SALT LAKE CITY – Ryan Spann said he intended to stay away from the guillotine choke at UFC 307. But when the opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t help but indulge.
“I was trying to stay away from it because we both have a move that we’re good at,” Spann told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “His move is supposed to be the counter to my move. So we ended up seeing who had the better move, I suppose.”
Spann (22-10 MMA, 8-5 UFC) submitted longtime UFC veteran Ovince Saint Preux (27-18 MMA, 15-13 UFC) with his signature high-elbow guillotine choke at 1:35 of Round 1 at Delta Center.
Despite the fight’s brevity, Spann said he felt there were some obvious mistakes he made.
“I felt, at times, in there, while moving, that I was a little sloppy. I didn’t do things conducive to what we’ve been working on every day at Fortis. I want to fix that and clean that up. … I felt it when I did it. There were a couple times I looked over like, ‘Hey, I know. My bad.'”
Now that a three-fight skid is snapped and he’s back in the win column, Spann is excited to try to build off that momentum in his return. But until his manager and coach Sayif Saud gets the offer from UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, Spann will be enjoying life as a dad.
“I just want to get back to work,” Spann said. “I’m blessed with the opportunity to be able to do this and provide for my family. So we’re just going to get back to work. My son is starting and has always started football. Because I’ve been so busy with this, I’ve had to miss out on some things. Now, I can focus on him while doing my work at the same time.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.