5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann

#2: Arman Tsarukyan – defeated Christos Giagos in a UFC lightweight bout

Arman Tsarukyan is due a big step up after his win over Christos Giagos.

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.

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#1. Anthony Smith – defeated Ryan Spann in UFC Fight Night main event

Anthony Smith is back in title contention after his win over Ryan Spann.

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.