The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second straight event from the UFC Apex has its bright spots. Light heavyweights take center stage on Saturday in Las Vegas, and this Nikita Krylov-Ryan Spann pairing should bring the excitement, as they figure to race to a finish. Beyond that, there is a potentially enjoyable grappling match between Andre Muniz and Brendan Allen, as well as some intriguing Canadian-on-Canadian violence between welterweights Mike Malott and Yohan Lainesse. However, the most interesting piece of the entire card is the return of Tatiana Suarez, who looked set to contend for the strawweight title before nearly a four-year layoff. She returns to try and forge a path at flyweight against Montana De La Rosa.
Light Heavyweights
#6 LHW | Nikita Krylov (29-9, 10-7 UFC) vs. #8 LHW | Ryan Spann (21-7, 7-2 UFC)ODDS: Krylov (-170), Spann (+145)
The UFC’s light heavyweight division looks ready for some churn near the top, and these two are as good a bet as any to break through to contender status—in what should be an entertainingly violent fight, to boot. Krylov had one of the more infamous debuts in the UFC’s history back in 2013, as he came in as a 21-year-old heavyweight with a dubious record and proceeded to lose a hilariously sloppy fight to Soa Palelei after both men quickly exhausted themselves. Krylov seemed destined to be a footnote remembered only by the hardcore fans, but instead, he became a shockingly effective prospect, knocking out Walt Harris in 25 seconds before a drop to light heavyweight that seemingly unlocked all of his physical potential. His wins were not always pretty, as Krylov mostly leaned on aggression and durability over all else, but given the lows of his UFC debut, it was impressive to see him rise through the ranks with a five-fight winning streak that eventually came to an end against Misha Cirkunov in 2016. From there, “The Miner” fought in Russia for about two years on a lucrative deal that apparently earned him more than he would have been paid under the UFC banner, and since his 2018 return, he has been much the same fighter. His last three fights essentially sum up the Krylov experience: He looked impossible to knock out in his gutsy October win over Volkan Oezdemir, ran over an overmatched Alexander Gustafsson the fight before and completely forgot his submission defense in losing to Paul Craig the fight before that. Krylov is capable of winning or losing almost any fight, mostly of his own doing, and the same might be true of his opponent.
Spann cuts an impressive figure as a 6-foot-5 fighter with a massive reach, but it has been a bit of an adventure watching “Superman” attempt to channel his physical tools. It took Spann two tries to earn a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series, which set the tone for his UFC career. Karl Roberson knocked him out in just 15 seconds, but a year later, Spann turned around and tapped Emiliano Sordi in just 26 seconds. Spann has been occasionally cautious, most notably in a hideous win over Sam Alvey that was the UFC’s first post-pandemic layoff fight of 2020. However, most of his fights see him apply some pressure and quickly watch things descend into madness. Sometimes that benefits Spann, and sometimes it goes to his detriment, often in the same fight. Among his recent run of bouts, his loss to Johnny Walker and win over Ion Cutelaba stick out as fights that ended shortly after some swings in momentum. Win or lose, none of Spann’s last five appearances have made it past the four-minute mark, so he is at least learning to embrace the chaos; and his November win over Dominick Reyes was some cause for optimism. It may say more about Reyes’ recent slide than anything else, but Spann landed a sharp knockout with a jab and claimed afterwards it was the first time he had fully trained for a fight in his career. Still just 31 years old, Spann has enough time to make an impressive run up the ladder if he is truly unlocking something. Even if that is not the case, he still has a solid shot here in a fight that figures to be a chaotic coinflip. Krylov appears impossible to knock out, so there is a chance he is able to win a race to the finish on the feet, but he should quickly find his way to a takedown attempt, at which point he appears open to what has become Spann’s signature guillotine choke. There is no actual clear read in this, other than that the fight should be over quickly. The pick is Spann via first-round submission.
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Krylov vs. Spann
Muniz vs. Allen
Sakai vs. Mayes
Suarez vs. De La Rosa
Malott vs. Lainesse
Peek vs. Gonzalez
The Prelims