A week before the UFC takes over The Sphere in Las Vegas, they’ll be hosting an event at The APEX. Headlining that card will be a welterweight showdown between Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady. Today, we learned of another fun matchup that the promotion is planning for that card.
MMA Junkie was the first to report this afternoon that light heavyweight contenders Ryan Spann (21-10) and Ovince Saint Preux (27-17) will battle it out on September 7th. This is a big fight for both men and they both could really use this victory.
Starting with OSP, the 41-year-old is still going strong inside the octagon. Saint Preux fought back in March and he scored a split decision win over Kennedy Nzechukwu. That win moved him to 2-1 in his last three fights, but he’s only fought three total times in the last two years. The former interim title challenger will look for his second straight win which could have him knocking on the door of the UFC rankings.
UFC Fight Night
Standing across from Saint Preux on September 7th will be “Superman” Ryan Spann. Spann has really hit a wall as of late in terms of his momentum. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Spann won his first four fights inside the octagon. He then went 1-2 in his next three.
However, after that tough stretch, he had two straight first round finishes including a brutal knockout over Dominick Reyes. After the Reyes win, Spann had a ton of momentum in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He looked like a guy who would make his way up towards title contention.
However, he hasn’t won since. Spann has lost three fights in a row including getting finished twice. Now, he did lose to Anthony Smith by split decision and many thought he won that fight. That said, it goes down in the record books as a loss. He desperately needs a win if he wants his UFC career to continue.