UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Muhammad- Misha Cirkunov vs Ryan Spann: Prediction and Analysis

UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Muhammad will have a great Welterweight headliner. However, there is an exciting Light Heavyweight clash in the co-main event. UFC veteran Misha Cirkunov will face off against Ryan Spann in a bout which both men will be eyeing as a platform to get into the rankings.

The Light Heavyweight division is entering a fresh era. Jan Blachowicz just beat Israel Adesanya to keep the division from limbo and will be defending the belt against Glover Teixeira next, ideally. However, the rankings are wide open and some fighters want to break into the mix. 2021 will have many 205ers fight, and this is the first major bout.

Both fighters are grapplers and will be putting on a slow and technical fight. However, Cirkunov is a submission wizard while Spann has shown a little bit of everything. But Spann is also coming off a loss, while Cirkunov is returning after almost two years.

Who wins this closely matched fight?

UFC Fight Night: Can Misha Cirkunov pull off a win?

Misha Cirkunov should be the presumptive favorite in this fight. His submission skills at his size are phenomenal. However, there is one big risk with Cirkunov. He is elite at pulling off quick submissions wins, but he can also go down pretty easily to shots. He has his fair share of KO losses, with many coming in the first round.

Ryan Spann was on a four-fight win streak until he met Johnny Walker in September last year. It was a first-round KO loss for Spann, blemishing his record a little. However, his hype train may still have a lot of steam left in it. Spann is the more exciting fighter in this bout and many would expect him to win because he still has upside.

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Neither man could challenge for a world title right now, but are on their way to building a resume. As for a prediction for this fight, we are going with Cirkunov. While Spann landing a good early shot is a big risk, he is a notoriously average takedown defender. If Cirkunov can get Spann on the mat, it may be a submission win for him.