Light heavyweight action is set to headline a UFC Fight Night event on February 25, 2023.
Ryan Spann (21-7) will face Nikita Krylov (29-9) atop the February card, which sees Spann headlining a UFC show for the second time in his career. Krylov, meanwhile, takes part in his first main event for the promotion.
Cageside Press confirmed the booking, following an initial report by MMA Junkie on Thursday.
The booking features the #10 ranked light heavyweight, Spann, against the #7 fighter in the promotion’s official 205lb rankings, with a chance for either to work their way towards to top 5 of the weight class.
Ryan Spann enters the fight off a quick knockout win against former title challenger Dominick Reyes at UFC 281 earlier this month. His second straight win, the Reyes KO came after a submission of Ion Cutelaba earlier this year.
Having gone 2-0 in 2022, the only downside for “Superman” Spann was that he missed weight for the Reyes fight. He’ll be looking to put that behind him when he kicks off his 2023 against Ukrainian-Russian Krylov.
“The Miner,” who hails from the Luhansk region of Ukraine, illegally annexed by Russia, has also won two straight. Those victories have come over former title challengers in Volkan Oezdemir and Alexander Gustafsson; the Gustafsson fight landed Krylov a Performance of the Night bonus.
The UFC’s February 25, 2023 Fight Night card does not yet have a location, venue, or broadcast plan officially announced. The following match-ups have been reported for the event thus far:
- Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
- Victor Martinez vs. Jordan Leavitt
- Hailey Cowan vs. Ailin Perez
- Ode’ Osbourne vs. Denys Bondar
