Billy Quarantillo shares five-word reaction looking back at Cub Swanson's brutal knockout of him at UFC Tampa
Billy Quarantillo's crushing knockout loss to Cub Swanson was one of the highlights of UFC Tampa. It was a third-round flattening for the man himself, who has just taken to X/Twitter to react to his own defeat. Naturally, he had little to say about the loss.
Nevertheless, he offered his thoughts on it while replying to a clip of the knockout, and his reaction highlighted the shocking nature of it. Hardly anyone expected it, given the fight's competitive nature and that Quarantillo himself is extremely difficult to knock unconscious.
"Did not see that coming..."
It seems that Quarantillo was just as shocked by the knockout as the MMA fandom was. It's often the strikes that fighters don't see coming, in fact, that most often lead to knockouts, or at least knockdowns. The loss punctuations a difficult run of form that has plagued Quarantillo since late 2020.
After an impressive 8-fight win streak, the UFC featherweight embarked on a win-loss run, going 3-5 in his next 8 fights. Moreover, he is now on a two-fight losing streak, having been previously submitted in two rounds by Youssef Zalal. His prior loss to that was another thunderous knockout loss, this time to Edson Barboza.
Where Quarantillo goes from here is anyone's guess, but he is low on options. He is unranked in the UFC featherweight division, has struggled with consistency for four years, and just turned 36 years old. His best days are behind him, and once the losses start piling up, it'll be difficult for him to justify his roster spot.
Billy Quarantillo was one of many knockout victims at UFC Tampa
Billy Quarantillo gave Cub Swanson his first true knockout win since 2020. Fortunately for him, he wasn't the only fighter to get flattened at UFC Tampa. Light heavyweight prospect Vitor Petrino was knocked out cold by Dustin Jacoby in a stunning upset.
Check out Dustin Jacoby's knockout of Vitor Petrino:
Similarly, Michael Johnson's destruction of fellow power-puncher Ottman Azaitar also left fans jaw-dropped, with both knockouts winning performance bonuses. Another flush knockout was Joel Álvarez's flying knee against Drakkar Klose in under three minutes of their lightweight affair.