FRESNO, Calif. – Cub Swanson bet big on himself at UFC Fight Night 123. It didn’t go his way against Brian Ortega in Saturday’s headliner, but UFC President Dana White offered some hope.

Swanson (25-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) fought out the final bout on his UFC contract, losing to Ortega (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) by second-round submission in the FS1-televised featherweight bout at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Swanson now has an exclusive negotiating period with the UFC before becoming a free agent.

The 10-year UFC/WEC veteran brought a four-fight winning streak into the event and was looking to close his deal with a statement win. He fell short of that objective and said afterward that he’s uncertain whether the UFC will offer him a satisfactory contract.

“It stings,” Swanson told MMAjunkie. “It just gets thrown back in your face, ‘You don’t win the big ones.’ So, it’s like, what am I going to say? I’m sure we’ll negotiate. Dana said ‘let’s make a deal’ from outside the cage. But do I got to crawl back and say, ‘OK, I’ll take that deal I said no to’?”

“We’ll see,” he continued. “I’m going to enjoy family over Christmas and all that and try not to be in low spirits. I thought I fought great. I just didn’t get the ending I wanted.”

White spoke to the media after Swanson and provided some insight about what could happen next. In recent years, a number of notable free agents have left the UFC for rival promotions such as Bellator, and in the past White has been rather honest about those he’s willing to part ways with.

That wasn’t the case for Swanson, though. White said the fan favorite still belongs in the UFC and hinted that he will do what he can to make a deal that pleases the featherweight contender.

“I yelled up to him, ‘Let’s get a deal done,'” White said. “Cub’s been around forever. He’s a great kid, and I like him, and hopefully we can get something done with him, and I can keep him happy. I want him to be happy.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 123, check out the UFC Events section of the site.