Cub Swanson rode off into the sunset in an idyllic fashion, with one of his long-time peers giving the UFC Hall of Famer props. Benson Henderson is the combatant in question who spoke on Swanson hanging up the gloves as the former prepared for his MMA return against Patrick Habirora at PFL Brussels last week. Swanson finished Nate Landwehr with a knockout in the final minute of the opening round at UFC 327 and capped off a legendary career in cinematic fashion.

That early 2010s and late 2000s WEC era takes up a special place in the hearts of millennial mixed martial arts enthusiasts. A lot was made of Cub Swanson hanging up the gloves and being among the final WEC alumni who were among the last guys of his era. As a former WEC champion before he hoisted UFC gold, Benson Henderson is well woven within that tradition. When describing his thoughts on Cub’s swan song fight in April and if he caught it live considering he is watching MMA a fair bit less these days, Henderson said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yeah, I was able. One of our guys; I never watch the fights nowadays unless one of my little brothers, one of my little sisters are fighting. I forgot who it was, but one of one of our guys fought that card. Maybe the fight before him or two fights before him. I was able to watch his last fight. That was awesome. It was great… [Cub Swanson] looked good.”

Cub Swanson is doing things his way, and Benson Henderson is a huge fan of that

Further delving into not just his final in-cage performance but the general authenticity of Cub Swanson, Henderson continued [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“[Cub Swanson] performed well. He did a great job and he’s one of those guys honest, earnest, down to earth, like who you talk to off camera, same person you’re talking to on camera. So he’s a good guy. I’ve always been a huge fan of Cub almost his whole career. I love the guy. I think he’s a good guy. I was happy to see him out there getting his hand raised still and doing things the way he wants to do it, doing things his way.”