis – their respective records.

Record and stats comparison between Cub Swanson and Billy Quarantillo

When it comes to experience, as we’ve already mentioned already, Cub Swanson’s got it, having started his professional career in 2004. In his 43-fight MMA career, He’s recorded a staggering 29 wins at the expense of 14 losses without any drawn or no-contest-declared fights. On the other hand, Billy Quarantillo started his endeavor in the fight game nine years after Swanson.

Since 2013, ‘Channing Wahlberg’ racked up an impressive 18-win record, with 6 losses to go with it. On the much deeper statistical front, the 41-year-old vet has registered a career total of 13 knockout victories, which is 5 more than Billy Quarantillo.

However, the younger of the two featherweight contenders does have an edge over the experienced one in one aspect, and that is in the wins-by-submission category. Having tapped out his opponents on 5 separate occasions, Billy Quarantillo has one more submission victory than ‘Killer Cub.’ With these stats, this fight looks like a much closer ordeal than we expected it to be.

Having established their fighting records, let’s now move to the other set of stats, which is their physical build.

Swanson vs. Quarantillo – Age, height, weight, reach, and more

There seems to be another advantage that Billy Quarantillo has over Cub Swanson, and that is his height. The 36-year-old stands two inches taller than the veteran at 5 feet and 10 inches tall. But that may not matter much since both of them have the same reach at 70 inches and have the same weight, 145  pounds.

But what matters the most are fighting skills, and if we talk about Cub Swanson, he relies on his boxing abilities. He has all the power and the tricks up his sleeve to give Billy Quarantillo a run for his money. On the other hand, the younger rival makes more use of his wrestling than striking to clinch victories. So, it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Well, records and statistics are one thing, and in a way, it would be unfair to judge these two fighters based on their records given that one is more experienced than the other and had more time in the fight game to win and lose fights. Meanwhile, the oddsmakers have Billy Quarantillo as the -168 favorite, as Cub Swanson finds himself as the +130 underdog.

But then again, there’s this possibility that anything can happen in an MMA fight. So who do you think takes the victory home this weekend?