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UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann was not the most star-studded UFC show of 2021. But there was still plenty on offer to interest the fans. With several impressive performances and finishes, UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann should offer a few talking points for the next few days.
Various fighters picked up key wins – either climbing into title contention or saving their UFC roster spot. So the ramifications from last night could be felt for a while.
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On that note, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann.
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#5. Ion Cutelaba – defeated Devin Clark in UFC Fight Night co-main event
Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night, if Ion Cutelaba didn’t have his back to the wall, it was probably very close. ‘The Hulk’ had not won a fight since his 2019 win over Khalil Rountree, and his violent style appeared to have been found out.
Essentially, it looked like if an opponent could weather the early storm, Cutelaba would inevitably fade and become an easy picking in the later rounds. Last night, it looked like Devin Clark had somehow been able to weather the storm.
‘The Brown Bear’ took a horrendous beating in the first round. He suffered a bad knockdown and ate up a ridiculous amount of strikes both standing and on the ground. However, Cutelaba simply couldn’t finish his opponent. Usually, that would’ve been the cue for the Moldovan to gas out and allow Clark to take the final two rounds, probably leaving the result of the fight in doubt.
However, Cutelaba looked much improved in terms of his cardio and self-control. He continued to take the fight to Clark in a more workmanlike manner. Not only did he hammer ‘The Brown Bear’ on the feet, but he also controlled the grappling parts of the fight, besting Clark there too.
Whether this new, improved ‘Hulk’ can become a genuine contender in the UFC’s now-packed 205 lbs division is another thing entirely. That's because trickier opponents than Clark lie in wait for him. For now, though, his UFC career rolls on, which makes him one of the night’s big winners.
#4. Nate Maness – defeated Tony Gravely in a UFC bantamweight bout
With an overall record of 13-1 and two UFC victories in the bag, last night was a big test for bantamweight Nate Maness. Defeat Tony Gravely, and he’d probably earn a substantial amount of hype. Lose, though, and ‘Mayhem’ was perhaps set for a life on UFC undercards, just hoping for some traction before his inevitable jettisoning from the promotion.
Early on in his clash with Gravely, it looked like the latter would be the path he’d tread. A back-and-forth round ended with Gravely dropping Maness badly, and ‘Mayhem’ was essentially saved by the buzzer. Ten more seconds, and the fight would probably have been over.
However, Maness survived, and surprised everyone by looking pretty fresh once the second round got underway. And a further – bigger – surprise came when ‘Mayhem’ clonked Gravely with a big right hand two minutes into the round before finishing him with some follow-up shots.
This win was not only a dramatic comeback, but also moves Maness to 3-0 in the UFC. That should put him in line for a much bigger fight next time out – making him one of last night’s biggest winners.
#3. Joaquin Buckley – defeated Antonio Arroyo in a UFC middleweight bout
After his spectacular knockout of Impa Kasanganay went instantly viral last year, hopes were high for Joaquin Buckley's UFC future.
However, despite following that win with another knockout – over Jordan Wright – the wheels quickly came off Buckley's hype train when he was knocked out by Alessio di Chirico in January. That left ‘New Mansa’ desperate for a win last night. Despite some tricky moments against Antonio Arroyo, he pulled it off in spectacular fashion, though.
Buckley survived a nasty flying knee in the second round, and knowing he was behind on the scorecards, came out to push the pace in the third. He backed Arroyo up before hurting him with a wild shot, before finishing him off with a savage upper-cut from close range.
The win moves Buckley to 3-2 in the UFC. While that’s not an outstanding record in itself, the nature of his wins means he’ll always elicit attention from the fans. Expect him to be moved up the ladder again for his next fight.
#2: Arman Tsarukyan – defeated Christos Giagos in a UFC lightweight bout
Given he was 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming against Islam Makhachev, you’d have been forgiven for being confused about Arman Tsarukyan’s opponent last night.
Sure, Christos Giagos was on a two-fight win streak and has a solid UFC record of 5-4. But ‘The Spartan’ didn’t exactly feel like a step up for the Russian. There was an obvious reason for that, though.
Essentially, with his grapple-heavy style, Tsarukyan came off like the kind of fighter other UFC stars would want to avoid – basically the spot occupied by Makhachev a few years back.
That may change after last night, though. Tsarukyan stopped Giagos in the first round with some brutal strikes, picking up his first UFC finish in the process. More to the point, he showed he has more in his arsenal than a powerful grappling game.
What’s next for this dangerous lightweight? If he gets his way, it could be someone like Tony Ferguson or Dan Hooker – meaning a big step up. Based on yesterday's display, the Russian is well and truly prepared for such a step.
#1. Anthony Smith – defeated Ryan Spann in UFC Fight Night main event
Last night’s biggest winner was undoubtedly former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith. ‘Lionheart’ came into his main-event clash with Ryan Spann apparently feeling disrespected, and it was easy to see why.
He was largely being written off as a past-his-prime gatekeeper, despite winning his last two fights by finish. More of the hype appeared to be on Spann, a rising prospect in the UFC light-heavyweight division.
That should be very different this morning, though, after Smith took out Spann in violent fashion, hurting the latter with strikes before choking him out in the first round.
‘Lionheart’ remained fired up after the fight was over. He almost started another brawl with Spann before sanity prevailed, which is almost understandable. He would have been written off in terms of a potential title challenge in the future, but based on this performance, stranger things could happen.
Smith might not get a rematch with Aleksandar Rakic. But a fight with another high-flying prospect like Johnny Walker or Magomed Ankalaev is definitely possible – giving ‘Lionheart’ an unlikely path back into contention.
