Preview: UFC Fight Night 192 ‘Smith vs. Spann’

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Light Heavyweights

NR | Ion Cutelaba (15-6-1, 4-5-1 UFC) vs. NR | Devin Clark (12-5, 6-5 UFC)

ODDS: Cutelaba (-140), Clark (+120)

Frustrating light heavyweight talents square off in the co-feature. Just 22 years old when he made his UFC debut in 2016, Cutelaba was a high-ceiling prospect in a division badly in need of one. However, in the ensuing five years, the Moldovan’s career has mostly gone sideways. “The Hulk” has a lot of tools, including some knockout power and a wrestling game that has proven effective when he chooses to lean on it, but Cutelaba is the definition of a fighter who is aggressive to a fault. Cutelaba almost always finds some early success, but if it does not result in a finish, things tend to go wildly off the rails. The lone decision win of Cutelaba’s career came against Jonathan Wilson in 2016, and many of his losses have seen him come apart at the seams and charge directly into danger; he at least survived all the way to a draw after a hot start against Dustin Jacoby in May.

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It is a similar story for Clark, who has shown a knack for winning his fights up until the moment that he suddenly loses. That was true going as far back as the 2016 debut: The “Brown Bear” had a victory over Alex Nicholson well in hand before charging directly into a knockout blow. Clark is a powerhouse of an athlete who is capable of grinding out a win, but a lack of defensive awareness keeps coming back to bite him. Early on, it was bursts of aggression that got him caught by Nicholson, Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic, but recent losses to Ryan Spann and Anthony Smith saw Clark get caught with a submission in grappling exchanges. On the plus side for Clark, this could look a lot like his fight against Alonzo Menifield. Like Menifield, Cutelaba can cause a lot of early damage but will likely be too tired to accomplish much of anything past the first frame. With that said, it is still difficult to pick Clark against someone who can provide such a large amount of danger to kick off the fight. The pick is Cutelaba via first-round stoppage.

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