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

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Bantamweights

NR | Tony Gravely (21-6, 2-1 UFC) vs. NR | Nathan Maness (13-1, 2-0 UFC)

ODDS: Gravely (-200), Maness (+170)

It is hard to get noticed in a division as stacked as bantamweight, but Gravely is someone to watch. He packed a surprisingly robust resume into four years on the regional scene, where he fought over 20 times and faced many future UFC and Bellator MMA fighters, making him a relatively polished competitor by the time he earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. Despite all the positives to Gravely’s game, it often felt like he was capable of more. He can strike well and has a dogged wrestling game, but things never quite coalesced into complete dominance, allowing his opponents to hang around much longer than they should on paper. That nearly cost him in 2020, as Geraldo de Freitas staged a late comeback, but that made it a pleasant surprise when Gravely seemed to turn a corner in his most recent bout against Anthony Birchak, immediately imposing his will and getting the ball rolling towards an early second-round finish. He will look for his third straight win against Maness, another fighter whose success would get far more notice in a much shallower division.

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Maness is an interesting fighter. Large for the division, he is a fairly consistent pressure fighter but seemed poised to a fault, as he will take his time to throw any actual volume. That has led to Maness skating some thin margins, but it has gotten him two wins in the UFC in as many tries, with a narrow decision victory over Johnny Munoz giving way to a comeback submission of Luke Sanders. Gravely’s wrestling should allow him to take over early, but between Maness’ size, skill and patience, the Kentuckian figures to survive, with a decent chance at a late finish. Still, the pick is for Gravely to hold on and take a decision.

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