The UFC has booked a pivotal headliner in the light heavyweight division for September. Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith (35-16) is going to be taking on Ryan Spann (19-6). This fight is scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night on September 18th.
Smith first dropped the news this past weekend on UFC programming and has since confirmed on Twitter. Lionheart will once again be taking on a hungry up-and-comer who will be looking to use him as a stepping stone.
Ryan Spann has been close to perfect since he made his UFC debut. Spann earned himself a contract with the world’s premier MMA organization when he appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2018.
He submitted his opponent in just 26 seconds to earn himself a contract. Once in the UFC, Spann won his first four fights including a submission win over Devin Clark. The highlight of his first four fights was a knockout win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Brazil.
After starting 4-0, the UFC gave him a shot against Johnny Walker. The fight was back-and-forth and ultimately Walker got the first round stoppage. However, Spann bounced back well when he stopped the tough Misha Cirkunov in the first round back in March.
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As for Lionheart, he will be looking to pick up his third straight victory. The last time we saw Smith he was taking on the surging Jimmy Crute at UFC 261. Lionheart looked better than ever that night. Smith used his jab to really do some damage throughout the first round.
Then, Lionheart landed a beautiful leg kick that completely messed up the knee of Jimmy Crute. Crute tried to fight through it but the doctor called a stop to the action in between rounds and Smith picked up the TKO win at UFC 261.
That was the second straight victory for Smith who looks more motivated than ever. Last year, Smith suffered a really tough defeat at the hands of Glover Teixeira. After that loss, he was dominated by Aleksandar Rakic and Smith looked like a shell of himself in that fight.
Many were questioning the UFC future of Smith. However, Lionheart found his motivation and scored back-to-back wins by stoppage. Taking this fight against a guy like Ryan Spann shows that Smith is simply ready to take on all comers and that Lionheart is a dangerous Lionheart.