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Max Holloway tears through Cub Swanson en route to submission victory

Published Apr. 18, 2015 9:15 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

NEWARK -- Max Holloway took a huge step forward in his career at FOX UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Rockhold as he took out top five ranked featherweight Cub Swanson for his biggest win inside the Octagon.

From the very start of the bout, Holloway showed a huge amount of confidence as he stood toe-to-toe with one of the most dangerous strikers in the UFC's 145-pound division.

Holloway was fast on his feet and used his length to brutalize Swanson from the first round through the third. He also used great movement to circle Swanson throughout the fight, which seemed to frustrated the veteran featherweight because he was never able to plant and unload his powerful punches.

By the third round, Holloway was clearly up on the scorecards, but he wasn't going to relent until he put Swanson away.

The 23-year-old Hawaiian blasted Swanson with another barrage, stunning his opponent and putting him down on the mat. Holloway followed up and continued his attack by first looking for an arm triangle choke before eventually locking on a guillotine choke.

Holloway rolled into the mount and Swanson was grimacing in obvious discomfort. Swanson tapped out once but the referee actually missed it, so he tapped again. Thankfully this time the official caught it to call a stop to the fight.

"It feels great, it just feels great," Holloway said following the win. "I think that's a $50K performance, right Dana White?"

Holloway has now won six fights in a row while moving his record to 13-3 overall. With his win over Swanson on Saturday night, Holloway will take a big jump in the rankings and likely take aim at another top five opponent as he officially enters title contention in 2015.

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