UFC light heavyweight Ryan Spann picked up a major scalp at UFC 281 when he knocked former title contender Domnick Reyes out inside a single round. Although the knockout will likely grace Reyes’ highlight reel for years to come, he described the moment as “bittersweet” at the post-fight press conference.
Most notably, Span missed weight heading into the fight, making him ineligible for a post-fight bonus, and sacrificing a portion of his purse.
Spann’s “Bittersweet” KO Win Over Dominick Reyes
“It’s bittersweet due to the week that we’ve had, and the penalties that we had to suffer with the point-five, point-six weight miss. So, it’s a little bittersweet, but it’s alright.”
Spann claimed that his failure to make the division’s 205-pound weight miss came due to a combination of factors. Chief among them was a mystery illness in the week leading up to the fight that affected Spann and his son.
“I was sick, I was sick as sh*t. We had to take a Z-Pak on Sunday, I think. Then when I got here, then I found out Monday my oldest son got sick. Tuesday, my daughter got sick, and Wednesday I got a text saying my [other] son had it.
On top of that, I had my Mom and Dad at the house, so we had to go through a lot to try to stay focused and whatnot, but trust in my team, trust in myself and everyone around me.”
With a win over a former title contender – one who came closest to defeating Jon Jones in his prime – under his belt, Ryan Spann’s options for light heavyweight are wide open. An elite contender seems like the obvious next step for Spann, and he seemed to agree. “Like I said the other day, I’m not the shooter, I’m the bullet. I want top five – four, three, two, I don’t want.”
If “Superman” Spann can repeat the feat against the light heavyweight elite, we may well see another changing of the guard in the 205-pound division. For the moment, the title conversation is dominated by the prospect of a rematch between champion Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira, the man he dethroned. Former champion, Poland’s Jan Blachowicz, is due a chance to recapture his title, and has repeatedly called for an all-European event against Prochazka, who hails from Czechia.
What was your reaction to Ryan Spann’s brutal victory over Dominick Reyes? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OARTTIXyppw
