Light Heavyweights
#10 LHW | Ryan Spann (21-8, 7-3 UFC) vs. #8 LHW | Anthony Smith (36-18, 11-8 UFC)This should be an enjoyable bit of chaos, but the UFC’s matchmaking is a bit surprising, as this is a rematch of a September 2021 main event that saw Smith quickly win via submission. Given that there seemed to be some bad blood afterwards, it does not appear either fighter will mind. That victory was the last win for Smith, who is well-established at this point in a surprisingly successful second act with the UFC. Cut shortly after coming over from Strikeforce in 2013, “Lionheart” worked his way back to the promotion in 2016 but did not have particularly high expectations upon his return. Smith eventually settled into a solid spot in the UFC’s middleweight division, but a move up to 205 pounds in 2018 paid huge dividends. With the light heavyweight division in need of new blood, Smith racked up three wins in less than five months to become Jon Jones’ top contender. After dropping his challenge to Jones, Smith has essentially settled in as the gatekeeper to the light heavyweight title picture, all while getting matched in some interesting fights. Smith’s bouts usually hinge on someone finding one advantage and then prying things completely open—something that has worked both ways with Smith having both one-sided wins and blowout losses on his ledger.
That has also been true of Spann, whose fights have rarely gone out of the first round in what is now a 10-fight UFC career. At 6-foot-5 and with a massive reach, Spann is certainly a physical standout, but “Superman” rarely leverages those abilities into any sort of consistent control. He is instead usually willing to just step in and let things happen, which has resulted in some massive momentum swings even in fights that only last a few minutes. Spann looked to be kickstarting a bit of a run after his first encounter with Smith—until he got triangle choked by Nikita Krylov in March, which was a stark reminder that things can quickly go in both directions for Spann. Smith might be fading a bit after a hard-fought career, but it is also hard to look at the first fight and say much has changed in the way of the dynamic, so the call is for this rematch to go the same way. The pick is Smith via first-round submission.
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Holloway vs. Jung
Spann vs. Smith
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The Prelims