Anthony Smith vs Ryan Spann fight prediction

UFC veteran Anthony Smith has long been considered a serious threat to light heavyweight champion John Jones until he came face to face with him. After, the career of "Lionheart" began to decline, but now he has come to another "rebirth", having gained a couple of convincing victories.

In the main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 192, Anthony will face “Superman” from Texas - Ryan Spann, who has gained serious momentum lately. The high percentage of early victories for both promises the audience a bright spectacle, and who will emerge from it as the winner - we will analyze it in our forecast.

Anthony Smith vs Ryan Spann

Anthony Smith

The fighter did not compete in any sports before joining MMA, but is now ranked 6th in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. Kickboxing and jiu-jitsu became his base, and now Anthony already has a black belt in this discipline. For a long time, the fighter performed in the middle weight, exhausting himself with the hardest weight cuts, which noticeably spoiled his record. Nevertheless, this did not stop him from becoming the champion of the CFFC and VFC leagues.

Only after the second coming to the UFC, Smith changed the weight category and began to give out gorgeous fights, from time to time receiving bonuses for this. A number of striking victories allowed him to become a contender for the belt in 93 kg of the major league, and even taking into account the failure, Anthony still managed to fight with the lion's share of the current tops of this weight class.

Strengths

Smith fully justifies his nickname "Lionheart" - he is ready to fight to his last breath, thanks to which his fights are so loved by the public. It was due to his character that he won many important victories for himself.

More than 90% of his victories Anthony got by submissions and knockouts. He doesn't care who is in front of him, because the guy from Omaha is always ready to give a fight to a drummer in a standing position and a fighter on the ground. At the same time, this athlete prefers to work as the first number, crushing his opponents with pressure.

Weaknesses

As a light heavyweight, Anthony thinks little about defense. He can easily go for an exchange, holding his hands almost at the belt, or get involved in a fight, forgetting that he can also be subscribed. From there, such a high proportion of defeats by tricks and knockouts - 81%. And also, which is especially noticeable in recent years, Smith can swing in the first round, chasing the finish, and then give up the fight due to extreme fatigue.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Smith is only 33 years old, but has already fought over 50 professional bouts. The last performance of the fighter took place at the end of April, and in recent years he has remained quite active. The 3-2 score in five fights does not look so depressing when you look at who Anthony lost to: Glover Teixeira, who will soon fight for the title, and Alexander Rakic, one of the toughest knockout players in the division. But Alexander Gustafsson, Davin Clark and Jimmy Cool were successfully adopted by the American, so there is no point in doubting his capabilities.

Anthony Smith vs Ryan Spann

Ryan Spann

"Superman" occupies 11th place in the top, and for him this is the first opportunity in his career to get closer to the TOP-5. The first martial arts that Ryan met was karate, then boxing, but most of all he liked Jiu-Jitsu. Thanks to his skills, he became the champion of the regional MMA promotion Hero FC, then descended to middleweight, trying to win the Legacy FC belt, but unsuccessfully, and repeated the attempt already at 93 kg - with an identical result.

Collecting the vacant LFA title and taking part in Dana White's Challenger Series, Ryan made his way to the UFC where he quickly made a name for himself by smashing several veterans. Through this experience, Spann has become a versatile and truly skillful mid-range fighter who rightfully takes his place.

Strengths

Collecting the vacant LFA title and taking part in Dana White's Challenger Series, Ryan made his way to the UFC where he quickly made a name for himself by smashing several veterans. Through this experience, Spann has become a versatile and truly skillful mid-range fighter who rightfully takes his place.

Weaknesses

Spann hits hard, but moves awkwardly and misses a lot. He manages to shine against the background of disabled pilots, but the opposition of his own size and age remains an unconquered peak for the American. We can say that Ryan is good at everything, but at the same time does not have pronounced qualities that will take him to the next level.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Spann is 29 years old, he fought in March 2021, closing the defeat to Johnny Walker, finishing over Misha Tsirkunov, and 9 wins in 10 fights is a decent result. But looking at who Ryan beat, it becomes clear that things are not so rosy: a close decision with Sam Alvey, a knockout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and 2 rounds with Devin Clark speak for themselves. "Superman" has slowed down in development, but it is time for him to realize that the division is moving much faster. 

Comparative analysis

The championship in anthropometry is taken by Ryan, who is only a couple of cm taller, but in the span of his arms he goes forward by 7 cm, plus he has longer legs. In contrast, Anthony can offer him a much more varied technique in the stance, because Spann is fixated on the head, and Smith is bombing the legs and body of opponents, trying in every possible way to slow them down and slow down the pace of the fight. As for the percussion skills, we put an end to it right away - here the ex-challenger is definitely better.

As for the parterre, there are already more questions, because this is Ryan's path, who, among other things, also shows himself well in the ground and pound. But out of 51 fights in his career, Smith has lost only 4 times by submissions, so it won't be easy to surprise him on the ground. Most likely, Spann will be able to translate it, given the low percentage of protection from takedowns at the Lionheart, but at the start of the meeting it is unlikely to succeed, and you still need to be able to drag out the fight into the later rounds. So it turns out that no matter how the picture of the fight develops, it will not be possible to dazzle an experienced veteran with any actions, especially since he has perked up and is on the rise.

Anthony Smith vs Ryan Spann Fight Prediction

In this confrontation, a lot will be decided by how much Anthony is ready to give all the best in the first half of the fight, and usually this is what he does best. As always, he will start with generous treatment of the legs and body of Spann, who, due to the longer arms and more thrown out blows, will try to break through Smith's not very reliable defense. But, based on dry statistics, the veteran has every chance of disarming his larger counterpart. After that, we should expect the first translations from Ryan, and even if he succeeds, Anthony has enough skills to at least not get an appointment. To summarize all of the above, one thing remains to say - Smith is a fighter of another level, and Spann can only be helped by the opponent's love for his hands down and his holes in the defense. A random hit and nothing else is Ryan's path to victory. In the same matchup, her dominance on her feet and a quick victory are expected, respectively. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Anthony Smith wins

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