A pair of top 15 light heavyweights will collide in the main event of the UFC’s September 18 card.
No. 6 ranked light heavyweight Anthony Smith announced during UFC Live this past week that he will be fighting No. 11 Ryan Spann in the main event of the Fight Night card. Spann would confirm the booking on social media.
Smith (35-16) is riding a two-fight win streak with two finishes after a disastrous start to 2020. “Lionheart” was decimated by current No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira last year in March and was defeated by Aleksandar Rakic three months later. Smith would rebound and get back in the win column by submitting Devin Clark to finish the year. He is coming off another first-round finish against Jimmy Crute at UFC 261 in April. It was his first non-main event fight since 2018.
After suffering his first UFC loss, Spann (19-6) got back in the win column by finishing Misha Cirkunov in less than two minutes in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. “Superman” started his UFC career with four wins before losing to Johnny Walker last September. His fight with Smith will be his first UFC main event and an opportunity to take his No. 6 ranking.
No location, venue, or broadcast details have yet to be announced by the promotion for UFC’s September 18 event.
So far, the card has three reported bouts:
- Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
- Montel Jackson vs. Batgerel Danaa
- Dakota Bush vs. Zhu Rong
