UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night - Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
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.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann.
#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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