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After a weekend without any action, the UFC returns to Las Vegas this weekend for UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann.
As a Fight Night show, this UFC card isn’t heavy on name value. But with a number of decent-sounding fights, it should be enough to pique the interest of fans anyway.
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Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann.
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#1: UFC light-heavyweight division: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
This weekend’s UFC main event pits a rising prospect in the light-heavyweight division against the premier gatekeeper at 205 lbs. Get past Anthony Smith, and title contention could well be in the near future for Ryan Spann.
Smith has now been in the UFC for a surprisingly long time – five years since the start of his second stint with the promotion. And his record during that period – 10-5 – is one of the more underrated in the promotion, given the caliber of opponents he has faced.
Formerly a 185 lber, ‘Lionheart’ is now one of the larger fighters at 205 lbs. He’s not a hulking specimen like Ion Cutelaba or William Knight, for instance. But at 6' 4”, he has got a long and lanky frame which has largely served him well.
Skilled in all areas, Smith is a classic jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. His striking is good, both at range and from close quarters. On the ground, he’s a capable grappler from the bottom and the top.
The big knock on Lionheart used to be the fact that he was somewhat of a glass cannon, which explains a lot of his earlier losses. More recently, though, he has looked as tough as nails, surviving five rounds with Jon Jones and taking a horrendous beating from Glover Teixeira before finally succumbing.
Outside of those two losses, his only other recent defeat in the UFC was to Aleksandar Rakic. Rakic largely picked him apart both on the feet and on the ground. Worryingly, Lionheart looked every bit like a 33-year old fighter who has been competing for over a decade.
Spann is actually only three years younger than Smith. But ‘Superman’ started his MMA career five years later, and has only been in the UFC since 2018.
When he debuted, his MMA record of 15-5 didn’t look all that impressive – particularly as he lost to mid-tier UFC middleweight Karl Roberson on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017.
However, since arriving in the octagon, Spann has been pretty good. He defeated Luis Henrique on his debut, and then knocked out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to make somewhat of a name for himself.‘Lil Nog’ was far past his prime at that point, though.
Wins over Devin Clark, Sam Alvey and Misha Cirkunov have followed, though – suggesting ‘Superman’ could be a genuine threat to the UFC light-heavyweight title. Even his lone loss, to the explosive Johnny Walker, came in a fight he was initially winning.
Spann hits very hard, has submission prowess, and despite holding three losses by KO, seems to be tough enough. So can he beat Smith?
Basically, it should come down to how much Lionheart has left in the tank. On paper, at least, this is a winnable fight for him. Smith has more experience at the top level, won’t go away easily, and is offensively strong in all areas.
However, the Rakic fight suggested he’s slowing down a little. More worryingly, Spann is actually bigger than Rakic, standing at 6' 5” and holding an 81% reach advantage. Whether Superman can keep a high enough pace over five rounds to beat Smith is the big question mark, but this could well prove to be a coming out party for him.
The Pick: Spann via fourth-round TKO.
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#2: UFC light-heavyweight division: Ion Cutelaba vs. Devin Clark
The co-main event on this weekend’s UFC card also takes place in the 205 lb division. It pits two of the UFC’s more inconsistent, yet talented fighters against one another. But which one will win?
Both men debuted in the UFC almost at the same time. Cutelaba entered the octagon in June 2016, while Clark followed suit a month later. And both have similar records, too, with Cutelaba being 4-5-1 in the UFC and Clark 6-5.
However, that’s largely where the similarities end. Clark is more of a grinding fighter who wears down his opponents in wars of attrition. Of his six UFC wins, all have come via decision, while he has been finished violently by every man to have beaten him.
Cutelaba, meanwhile, is one of the most explosive fighters on the entire UFC roster. Everything he does comes with maximum aggression, whether he’s throwing haymakers or firing into double leg takedowns to set up his ground-and-pound.
‘The Hulk’ probably won’t develop into a title contender as some would’ve hoped at this point. But he’s still remarkably dangerous, particularly early on in fights. Even in his losses, he started off quickly and was usually able to hurt his opponent before slowing down.
Basically, this one should come down to whether Clark can stop Cutelaba’s wild rush and wear him down without getting hurt. It’s a tricky proposition, though.
‘The Brown Bear’ did pull off a similar gameplan against Alonzo Menifield in his most recent UFC win. But Menifield doesn’t have the wrestling game that ‘The Hulk’ possesses, which make him very much a one-dimensional opponent.
In this fight, Clark will probably have to be even more careful than he was in that clash. Realistically, it’s not likely to end well for him. Fighters who’ve been able to violently rush Clark have tended to win, a trend that looks likely to continue.
The Pick: Cutelaba via first-round KO.
#3: UFC Fight Night: Main Card
As of the time of writing, three more fights are set for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night main card. In a flyweight bout, Ariane Lipski will take on Mandy Bohm. This fight was initially pegged for the UFC Fight Night card two weeks ago, but got postponed.
It also marks the 7-0 Bohm’s UFC debut. While that record sounds strong, she hasn’t really fought anyone who is UFC-calibre just yet. This, then, sounds like a tricky debut for her. Lipski hasn’t quite reached her potential yet. But her aggressive style makes her a match for anyone, particularly a debutant. Considering the same, the pick is Lipski via decision.
In a fascinating lightweight clash, Arman Tsarukyan will face Christos Giagos. Tsarukyan debuted against Islam Makhachev in 2019. Interestingly, he seems to have now settled into the Dagestani’s spot on the UFC roster as the grappling monster nobody really wants to face.
Giagos is a capable fighter, though, and should be able to give Tsarukyan a test. An excellent technical grappler, he lacks the athleticism to make the top of the UFC. But he’s still more than capable of submitting opponents or grinding out wins.
However, this sounds like a bad fight for him. Tsarukyan is a phenomenal wrestler and grappler, appears to be stronger than Giagos, and should be capable of pushing a nasty pace. The pick is Tsarukyan via submission for this fight.
Finally, Joaquin Buckley will take on Antonio Arroyo in a middleweight bout. Buckley famously went viral thanks to a wild spinning kick KO in 2020. But he hasn’t really been able to follow that up. He’s now coming off a bad loss to Alessio di Chirico in January.
This fight may prove to be better for him, though. Arroyo is wildly aggressive in all areas, but does have a tendency to leave himself open. He hasn’t picked up a win in the UFC to date. He is also likely to be at a speed disadvantage in this one. So the pick, then, is Buckley via TKO.
#4: UFC Fight Night: Preliminary bouts
Picks in bold
UFC light-heavyweight division: Mike Rodriguez vs. Tafon Nchukwi
UFC bantamweight division: Pannie Kianzad vs. Raquel Pennington
UFC bantamweight division: Nate Maness vs. Tony Gravely
UFC lightweight division: Dakota Bush vs. Zhu Rong
UFC bantamweight division: Montel Jackson vs. JP Buys
UFC flyweight division: Erin Blanchfield vs. Sarah Alpar
UFC welterweight division: Impa Kasanganay vs. Carlston Harris
UFC bantamweight division: Gustavo Lopez vs. Heili Alateng
UFC strawweight division: Hannah Goldy vs. Emily Whitmire
UFC lightweight division: Niklas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp.
