Featherweight Cub Swanson will return to the Octagon following a layoff that lasted more than a year. He will take on fellow featherweight Daniel Pineda at UFC 256. While the UFC is yet to make an official confirmation, both the fighters have posted about the pairing on their social media.

Swanson’s last UFC outing took place last year against Kron Gracie. Swanson handed Gracie his first professional loss via a unanimous decision. The win earned him Fight of the Night honors. It also helped him break the streak of four back-to-back losses.

Prior to the win, Swanson had witnessed setbacks in his four consecutive outings to Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano, and Shane Burgos. With the win, it seemed as if he was ready to come out of what looked like a slump in his career. However, later that year, Swanson participated in Quintet Ultra grappling competition, which didn’t end up very well for him.

He tore his ACL and meniscus during the competition. This forced him out of action and hence, he couldn’t build his momentum off the win.

Cub Swanson vs Daniel Pineda promises to be an exciting contest

Swanson’s opponent has his own unique story coming into the fight. His most recent outing was against Herbert Burns, the younger brother of the next welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns. Despite being the underdog, the 35-year-old leveraged his experience to win the fight via a second-round knockout.

However, the story of how Pineda reached this point in his career is full of ups and downs.

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A professional competitor since 2007, Pineda was a former LFA featherweight champion. His first stint in the UFC saw him amass more losses than wins. Consequently, he was cut from the promotion. He then spent some time in Bellator as well in the LFA before ending up at PFL.

He won both his fights in the featherweight tournament of the PFL last year. However, following a failed drug test, the wins were turned into no-contest. Subsequently, he re-signed with the UFC in June earlier this year.

Swanson and Pineda will collide at UFC 256, with both of them hoping to capitalize on their previous victories. A fight for the bantamweight title between champ Petr Yan and No. 1 contender Aljamain Sterling is expected to headline the event.

WATCH: Fight Stopped After Vicious Elbows to the Head by Daniel Pineda