UFC Las Vegas preview: Ryan Spann

Tomorrow night on the main card at UFC Las Vegas, we’ll see a big time match between two of the top ten heavyweight contenders. Nikita Krylov (29-9) and Ryan Spann (21-7) will both continue to look to work their way up the light heavyweight ladder into title contention.

Originally, these two were supposed to fight two weeks ago at UFC Vegas 70. However, on the night of the fight, Krylov fell ill and the fight was canceled after both men arrived at APEX. They re-booked the fight for tomorrow night and meet at 215 lbs.

This is actually Krylov’s second run with the UFC. During his first run he saw some mixed results and was ultimately not re-signed through promotion. After a four fight winning streak, the promotion brought him back to the light heavyweight division.

Since his return, he has gone 4-4. Definitely, the losses came against top competitors like Jan Blachovic, Glover Teixeira, Magomed Ankalayev and Paul Craig. He’s going to take back-to-back wins over Volkan Ozdemir and Aleksander Gustafsson to enter tomorrow night.

Ryan Spann has the looks and talent to be a title contender at 205 pounds. However, he has admitted that he did not take his career seriously until recently. In fact, he said he would only train two weeks for the fight. Now, he’s really dedicated himself and you can see the results.

After a tough loss to Anthony Smith, Spahn recorded back-to-back first round finishes. Even more impressive was his first round knockout victory over the returning Dominic Reyes again at UFC 281. That was a huge win.

Predict UFC Las Vegas

When it comes to mixing it all up, I love Nikita Krylov in this match. I think he brings with him a balance of skills that can allow him to be very successful in this encounter. However, there are things that make me pause in choosing him for tomorrow night.

Most importantly, he leaves plenty of holes in his hitting. Volkan Ozdemir was able to hurt him when they fought and that’s because of those holes he leaves. Right now, Ryan Spann seems to be clicking on all cylinders and has the power to turn out Krylov’s lights.

I could see this battle going one of two ways. It has now changed that this is three rounds instead of five. I could see Krylov collapsing and frustrating Span on his way to a late stop or a decision. The other way I see this happening is that Krylov left a big chance and Spahn knocked him out in the first round.

Call me crazy, but I’m leaning towards the latter. I think Ryan Spahn will make a run in the division and take his third straight win tomorrow night. In fact, he’ll get his third straight in his first Tour tomorrow.

Prediction: Ryan Spann by KO – first round