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A big Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at 205
pounds will have to wait a bit longer.
In the light heavyweight division, Ryan Spann
(19-7) and Ion
Cutelaba (16-6-1) were set to throw down at
UFC Fight Night 202 on Feb. 26. The 205-pound banger has been
postponed as of Thursday, when Sherdog learned of the fight’s
removal from the UFC Apex-based card. Cutelaba has since posted on
his Instagram that Spann
suffered an injury, and that the fight will be pushed back to a
later date instead of seeking a replacement opponent.
Spann was looking to get back in the win column after alternating
victories and setbacks in his last four. While he has beaten
Sam
Alvey and Misha
Cirkunov in the last two years, a pair of first-round stoppages
against Johnny
Walker and Anthony
Smith has blunted his momentum as of late. “Superman” burst on
to the scene in a trio of first-round destructions of LeMarcus
Tucker, Myron Daniels and Alex
Nicholson under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner to earn a place
on the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series. Spann made good
on his second effort to earn a contract, tapping Emiliano
Sordi in less than 30 seconds to snag a place on the
roster.
Moldova’s Cutelaba pocketed the second decision win of his career
in his last time out by dominating Devin Clark
over three hard rounds in September 2021. The triumph put an end to
a three-fight streak without a win for “The Hulk,” who succumbed to
two knockouts by Magomed
Ankalaev and fought to a draw with Dustin
Jacoby. While Spann celebrates a career finish rate of 84%,
Cutelaba one-ups him in this regard with 87% of his wins coming
inside the distance.
UFC Fight Night 202 will carry on at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Feb. 26, and the new co-headliner has not yet been determined. The
marquee matchup on the event comes in the lightweight division
between Islam
Makhachev and Beneil
Dariush in a potential title eliminator. Additional main card
tilts include a middleweight battle between Cirkunov and Wellington
Turman, and lightweight delight pitting Arman
Tsarukyan against Joel
Alvarez.