5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic

#2. Ryan Spann – defeated Ion Cutelaba in a UFC light heavyweight bout

Ryan Spann's win over Ion Cutelaba should move him back into title contention.

The UFC’s light heavyweight division is in an interesting position right now. There are many contenders – both aging veterans and rising prospects – looking to climb to the top, and unlike when Jon Jones held the title there, champion Glover Teixeira feels somewhat vulnerable.

That means any fight between ranked fighters at 205lbs is fascinating to watch. So the fact that #13-ranked Ryan Spann was able to beat a dangerous foe in Ion Cutelaba in impressive fashion last night makes him one of the event’s biggest winners.

The fight was somewhat sloppy, with both men almost throwing too much into their strikes in an attempt to finish the other. However, when Cutelaba left his neck wide open, ‘Superman’ pounced and locked up a high-angle guillotine choke to force him to tap out.

The win was Spann’s sixth in the octagon. When you consider all of his tools – he’s a huge 205 lber with finishing ability both standing and on the ground – it’s difficult not to consider him a genuine title contender right now.

Is he good enough to deal with the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Jiri Prochazka? It’s difficult to say, but this win erases the memory of his poor loss to Anthony Smith and put him in a fight with an opponent of that calibre – making him a big winner on the night.

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#1. Jan Blachowicz – defeated Aleksandar Rakic in a UFC light heavyweight bout

It didn't come how he'd have liked, but Jan Blachowicz's win last night was big.

His victory certainly didn’t come in the way he would’ve hoped, but it’s difficult not to consider Jan Blachowicz as last night’s biggest winner. Not only did he pick up his first win since losing the UFC light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira, he beat one of the division’s most highly touted prospects too.

Did Blachowicz take out Aleksandar Rakic in a flurry of punches as he did to the likes of Luke Rockhold and Dominick Reyes? Well, no. The fight was one of those unfortunate ones that ended with an injury. Rakic’s left leg appeared to buckle when he attempted to throw a strike, leaving him unable to continue.

Nevertheless, it’d be difficult to say that Blachowicz’s work didn’t lead to the injury occurring. He threw a number of nasty low kicks to the legs of ‘The Rocket’, and it was probably the damage done to them that caused the Austrian’s knee to pop.

Given that Blachowicz is now 39, had he lost here, it would’ve been easy to imagine a scenario that would’ve seen him tumble down the rankings. However, given that he beat the #3 ranked fighter in the division, there’s every chance he could secure another title shot. That's particularly if Magomed Ankalaev fails to beat Anthony Smith impressively, or Jiri Prochazka takes out Teixeira in their upcoming clash.

It’s unlikely we’ll see the Polish fighter claim the gold again, but even climbing back into contention is huge for him, making him last night’s biggest winner.