Preview: UFC 281 Prelims

Order UFC 281 "Adesanya vs. Pereira" exclusively on ESPN+

Light Heavyweights

#7 LHW | Dominick Reyes (12-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. #12 LHW | Ryan Spann (20-7, 6-2 UFC)

ODDS: Reyes (-205), Spann (+175)

Somehow, it has been less than three years since Reyes was considered the uncrowned king of the light heavyweight division. A former standout football player at Stony Brook University, “The Devastator” quickly rose through the ranks as a regional terror and continued his dynamic ways upon hitting the Octagon, scoring three straight first-round wins to kick off his UFC career. Volkan Oezdemir made things close enough to take Reyes to a split decision, but otherwise, his march was relatively clean. With a quick knockout of Chris Weidman to cap off 2019, Reyes was set as Jon Jones’ next challenger heading into 2020. Reyes’ athleticism and length figured to give Jones issues. Indeed, the end result was a close fight that most felt Reyes had done enough to win, only for Jones to come out on top on all three scorecards. That was apparently Jones’ last fight at 205 pounds, and with the title vacated by the next September, the assumption was that Reyes would pick up where he left off as the assumed top light heavyweight in the world. Instead, he accomplished little before getting knocked out by Jan Blachowicz in the second round. Blachowicz was the rare opponent who was willing and able to effectively answer Reyes’ offense with power; and the former title contender seemed thrown off by his inability to dictate the terms of the exchanges. Even so, 2021 saw a much more game Reyes take on Jiri Prochazka, though the end result was effectively the same. Reyes was willing to throw down and scrap, but this time simply faced a much more athletic and potent force, eating a spinning elbow for another second-round defeat. Reyes is still just 32 years old, so there is still plenty of time for him to work his way back up the ranks of this division. However, he has essentially become a forgotten man in the last few years, making a win against Spann particularly crucial.

Spann has had a successful UFC campaign thus far, even getting a spot as a UFC Fight Night main eventer, but “Superman” remains a frustrating talent. Spann is an obvious athlete who can do a little bit of everything, but it is unclear how that will all be channeled and to what effect. Sometimes he charges headlong into danger for some back-and-forth fights, but he is just as prone to getting concerned about what his opponent brings to the table and making things a bit of an overly patient slog if given the opportunity. Spann’s last few fights have leaned more towards the madness end of the spectrum, as opponents have forced the issue and put him in kill-or-be-killed situations. As a result, he has split his last four fights, all of which have ended within the first round. That trend easily could continue here, as both men have enough power and reach to provide a constant sense of danger for one another—even before considering that neither of them has looked particularly comfortable in their last few fights. This should be a relatively even war with each man having a solid shot at a quick finish, but the lean goes to Reyes as the slightly more proven competitor, bolstered a bit by his improved grittiness even in a loss to Prochazka. The pick is Reyes via first-round submission.

Jump To »
Carneiro vs. Riddell
Reyes vs. Spann
Blanchfield vs. McCann
Petroski vs. Turman
Azaitar vs. Frevola
Kowalkiewicz vs. Juarez
Choi vs. Trizano
Jackson vs. Arce
Ulberg vs. Negumereanu