UFC Vegas 69 is set to be headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Erin Blanchfield. The main event will be preceded by the light heavyweight fight between Jordan Wright and Zac Pauga. But there is another LHW bout on the main card, William Knight vs Marcin Prachnio.
Marcin Prachnio is a Polish mixed martial artist affiliated with the Tatsujin Dojo. He is one of the few fighters in the UFC to have competed in the rival Singaporean promotion, ONE Fighting Championship. He has a professional MMA record of 15 wins and 6 losses.
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Prachnio fought 4 times in ONE, winning all 4 bouts before moving to the UFC. However, he doesn’t have the most stellar record in the promotion, losing 4 and winning only 2. This includes losses to former title contender Magomed Ankalaev, and most recently, Philipe Lens.
Prachnio’s opponent, William Knight, hails from Connecticut and has a professional MMA record of 11-4. “Knightmare” made his first appearance under the UFC brand on Dana White’s Contender Series. He defeated Herdem Alacabek in the third round of their fight, winning via TKO. However, he was not awarded a contract despite the win.
Caught him on the counter 🎯
— UFC (@ufc) April 13, 2022
[ @Knightmare205 | #UFCVegas51 | Saturday | LIVE on @ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/nZWTaYErHj
Knight came back later in 2020 to dispatch Cody Brundage in less than 2 and half minutes into the first round. This impressive performance led to Dana White offering him a UFC contract. He holds a slightly better 3-3 record than his Vegas 69 opponent in the UFC. Knight also holds a win over the man who recently tied with Jimmy Crute at UFC 284, Alonzo Menifield.
Knight vs Prachnio: head-to-head stats
Stats | William Knight | Marcin Prachnio |
---|---|---|
Wins | 11 | 15 |
Losses | 4 | 6 |
Height | 1.78 m | 1.91 m |
Division | Light heavyweight | Light heavyweight |
Reach | 185 cm | 188 cm |
Age | 34 | 34 |
William Knight vs Marcin Prachnio: Fight breakdown and predictions
Knight and Prachnio aren’t the most technical fighters in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. And this fact makes William Knight vs Marcin Prachnio at UFC Vegas 69 extremely hard to predict. Both have a tendency to be sloppy at times, leaving themselves exposed to their opponent’s offense. And this is reflected both in their MMA record and stats.
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Owing to his unorthodox style, with a foundation in karate, Marcin Prachnio manages to land almost 6 significant strikes per minute on average during his fights. This is more than double of Knight’s 2.95 strikes per minute. And Knight isn’t a volume fighter by any means, attempting fewer strikes than his opponent in fights.
However, both fighters’ aforementioned sloppiness causes them to absorb almost as much offense as they dish out. And despite half the strikes compared to Prachnio, 2.99 to 4.15, Knight has the worse ratio of strikes landed to strikes absorbed. But Knight has demonstrated a side of MMA that Prachnio never has, wrestling/grappling.
Landing 2.07 takedowns on average every 15 minutes, Knight has the edge on the mat. His opponent has barely any takedowns but does have a higher TD defense. However, whether William’s questionable gas tank lets him wrestle with Marcin. is another topic in itself.
Ultimately, these two are as evenly matched as it gets, and the victor will probably win via the closest of margins. If Marcin is able to time his counters well, he may end up winning this fight.
Prediction: Marcin Prachnio wins via split decision.