Top-ranked UFC featherweight Cub Swanson (21-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC) today told MMAjunkie Radio he was offered the winner of this month’s title rematch between champ Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes and instead chose a fight with Frankie Edgar (17-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 57.

“That’s what this is about, is fighting the biggest names and giving the fans what they want,” Swanson said. “So I wanted to just take the fight.”

Swanson, who headlines opposite ex-lightweight champ Edgar on Nov. 22 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, said the UFC promised him a title fight after his dominant win over Jeremy Stephens in June at UFC Fight Night 44. It was his sixth straight in the octagon, but the promotion said he would need to wait for the opportunity.

The scenario sounded familiar to Swanson, who had sat out nearly a year after his fifth straight win as he anticipated a shot at the belt. He figured if Aldo beat Mendes at this month’s UFC 179, he would have to wait for the champ to recover. If Mendes took the title, there would be an immediate rematch, shelving him for another extended stretch.

“I sat out a whole year waiting for a big fight, and I got Jeremy Stephens,” he said. “It was a tough fight, but he wasn’t very high in the rankings.

“I was kind of upset that they made me wait that long, so this time around, they wanted me to wait again, and they said I was getting next title shot, just to sit out and wait. I figured I’m in my prime now, I can’t be sitting out years at a time for one fight.”

Swanson said Edgar’s repeated lobbying to fight him made an impact when he decided to stay busy, although there were complications in putting the matchup together. When the UFC first tried to schedule the bout, they asked Swanson to fight on short notice at UFC Fight Night 53, looking to bolster the UFC Fight Pass-streamed card.

“That was the first fight I ever turned down,” he said. “It was short notice, and I had just fought on FOX Sports 1 in a main event, and this one was going to be a Fight Pass card, and I think those are huge, but it felt like it was a step backward. I wanted to be on a FOX card, the Phoenix one (at UFC on FOX 13), but we got this one.”

UFC Fight Night 57’s main card, including Edgar vs. Swanson, airs live on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Edgar also pressed for a five-round headliner, which Swanson took to mean he would grind out a decision. Edgar is a takedown specialist in addition to his sharp boxing skills, and he can take a punch, but Swanson isn’t concerned that he’s in for a long slog.

“I’m going to do my thing,” he said. “The crazy thing is, every time (Edgar) gets hurt, he seems to get stronger, so that’s something we’ve looked at. But I have a lot of confidence in myself at this point in my career. I feel like I’m going to be at the top, it’s inevitable, and I’m really just trusting in my coaches, and I really feel like I’m going to be the first one to stop him, that we’re not going to go five rounds.”

Although Swanson is slightly miffed that Edgar’s name is ahead of his on the poster, he’s still not at the point where he’s going to follow other fighters in amping up the self-promotion. He’s even made his peace with a former nemesis, Conor McGregor, who appears on the fast track to win a title shot despite only four appearances in the octagon.

“He’s kind of Muhammed Ali-ish, and I give him credit for that,” Swanson said. “When he called me out early on, I was like, ‘Look, man. Work your way up the ladder, then talk,’ and he did it. I can’t hate on somebody. He backed everything up. He did a great job of that, it’s just obviously, when someone’s disrespectful to you, you have a hard time liking them.”

Swanson could head to Brazil to sit cageside as Aldo and Mendes duke it out on Oct. 25 in Rio de Janeiro, but he’s opting instead to stay at home and celebrate his mother’s birthday. He figures it’s time better spent.

“After so long in my career, I know I’m firing on all cylinders,” he said. “I’m hungry, and I feel like I’m owning that spot. I feel like I deserve to be in the spotlight and deserve to have the big names, so I think Frankie Edgar is the perfect opponent at this point.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 57 and UFC 179, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.