The lone heavyweight entry on Saturday’s UFC Paris card came on the prelims, when Mario Pinto took on former 205’er Ryan Spann.
Spann was actually ranked #15 in the UFC’s Meta Rankings (AI-driven), though not by the human panelists, and wasn’t announced as ranked as a result.
Early on in the fight, inside the opening minute, Spann clipped Pinto with a massive uppercut! Pinto sagged at the knees, but somehow held on, only to wind up in a guillotine. He survived that as well, and broke free, with the choke giving him some much-needed recovery time.
Back at range, the pair swung wild, both men coming close to landing devastating, fight-ending blows. And as the round work on, Pinto connected with a right, and was able to take the back along the fence, landing numerous blows while Spann on his knees. Quite the turnaround from nearly being finished just minutes before. Spann, meanwhile, was running out of gas, doing little more than covering up. Pinto, however, didn’t have much behind his strikes, as he was tiring as well.
Round two saw Pinto all over Spann as well, who was soon back on his knees covering up. Short punches, and not particularly damaging, but they soon got stronger and there were enough to make difference. This time, the ref called it!
A big win for Pinto, who had to overcome a dangerous spot early. Pointing out that the heavyweight division were once considered Titans, Pinto exclaimed following the fight “Give us some respect. The heavyweight division just got great again!”
Official Result: Mario Pinto def. Ryan Spann by TKO (punches), Round 2, 0:55
