UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann Predictions, Odds, and Picks (Feb 25)
- UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann is fought on Saturday, February 25.
- Nikita Krylov is looking for another win inside the distance.
- Tatiana Suarez is making her comeback after nearly four years.
The UFC is heading to Vegas once again. This Saturday, UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann will take place at UFC Apex.
Jump to:
- Light Heavyweight: Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann
- Middleweight: Andre Muniz vs Brendan Allen
- Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai vs Don’Tale Mayes
- Women’s Flyweight: Tatiana Suarez vs Montana De La Rosa
- Welterweight: Mike Malott vs Yohan Lainesse
The light heavyweight clash between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann serves as the main event of the evening, while there are another four fights on the main card.
Schedule and How to Watch:
- Where: UFC Apex, Enterprise, Nevada
- When: Saturday, February 25, 2023, at 10 p.m ET
- How to Watch: ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night Predictions
Nikita Krylov vs Ryan Spann
Nikita Krylov is 29-9 overall, with a 4-4 record since joining the UFC in 2018. However, the four fights that he lost were all against elite fighters – Paul Craig, Magomed Ankalaev, Glover Teixeira, and Jan Blachowicz.
His next opponent, Ryan Spann is 21-7 overall, with seven wins and two losses in the UFC. Still, he hasn’t fought against too many top-rated opponents. In fact, the highest-ranked fighter he’s fought so far is Anthony Smith, who beat Spann by submission in 2021.
We think the same might happen this Saturday as well. Krylov is a much better fighter than Spann, plus, he likes to finish his fights early. This guy has a 93% finish rate, with just two of his 29 wins happening by decision.
Pick:
Andre Muniz vs Brendan Allen
Andre Muniz is 23-4 in his professional career and is undefeated in is last nine fights, five of which happened under the banner of the UFC. Three of his UFC wins happened by submission, which isn’t surprising considering that he’s a 3rd-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Not only is he a great grappler, but Muniz also has a great set of striking skills.
READ ALSO: UFC Futures: Yair Rodriguez vs Alexander Volkanovski Opening Odds
Brandan Allen (20-5), however, is superior when it comes to striking, with more significant strikes than Muniz. Allen is also a great grappler. He too has a BJJ black belt, although he’s not at the same level as Muniz.
We think that this fight will be decided on the ground, which is where Muniz just feels more comfortable.
Pick:
Augusto Sakai vs Don’Tale Mayes
Augusto Sakai is 15-5-1 with four straight losses, each by KO/TKO. Still, to be fair to the guy, he did lose to four incredible heavyweights – Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Tai Tuivasa, and Sergey Spivak.
That said, he doesn’t have a weak chin. Instead, his biggest flaw is his inability to properly defend against takedowns. Should this worry him against Don’Tale Mayes? We think it should. Although Mayes, who is 9-4-1, isn’t a takedown expert, he does look capable of taking Sakai to the ground, where he’ll probably try to land as many strikes as needed for the fight to end.
That’s exactly what happened the last time Meyes won a fight. He made six takedowns that day, landing 25 significant strikers before the referee ended the fight.
Pick:
Tatiana Suarez vs Montana De La Rosa
It’s been nearly four years since Tatiana Suarez fought the last time. Before going on a break, she was 8-0 with some really impressive wins including those over Nina Nunez and Carla Esparza. Suarez is a former world champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, who also has great striking skills and amazing stamina. All this explains why she’s expected to destroy Montana De La Rosa on Saturday.
De La Rosa is 12-7- overall, with a couple of decent performances over the last few years, most notably the TKO win over Ariane Lipski in 2021. Still, we just don’t think she’s at the same level as Suarez, especially when it comes to wrestling/grappling.
Pick:
Mike Malott vs Yohan Lainasse
Mike Malott is 8-1-1 in his professional career and is coming off a TKO win over Mickey Gall on his UFC debut. He’s a well-rounded fighter, with great grappling and striking skills, similar to his fellow Canadian Yohan Lainasse.
Lainasse is 9-1 with six wins by KO/TKO and no submission wins, which is kind of surprising as he’s very good on the floor. His biggest issue is that he’s a slow fighter who just isn’t at the same level stamina-wise as Malott. We think this could play a crucial part in Saturday’s fight, with Malott winning over the judges with a fine performance in the last round.
Pick:
