The MMA Daily

The co-main event comes in the Light Heavyweight division, as Ryan “Superman” Spann takes on Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba. After storming into the UFC with four straight wins, Spann has hit a minor roadblock. A loser of two of the last three, including the most recent fight against Anthony Smith, Spann will look bounce back here. Still ranked 13th, Spann is positioned to climb back into the top ten with a victory. Meanwhile, Cutelaba comes into this fight off a victory over Devin Clark. A much needed win for the Hulk, who had previously been 1-3-1 in his last five fights.

As for a prediction, I have Cutelaba winning. Before rattling off why, I must say, from a marketing perspective, this fight is a home run. The fact that these two men’s nicknames are Superman and Hulk, set up an unlikely DC verse Marvel clash inside the octagon. One in which, I don’t see lasting all that long. Cutelaba is a wild-man, who has power and immense physical strength. Utilizing his wrestling the last two fights, Cutelaba has secured seventeen takedowns and over thirteen minutes of control time. The concerns whenever he steps inside the octagon are his wildness, durability and cardio. With the last two fights going to a decision, there have been some improvements made to the later two concerns. However, like I mentioned before, I don’t think this one is going to the scorecards.

Spann is good striker with power, but the best aspect of his game lies with his submissions. Often looking for an opportunity to latch onto a neck, Spann has claimed eight of his eleven submission victims via guillotine choke. While he doesn’t necessarily need to get the fight down the mat to secure a choke, he will often look to get his opponents against the cage to decide his next step. The problem with Spann lies with his durability. Having been stopped in five of his seven losses, including the last three in round one, Spann’s chin can be suspect. It’s a reason why I see various ways Cutelaba can get the job done. So with that said, in a wild one, give me Cutelaba to win via KO.