By The Numbers: Misha Cirkunov vs. Ryan Spann
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Prime real estate within one the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premium weight classes will be in play when Misha Cirkunov faces Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 187 co-main event on Saturday at the UFC in Las Vegas. In a post-Jon Jones light heavyweight division, victories are essential.
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As Cirkunov and Spann make their final preparations, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
34: Years of age for Cirkunov, who was born on
Feb. 27, 1987 in Riga, Latvia—the capital city of the northern
European nation and home to more than 600,000 of his
countrymen.
3: Sub-minute finishes on the Cirkunov resume. He buried Jeff Doyle with punches in 40 seconds on Jan. 30, 2010, struck Shawn Pauliuk into submission in 57 seconds on July 17, 2010 and brought down Ricardeau Francois with punches in 56 seconds on March 4, 2011. Interestingly, they were the first three wins of Cirkunov’s career.
6: Bouts in which Cirkunov has executed at least one takedown since he joined the UFC roster five-plus years ago. He has compiled a 6-0 record in those fights.
44: Significant strikes landed by Cirkunov before he submitted Ion Cutelaba with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 89 pairing in 2016. It remains a personal benchmark for the Latvian, who has connected on only 56 such strikes in six appearances since.
94: Combined victories between the five men—Walker, Glover Teixeira, Volkan Oezdemir, Aaron Johnson and Roy Boughton—who have beaten Cirkunov. They hold a cumulative winning percentage of .729.
29: Years of age for Spann, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on Aug. 24, 1991. Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” Lenny Kravitz’s “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over,” Amy Grant’s “Every Heartbeat,” Roxette’s “Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)” and D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime” were the Top 5 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 List at the time.
11: Spann wins by submission, accounting for 61% of his career total (18). His weapon of choice has been the guillotine choke, a maneuver with which he has secured seven of those victories.
8: Seconds needed for Spann to punch out Larry Crowe at Legacy Fighting Championship 42 on June 26, 2015. Having occurred in his ninth professional appearance, it remains the fastest finish of his 24-fight career.
4: Light heavyweight champions, including Spann, in Legacy Fighting Alliance history. Julius Anglickas, Alex Polizzi and Fabio Cherant are the others. Spann vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2018.
.741: Cumulative winning percentage between the six men—Walker, Karl Roberson, Trevin Giles, Robert Drysdale, Leo Leite and Brandon Farran—who have defeated Spann. They own a combined record of 69-24.
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