Las Vegas, NV — It was quick, it was turbulent, and ultimately, Ryan Spann walked away with a submission win against Ion Cutelaba in the UFC Vegas 54 co-main event.
But to hear Spann tell it afterwards, he still has a lot to work on. Just not necessarily on the physical side of things.
“I don’t know when I plan to return. I’ve got to go and work on some things on myself, on the mental side of things,” Spann (20-7) said following the fight, which saw him lock up a guillotine less than halfway through the opening round. “I’ve got to learn how to get out of my way and stay out of my way. I want to spend some time with my family, and I want to come back and do what we all know I can do, which is be world champion. But first I’ve got to take care of myself.”
Getting out of his own way was something Spann spoke of during Fight Week, and he focused on it again during his post-fight appearance with the media, back stage at the UFC Apex. Asked whether he’d managed to get out of his own way during the fight, Spann was cautious in his response.
“A little bit, a little bit,” he told Cageside Press. “There’s still some chaotic moments that tend to happen in my brain. I make things a lot harder than they should be; sometimes the chaos seeps out of my brain and makes things around me chaotic. Which is why I said I need to go and fix myself. And then when I come back, I’ll be out of my way.”
With the UFC believed to be heading to Dallas, Texas in the near future, Spann would seem like a lock for the card— he trains at nearby Fortis MMA. “Superman” isn’t looking that far ahead however.
“Not even thinking about it. I gotta fix myself first, and then we’ll go from there.”
Watch Ryan Spann’s full UFC Vegas 54 post-fight media scrum above. More coverage from the event can be found below.
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Andre Petroski
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Tatsuro Taira
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Michael Johnson
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Virna Jandiroba
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Allan Nascimento
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Manuel Torres
