The Ultimate Fighting Championship has filled out
the lineup of its final April fight card.
Per a press release from the organization on Thursday, the
UFC on ESPN 55 billing is now complete. The UFC confirmed
multiple announced matchups for the April 27 show at the UFC Apex
in Las Vegas, while adding several others. Chief among the
additions is the new co-main event, which comes at light
heavyweight between Ryan Spann
(21-9) and Bogdan
Guskov (15-3).
“Superman” Spann will be coming into this matchup on his first
losing streak since 2017, having dropped his last two to Nikita
Krylov and Anthony
Smith for an unsuccessful 2023 campaign. Before then, the
Fortis MMA product had run roughshod over Ion
Cutelaba and Dominick
Reyes in a combined 3:42 to stamp his place as an elite 205er.
Six of the last seven outings for Spann have concluded in the first
round, win or lose.
Uzbekistan’s Guskov introduced himself to the UFC against Volkan
Oezdemir in September 2023, and he succumbed to a first-round
submission from “No Time.” Guskov claimed his first UFC victory in
February, when he punched out Zac Pauga. As
a pro, Guskov’s finish rate sits at 100%, with all but two of his
career victories coming via knockout.
The promotion also made official a reported welterweight pairing
between Tim Means
(33-15-1, 1 NC) and Uros Medic
(9-2) as part of the main card. It also set a strawweight tilt of
Marnic
Mann (6-2) vs. Ketlen
Souza (13-4) on the prelims. Finally, the UFC did not list the
featherweight Jonathan
Pearce–David Onama
clash that came to light earlier on in March, so it is unclear if
that bout is still taking place at the event or if it is simply not
yet official.