Ryan Spann knocked out Brazilian legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on home soil Saturday at UFC 237 for the biggest win of his career.
Spann (16-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) specifically asked for the matchup with Nogueira (23-9 MMA, 6-6 UFC) despite having just one previous UFC fight. He showed why, crushing his opponent with a massive shot on the feet for the first-round knockout.
The light heavyweight bout was the UFC 237 featured prelim from Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and aired on ESPN.
Spann opened the fight and surprised Nogueira with a takedown. He attacked with an arm-triangle choke, looking to become the first to submit Nogueira in MMA. He couldn’t get it done, and eventually the action returned to the feet.
From there, “Superman” went after Nogueira and put together a right-hand, left-uppercut combination that floored his opponent. One follow-up shot on the ground and the fight was stopped at the 2:07 mark of Round 1.
“That man is a legend,” Spann said in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. so we wanted to come in and respectfully fight that man. We knew he was capable of anything and although I was supposed to win on paper, we knew he was capable of anything.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC 237 results include
- Ryan Spann def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:07
- Thiago Moises def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Warlley Alves def. Sergio Moraes via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 4:13
- Clay Guida def. B.J. Penn via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Luana Carolina def. Priscila Cachoeira via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
- Raoni Barcelos def. Carlos Huachin via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:49
- Viviane Araujo def. Talita Bernardo via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 0:48
For more on UFC 237, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
