Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1991)Mixed martial arts show results Date: July 25, 2017
/ref> is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

, where he was the Light Heavyweight Champion. As of December 6, 2022, he is #11 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background

Spann grew up in Westwood, Memphis, Tennessee and begun training martial arts in his early childhood.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling a 3–1 amateur record as a Middleweight and

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

, Spann started his professional career in 2013. He fought under various promotions, notably the regional

Legacy Fighting Championship Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

and

where he was the Light Heavyweight Champion. He amassed a record of 13-5 prior participated in

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been move ...

Dana White's Contender Series

Spann appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 3 on July 25, 2017 against

Karl Roberson Karl William Roberson (born October 4, 1990) is an American former kickboxer and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life and educat ...

. He lost the fight by knockout due to elbows in round one. Spann's second appearance in Dana White's Contender Series 10 came on June 19, 2018 against Emiliano Sordi. He won the fight via guillotine choke in round one and he was awarded a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Spann made his UFC debut on September 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders, facing Luis Henrique, replacing an injured

Mark Godbeer Mark Godbeer (born 22 November 1983) is a British bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2009 until 2018, he competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Akhmat, and BAMMA. He is a fo ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Spann's second UFC fight came on 11 May 2019, 2019 at

UFC 237 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

against

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Spann faced Devin Clark on October 12, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson. He won the fight via submission in round two. Spann was briefly linked to face

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

on February 8, 2020 at

UFC 247 ''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 8, 2020 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship ...

. However, promotion matchmakers elected to go in another direction and the pairing was scrapped from the event. Instead, Spann was booked against

Paul Craig Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

on March 21, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. However, the event was cancelled. Spann faced

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly co ...

May 9, 2020 at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. Despite getting knocked down in the third round, Spann won the fight via split decision. Spann was initially scheduled to face Johnny Walker at

UFC Fight Night 176 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 176'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 9'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 5, 2020 at the UFC ...

on September 5, 2020. However, Walker tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

and the bout was postponed to September 19, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 178 ''UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 178'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 36'' and ''UFC Vegas 11'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 19, 2020 at th ...

. Despite dropping Walker twice in the first round, Spann would go onto lose the fight via knockout. Spann was expected to face

Misha Cirkunov Mikhail Cirkunovs (born February 27, 1987), better known as Misha Cirkunov is a Latvian-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background So ...

on December 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183. However, Cirkunov pulled out in early December due to an injury. The fight was rescheduled to March 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. After initially knocking Cirkunov down during the first minute, Spann won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Spann faced Anthony Smith on September 18, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 192 ''UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 192'', ''UFC Vegas 37'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 18, 2021 at the UFC ...

. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round one. Spann was scheduled to face

Ion Cuțelaba Ion Nicolae Cuțelaba (born 14 December 1993) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Chișinău, Cuțelaba began train ...

on February 26, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 202 ''UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 202'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 60'' and ''UFC Vegas 49'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 26, 2022 at the U ...

. However, Spann was pulled from the event due to injury and the bout was rescheduled for

UFC on ESPN 36 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the bout via guillotine choke in the first round. The win earned Spann his second ''

'' bonus award. Spann faced

Dominick Reyes Dominick Reyes (born December 26, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former college football player. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, ...

on November 12, 2022 at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. At the weigh-ins, Spann weighed in at 206.6 pounds, six tenths of a pound over the light heavyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight with Spann fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent Reyes. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Spann is scheduled to face

Nikita Krylov Nikita Andreyevich Krylov (born March 7, 1992) is a Ukrainian-Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for M-1 Global. As ...

on February 25, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 220.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Two times) *

** LFA Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) . *Hero FC **Hero FC Middleweight Championship (One time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

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São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Emiliano Sordi , Submission (guillotine choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5 , LeMarcus Tucker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

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Trevin Giles Trevin Dewayne Giles (born August 6, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Giles currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giles was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was a f ...

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Robert Drysdale Robert Lewis Drysdale (born October 5, 1981) is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under Léo Vieira, a retired mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ academy, "Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu". Havin ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spann, Ryan 1991 births Living people Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu