UFC returns home to Las Vegas for Saturday fights

After a brief hiatus, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns home to Las Vegas and the UFC Apex on Saturday, Sept. 18.

The fight card will be headlined by a lightweight bout between Anthony “Lionheart” Smith and Ryan “Superman” Spann. Both men will step into The Octagon Saturday night with the hopes of a victory and cracking into the top five of the UFC‘s lightweight rankings.

For Smith, the journey through fifty-one MMA fights has been a roller coaster ride. Since fighting for the light heavyweight title against Jon Jones in March 2019, Smith has been in and out of title contention. Smith has gone 3-2 in his last five fights; including back to back losses in 2020, highlighted by one of the most one-sided fights in UFC history against Glover Teixeira on May 13, 2020 in Jacksonville. Smith was beaten by TKO and had some of his teeth knocked out. Days before the bout with Teixeira, Smith had to deal with a harrowing personal situation, as his home in Omaha, Nebraska was broken into on April 5, 2020. It looked like Smith mentally focused against Teixeira, which is completely understandable given the situation.

In 2021, Smith began a resurgence with back to back wins over Devin Clark and Jimmy Crute. Working with Factory X out of Colorado, Smith has built himself into one of the most technical strikers in the light heavyweight division. Smith will face Ryan Spann, one of the most underrated fighters in the light heavyweight division.

Since entering the UFC, Spann has posted an impressive 5-1 mark. Spann’s only loss was against Johnny Walker in September 2020. Spann will face his toughest challenge Saturday night against Smith. Despite Spann’s eleven MMA submission victories in 19 wins, he will likely have to rely on his aggressive style in the stand up, as well as a three inch reach advantage to get the job done. On the ground, Spann may be outmatched. Smith is a black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu, while Spann’s is a blue belt .

The matchup in the stand-up figures to be relatively even as both fighters land three significant strikes per minute and have a significant strike percentage of 45%. The biggest storyline going into Saturday’s main event is the question of which Anthony Smith is going to show up. If Smith wins Saturday night, he will once again be in the title picture in the light heavyweight division. If not, Smith will likely be a gatekeeper for the division for the remainder of his career.

In the co-main event, also in the light heavyweight division, careers will be on the line as Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba takes on Devin Clark. Cutelaba enters Saturday night in desperate need of a win. Cutelaba has lost four out of his last five fights and he is currently on a 2-fight losing streak. For Cutelaba, with 12 out of his 15 wins coming via Knockout, the Moldova native will look to take advantage of Clark’s propensity to take chances. That willingness to take chances gets Clark in trouble. The South Dakota Native has fallen in three out of his five losses via knockout. For Clark, as a former junior college wrestler at Rochester community college where he was a National Champion in 2009 and an All American in both 2009 and 2010, he needs to wrestle to win. Being an effective wrestler and taking the fight to the ground as fast as possible is Clark’s only clear path to victory.

The UFC Vegas 37 card Saturday night will not be short on excitement. Fan favorite Joaquin Buckley makes his return to The Octagon on the main card versus Antonio Arroyo. Buckley is known for his highlight knockouts. Nine of Buckley‘s 12 MMA wins have come via knockout.

On the prelims, UFC fans will see some notable names, as Dana White’s contender series alum Hannah Goldy Opens the night versus Emily Whitmore in the women’s flyweight division. The prelims will also feature UFC veteran Raquel Pennington taking on Pannie Kianzad in the women’s bantam weight division.

Fight fans can catch all the action on ESPN plus with the prelims beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing with the main card at 7 p.m.