UFC light heavyweight Ryan Spann’s explosive, showy style is turning plenty of heads. In an interview with Just Scrap Radio, his coach, Sayif Saud, described Spann as “one of the scariest dudes” on the UFC roster. Case in point: his recent first-round submission win over Ion Cutelaba.
“Man, it’s excitement but for me, I know how good these guys are, Geoff [Neal], Ryan. Ryan is one of the scariest dudes that gets into the Octagon and yeah he has slipped on a couple of banana peels and has lost a couple of fights and it’s funny how people are like ‘oh man, that’s it.’
Coach: Ryan Spann is “One of the Scariest Dudes” In the UFC
Just like any other sport, it takes a bit of time for these guys. These guys were all undefeated (in the UFC), Geoff was undefeated, Ryan was undefeated to get into the rankings and they won some and lost some. But, now, they are really starting to grow and get comfortable.
When he is dialed in, he was the underdog in the Cutelaba fight and he made it look like he was playing a video game. That fight was so easy for him. When he dials it in, he is dangerous. It’s an exciting opportunity but you hope you see the best version of your guy. If you show up on game night and you are the best version of yourself and you lose, that is fine.”
Spann’s next fight is against elite light heavyweight Dominick Reyes. As Saud pointed out, even though Reyes is currently riding a three-fight skid, he remains a formidable opponent for any 205-pounder.
“This guy has only lost to the champs. He fought Jon Jones and had a hell of a fight, it was a great fight, and he performed great. He lost to Jan and then he lost to Jiri, well those are the three champs.
Those are tough, tough guys. To look at that and be like he’s washed, he’s done, dude, no. He’s not. But, it’s the same thing I said about Ryan, they are both dangerous guys, Dom is pretty physical but Ryan is just as if not more physical. It’s going to be a great fight.”
Ryan Spann is 2-2 in his last four fights, with all four fights ending before the final round. Although he is only a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, twelve of his twenty professional wins have come via submission. He will be looking to earn another early finish against Dominick Reyes when the pair fight this November.
Do you think Ryan Spann is as scary as his coach says he is? Let us know in the comments.
