Angel “The Dream” DeAnda headlined the second episode in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contenders online show in Las Vegas. DeAnda took on Daniel Spohn in the main event of the evening on July, 18 in front of Dana White with a contract for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) online. “The people at the UFC were great to me. They definitely take care of their fighters. They had a great food package available for me upon arrival and made me feel like home,” the 185-pound DeAnda said.
DeAnda and Spohn’s fight began on a controversial start, and finished on the same note. Just seconds into the fight, Spohn connected with a low groin kick to DeAnda. “That was intentional. I think he was just testing out his reach.” Once the fight resumed DeAnda became the aggressor. With three minutes remaining in the first round, DeAnda threw heavy punches that forced Spohn into the cage. Seconds later, DeAnda connected on an uppercut that sent Spohn to the canvas. DeAnda capitalized on the dazed Spohn by jumping onto him and began punching Spohn in the back of the head and ear. The referee in the fight was the respected “Big John” McCarthy. McCarthy pulled DeAnda off the seemingly defenseless Spohn. McCarthy ruled that the punches were landing on the back of the head of Spohn and not the ear, thus ruling it “illegal punches” on DeAnda. “I could hear McCarthy say that the punches were landing on the head and not the ear and that I needed to watch it. My strikes were not intentional, and I thought they were behind the ear.”
The fight continued with 2:20 seconds remaining in the first round. Spohn came out determined and aggressive, landing several big hits that sent DeAnda to the ground. With the fight taken to the ground, Spohn was locked in a deep arm triangle choke, where DeAnda tapped out with 1:42 remaining.
“He connected on a Hail Mary punch, and I got caught. It’s a fight game, you step in there a man, and need to leave like one, win or lose,” DeAnda said.
As he was leaving, Dana White stopped DeAnda and thanked him for taking the fight on short notice. White also told DeAnda that the fight was great, saying, “I’m just going to keep working hard. It was a great experience overall.”
