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Last weekend saw the UFC present a Fight Night show that was a little low on star power, and the same can be said for this weekend’s visit to Las Vegas, too.
UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann has some fights that should be fun to watch, but overall, the event does lack name value.
Still, with a number of exciting fighters in action, it should still be worth watching.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann.
#1. UFC light heavyweight division: Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
While the winner of this light-heavyweight bout isn’t likely to be knocking on the door of a title shot, they’ll definitely have advanced their cause towards the top five.
Right now, Nikita Krylov is ranked at #6 in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division, while Ryan Spann sits two spots below him in #8. With both men on two-fight win streaks, this one promises to be a close fight. So who will come out on top?
Of the two, Krylov has more experience at the top level, and slightly more experience overall. ‘The Miner’ debuted in the octagon way back in 2013 as a sloppy heavyweight, but it was his drop to 205lbs in 2014 that really energised him.
After losing his divisional debut to Ovince St. Preux, Krylov rose into contention with five straight wins before surprisingly finding himself cut from the promotion after a loss to Misha Cirkunov.
It turned out that the Ukrainian had asked for his release in order to gain some more experience – but after four wins on the regional scene, he was back.
Since his 2018 return, it’s been up-and-down for Krylov, who has won four fights but lost four, too. However, right now he’s on a high, having beaten two former title challengers in Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir.
Spann, meanwhile, reeled off four straight wins in the octagon after his 2018 debut to mark himself out as a man to watch. He’s since suffered two losses, but has also beaten the likes of Dominick Reyes, Ion Cutelaba and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Interestingly enough, the thread that ties these fighters together is that they’re far better on offense than they are on defense.
Neither ‘The Miner’ nor ‘Superman’ are that durable, having suffered 12 defeats via finish between them, and that’s probably because their reckless nature tends to put them in danger of being caught.
Both men have knockout power in their strikes, and while both men have submission wins to their name, they’re more likely to grab a hold in transition than run a grappling clinic on a foe.
Krylov probably has an advantage if the fight turns out to be a wild scramble, as he’s shown himself to be adept at reversing positions on the ground and appears to have slightly better cardio.
However, there’s a bigger chance that the fight will remain standing, and in that sense, Spann – with his 4” reach advantage – might have the edge.
Despite that, ‘Superman’ also has the more questionable chin of the two, and that means that Krylov probably has more ways to win, particularly if he can get inside Spann’s reach.
This should be a difficult one to call and it’s unlikely it’ll go the distance, but the pick is ‘The Miner’.
The Pick: Krylov via second-round KO
#2. UFC middleweight division: Andre Muniz vs. Brendan Allen
This weekend’s co-main event pits two highly rated middleweights against one another in what could prove to be a fascinating battle.
Of the two, Andre Muniz is both more highly ranked and also more proven in the UFC. If anything, he’s unfortunate not to be ranked higher than his current slot of #11.
‘Sergipano’ is unbeaten in the octagon at 5-0, and hasn’t been beating scrubs, either. His last win came over Uriah Hall, and he’s the only man to ever submit legendary grappler Jacare Souza in MMA, tapping him with an armbar in 2021.
With a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and 15 of his 23 career wins coming via submission, there’s an argument that Muniz might be the most dangerous grappler in the promotion at 185lbs right now.
However, it’s arguable that in the form of Brendan Allen, he’s facing a slightly better-rounded foe. Not only is ‘All In’ a strong grappler in his own right, with eleven wins via tapout, but he’s also an excellent striker too.
Since his octagon debut in 2019, Allen has reeled off eight wins, including finishes of Kevin Holland, Karl Roberson and Krzysztof Jotko. A win here would definitely move him into the rankings.
It’s probably fair to suggest, though, that on the ground, Muniz will have an edge over ‘All In’. Allen has only been submitted once in his career, but it’s still unlikely he’ll be able to compete on the mat with ‘Sergipano’.
The question, then, becomes whether Allen can keep this one standing. On the feet we’ve seen Muniz struggle at times, most notably in his octagon debut against Antonio Arroyo, a bout that also saw him tire out badly.
Can Allen prevent the takedown? Perhaps, but the issue for him is going to be that because of his well-rounded nature, he probably won’t look to avoid areas like the clinch.
If that’s the case, then this fight is likely to hit the ground at some point, and based on what we’ve seen of him, with Muniz that’s often all it takes.
The Pick: Muniz via first-round submission
#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card
In a heavyweight bout, Augusto Sakai faces Don’Tale Mayes. It’s safe to say that this is probably the last chance saloon for Sakai. The Brazilian has not won a fight since 2020, and has lost his last four, all via TKO.
However, it’s also fair to point out that Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa and Serghei Spivac are all far better than Mayes.
‘Kong’ is a heavy hitter, but he’s also plodding, hittable, and looked pretty bad in his last fight, which saw his loss changed to a No Contest when opponent Hamdy Abdelwahab tested positive for PED’s.
Essentially, if Sakai still has anything left in the tank, then he ought to win this one handily in the same fashion that he beat the likes of Marcin Tybura and Andrei Arlovski. The fact that he hasn’t fought in six months should help. The pick is Sakai via TKO.
In the women’s flyweight division, the returning Tatiana Suarez takes on Montana De La Rosa. Put simply, if Suarez comes into this one even close to the form she showed before the litany of injuries that have kept her out since 2019, she should win easily.
A former Olympic hopeful in wrestling, the TUF 22 winner has powerful takedowns and is a monster on the ground, famously running through Carla Esparza in 2018 in a hugely impressive showing.
De La Rosa is a solid fighter, but nothing she’s ever done suggests she could handle prime Suarez. Whether Suarez comes in rusty is another thing entirely, but even if she does, ‘Monty’ simply lacks the athleticism needed to come out on top. The pick is Suarez via TKO.
Finally, Mike Malott squares off with Yohan Lainesse in a welterweight clash. Both of these men have similar records, with Malott at 8-1 and Lainesse at 9-1, although it’s arguable that ‘Proper Mike’ has the most memorable win of the two.
He stopped Mickey Gall in an impressive octagon debut last April, showing poise, power and plenty of striking skill. He also went viral after donating half of his fight purse to help his coach’s daughter battle cancer.
Can he win here? Lainesse has looked decent in his brief octagon run, but he was also badly blitzed on the feet by Gabriel Green in 2022, and so ‘Proper Mike’ will hope to repeat that showing here.
This one is tricky to call, but the pick is Malott via KO.
#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims
Picks in bold
UFC flyweight division: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Gabriella Fernandes
UFC lightweight division: Jordan Leavitt vs. Victor Martinez
UFC lightweight division: Joe Solecki vs. Carl Deaton III
UFC catchweight bout: Ode Osbourne vs. Charles Johnson
UFC lightweight division: Rafael Alves vs. Nurollo Aliev
UFC bantamweight division: Hailey Cowan vs. Ailin Perez
UFC bantamweight division: Garrett Armfield vs. Jose Johnson
UFC lightweight division: Erick Gonzalez vs. Trevor Peek
