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Welcome to the MMA News’ Sleeper Scrap! The relentless schedule of the MMA world means that some fans don’t have a full look at a fight card until days before the event, leaving the promoters to decide which bouts you should be paying the most attention to.
Everyone wants to tune in for main events and fights that feature popular names, but that means meaningful or potentially action-packed matchups from elsewhere on fight cards sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A Sleeper Scrap might highlight interesting style matchups, fighters with notable storylines, or bouts that simply have the chance to be a Fight of the Night contender.
Last week’s Sleeper Scrap from UFC 284 saw Jamie Mullarkey put on a veteran performance to defeat the debuting Francisco Prado, and this week’s UFC Vegas 69 is loaded with another batch of new fighters joining the UFC.
Cards like this are always ripe for underrated fights to be highlighted, and this week’s Sleeper Scrap is a light heavyweight bout from the UFC Vegas 69 main card that features William Knight and Marcin Prachnio.
The Fighters
Marcin Prachnio’s pre-UFC career saw the Polish fighter move between several weight classes, and immediately prior to joining the UFC he went 4-0 in ONE Championship with three first-round finishes.
The 34-year-old’s time in the UFC didn’t get off to a great start when the light heavyweight suffered three-straight losses. Prachnio had only lost twice in his whole career before joining the promotion, and he was also stopped in the first round in all three of those fights.
A losing streak to start your UFC career could easily have resulted in Prachnio being cut, but in 2021 he scored his first victory in the promotion with a unanimous decision against Khalil Rountree. That win was followed by a body kick finish again Ike Villanueva, but that brief period of success ended when Prachnio lost a decision to Philipe Lins in his only fight of 2022.
Prachnio stopped Ike Villanueva for his second UFC victory in 2021. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
William Knight had never gone the distance leading up to his fight with Cody Brundage on Contender Series 2020, and “Knightmare” continued that trend when he stopped Brundage in the first round to earn a UFC contract.
The 34-year-old ended up seeing the scorecards for the first time in his first two UFC bouts, but a 1-1 start to his time in the promotion was followed by a two-fight winning streak when he defeated Fabio Cherant and Alonzo Menifield in 2021.
Knight missed weight for his next fight against Maxim Grishin before losing a unanimous decision, and an attempt to move up to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his most recent bout saw the 34-year-old quickly go from having back-to-back wins to being on a two-fight skid.
The Matchup
Neither of these men are particularly high output strikers, but one weapon that Prachnio constantly utilizes is a variety of kicks with his lead leg.
The 34-year-old will regularly feint with his lead leg and mix up his targets when he does commit to throwing a kick. The attacks with his lead leg are largely used for volume striking, but he’ll also step into hard low kicks with his rear leg and occasionally send it up to his opponent’s head as well.
Prachnio’s guard is a bit unique in that he always has his right hand right by his head, and he’ll keep his lead hand extended to occasionaly throw a jab or counter opponents as they come forward. The Polish fighter tends to lead more with his kicks than with his hands, but when opponents do come forward on him, he like to duck his head and swing back with wild punches.
Much of Prachnio’s style on the feet is built around his kicking game. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Knight doesn’t have the same kind of kicking output that Prachnio does, but the 34-year-old does regularly step into hard low kicks that can quickly compromise his opponent’s lead leg if they aren’t avoided.
“Knightmare” also tends to jab more actively than Prachnio, but that strike is usually used more to draw out reactions from an opponent than it is to set up combinations. Knight is most comfortable when he’s backing away from a pursuing fighter and can look for counter strikes like his left hook, which is what he used to stop Fabio Cherant for the only finish of his UFC career.
The majority of Knight’s career wins have come via knockout. (Zuffa LLC)
The 34-year-old also likes to hunt for occasional single leg takedowns, but there have been times where his reliance on strength has resulted in these attempts getting reversed. Knight found himself on the bottom after trying to take down both Maxim Grishin and Alonzo Menifield, but the 34-year-old has also had success creating scrambles to get to his feet or end up in top position.
The leg kick battle between these two men will be a big thing to watch out for, as they both rely heavily on the technique but haven’t been particularly adept at avoiding low kicks coming back their way.
Prachnio’s tendency to duck his head when throwing might also leave him open to big counters from Knight, but the 34-year-old’s height advantage could also make his active kicking game a significant source of frustration for “Knightmare” in this matchup.
The Stakes
Light heavyweight isn’t exactly the UFC’s deepest division and may have a larger margin for error than other weight classes, but neither of these men should feel comfortable about potentially suffering another loss.
It’s already been noted that Prachnio stayed with the UFC after being stopped in his first three fights, but after his last loss to Philipe Lins he’s now just 2-4 overall in the promotion.
The 34-year-old has a unique style and has shown flashes of promise like the body kick that stopped Ike Villanueva, but only having two UFC wins in between losing streaks wouldn’t be a strong foundation to keep his place on the roster.
Knight is currently 3-3 overall in the UFC, but it’s probably safe to say the 34-year-old hasn’t quite performed the way the promotion expected when he was signed.
Knight moved up to heavyweight for his last fight against Devin Clark. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“Knightmare” was 8-1 with eight finishes following his Contender Series win, but so far, the only UFC opponent he’s stopped was Fabio Cherant. The finish was a brutal one and showed how much power he has, but Knight certainly hasn’t been stopping opponents the way he did prior to joining the UFC.
Another concerning factor for the 34-year-old is that he failed to make the light heavyweight limit to fight Maxim Grishin, which resulted in his failed move to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his last bout. The UFC hasn’t always been especially forgiving if a fighter misses weight more than once, and at only 5’10”, Knight is probably best suited to staying at light heavyweight.
Despite each fighter only having one finish during their time in the UFC, they’re still both capable of ending this fight with one good shot. There’s a chance that some periods of this bout are relatively slow-paced while both men look for openings, but if that’s the case I expect those periods to be broken up by moments of intense action where each man swings for the fences in pursuit of a finish.
How do you think this bout between Knight and Prachnio will turn out? Are there any other fights from UFC Vegas 69 that you feel deserve more attention?
Welcome to the MMA News’ Sleeper Scrap! The relentless schedule of the MMA world means that some fans don’t have a full look at a fight card until days before the event, leaving the promoters to decide which bouts you should be paying the most attention to.
Everyone wants to tune in for main events and fights that feature popular names, but that means meaningful or potentially action-packed matchups from elsewhere on fight cards sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A Sleeper Scrap might highlight interesting style matchups, fighters with notable storylines, or bouts that simply have the chance to be a Fight of the Night contender.
Last week’s Sleeper Scrap from UFC 284 saw Jamie Mullarkey put on a veteran performance to defeat the debuting Francisco Prado, and this week’s UFC Vegas 69 is loaded with another batch of new fighters joining the UFC.
Cards like this are always ripe for underrated fights to be highlighted, and this week’s Sleeper Scrap is a light heavyweight bout from the UFC Vegas 69 main card that features William Knight and Marcin Prachnio.
The Fighters
Marcin Prachnio’s pre-UFC career saw the Polish fighter move between several weight classes, and immediately prior to joining the UFC he went 4-0 in ONE Championship with three first-round finishes.
The 34-year-old’s time in the UFC didn’t get off to a great start when the light heavyweight suffered three-straight losses. Prachnio had only lost twice in his whole career before joining the promotion, and he was also stopped in the first round in all three of those fights.
A losing streak to start your UFC career could easily have resulted in Prachnio being cut, but in 2021 he scored his first victory in the promotion with a unanimous decision against Khalil Rountree. That win was followed by a body kick finish again Ike Villanueva, but that brief period of success ended when Prachnio lost a decision to Philipe Lins in his only fight of 2022.
Prachnio stopped Ike Villanueva for his second UFC victory in 2021. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
William Knight had never gone the distance leading up to his fight with Cody Brundage on Contender Series 2020, and “Knightmare” continued that trend when he stopped Brundage in the first round to earn a UFC contract.
The 34-year-old ended up seeing the scorecards for the first time in his first two UFC bouts, but a 1-1 start to his time in the promotion was followed by a two-fight winning streak when he defeated Fabio Cherant and Alonzo Menifield in 2021.
Knight missed weight for his next fight against Maxim Grishin before losing a unanimous decision, and an attempt to move up to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his most recent bout saw the 34-year-old quickly go from having back-to-back wins to being on a two-fight skid.
The Matchup
Neither of these men are particularly high output strikers, but one weapon that Prachnio constantly utilizes is a variety of kicks with his lead leg.
The 34-year-old will regularly feint with his lead leg and mix up his targets when he does commit to throwing a kick. The attacks with his lead leg are largely used for volume striking, but he’ll also step into hard low kicks with his rear leg and occasionally send it up to his opponent’s head as well.
Prachnio’s guard is a bit unique in that he always has his right hand right by his head, and he’ll keep his lead hand extended to occasionaly throw a jab or counter opponents as they come forward. The Polish fighter tends to lead more with his kicks than with his hands, but when opponents do come forward on him, he like to duck his head and swing back with wild punches.
Much of Prachnio’s style on the feet is built around his kicking game. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Knight doesn’t have the same kind of kicking output that Prachnio does, but the 34-year-old does regularly step into hard low kicks that can quickly compromise his opponent’s lead leg if they aren’t avoided.
“Knightmare” also tends to jab more actively than Prachnio, but that strike is usually used more to draw out reactions from an opponent than it is to set up combinations. Knight is most comfortable when he’s backing away from a pursuing fighter and can look for counter strikes like his left hook, which is what he used to stop Fabio Cherant for the only finish of his UFC career.
The majority of Knight’s career wins have come via knockout. (Zuffa LLC)
The 34-year-old also likes to hunt for occasional single leg takedowns, but there have been times where his reliance on strength has resulted in these attempts getting reversed. Knight found himself on the bottom after trying to take down both Maxim Grishin and Alonzo Menifield, but the 34-year-old has also had success creating scrambles to get to his feet or end up in top position.
The leg kick battle between these two men will be a big thing to watch out for, as they both rely heavily on the technique but haven’t been particularly adept at avoiding low kicks coming back their way.
Prachnio’s tendency to duck his head when throwing might also leave him open to big counters from Knight, but the 34-year-old’s height advantage could also make his active kicking game a significant source of frustration for “Knightmare” in this matchup.
The Stakes
Light heavyweight isn’t exactly the UFC’s deepest division and may have a larger margin for error than other weight classes, but neither of these men should feel comfortable about potentially suffering another loss.
It’s already been noted that Prachnio stayed with the UFC after being stopped in his first three fights, but after his last loss to Philipe Lins he’s now just 2-4 overall in the promotion.
The 34-year-old has a unique style and has shown flashes of promise like the body kick that stopped Ike Villanueva, but only having two UFC wins in between losing streaks wouldn’t be a strong foundation to keep his place on the roster.
Knight is currently 3-3 overall in the UFC, but it’s probably safe to say the 34-year-old hasn’t quite performed the way the promotion expected when he was signed.
Knight moved up to heavyweight for his last fight against Devin Clark. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“Knightmare” was 8-1 with eight finishes following his Contender Series win, but so far, the only UFC opponent he’s stopped was Fabio Cherant. The finish was a brutal one and showed how much power he has, but Knight certainly hasn’t been stopping opponents the way he did prior to joining the UFC.
Another concerning factor for the 34-year-old is that he failed to make the light heavyweight limit to fight Maxim Grishin, which resulted in his failed move to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his last bout. The UFC hasn’t always been especially forgiving if a fighter misses weight more than once, and at only 5’10”, Knight is probably best suited to staying at light heavyweight.
Despite each fighter only having one finish during their time in the UFC, they’re still both capable of ending this fight with one good shot. There’s a chance that some periods of this bout are relatively slow-paced while both men look for openings, but if that’s the case I expect those periods to be broken up by moments of intense action where each man swings for the fences in pursuit of a finish.
How do you think this bout between Knight and Prachnio will turn out? Are there any other fights from UFC Vegas 69 that you feel deserve more attention?
Click here to view the article.
Everyone wants to tune in for main events and fights that feature popular names, but that means meaningful or potentially action-packed matchups from elsewhere on fight cards sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A Sleeper Scrap might highlight interesting style matchups, fighters with notable storylines, or bouts that simply have the chance to be a Fight of the Night contender.
Last week’s Sleeper Scrap from UFC 284 saw Jamie Mullarkey put on a veteran performance to defeat the debuting Francisco Prado, and this week’s UFC Vegas 69 is loaded with another batch of new fighters joining the UFC.
Cards like this are always ripe for underrated fights to be highlighted, and this week’s Sleeper Scrap is a light heavyweight bout from the UFC Vegas 69 main card that features William Knight and Marcin Prachnio.
The Fighters
Marcin Prachnio’s pre-UFC career saw the Polish fighter move between several weight classes, and immediately prior to joining the UFC he went 4-0 in ONE Championship with three first-round finishes.
The 34-year-old’s time in the UFC didn’t get off to a great start when the light heavyweight suffered three-straight losses. Prachnio had only lost twice in his whole career before joining the promotion, and he was also stopped in the first round in all three of those fights.
A losing streak to start your UFC career could easily have resulted in Prachnio being cut, but in 2021 he scored his first victory in the promotion with a unanimous decision against Khalil Rountree. That win was followed by a body kick finish again Ike Villanueva, but that brief period of success ended when Prachnio lost a decision to Philipe Lins in his only fight of 2022.
Prachnio stopped Ike Villanueva for his second UFC victory in 2021. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
William Knight had never gone the distance leading up to his fight with Cody Brundage on Contender Series 2020, and “Knightmare” continued that trend when he stopped Brundage in the first round to earn a UFC contract.
The 34-year-old ended up seeing the scorecards for the first time in his first two UFC bouts, but a 1-1 start to his time in the promotion was followed by a two-fight winning streak when he defeated Fabio Cherant and Alonzo Menifield in 2021.
Knight missed weight for his next fight against Maxim Grishin before losing a unanimous decision, and an attempt to move up to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his most recent bout saw the 34-year-old quickly go from having back-to-back wins to being on a two-fight skid.
The Matchup
Neither of these men are particularly high output strikers, but one weapon that Prachnio constantly utilizes is a variety of kicks with his lead leg.
The 34-year-old will regularly feint with his lead leg and mix up his targets when he does commit to throwing a kick. The attacks with his lead leg are largely used for volume striking, but he’ll also step into hard low kicks with his rear leg and occasionally send it up to his opponent’s head as well.
Prachnio’s guard is a bit unique in that he always has his right hand right by his head, and he’ll keep his lead hand extended to occasionaly throw a jab or counter opponents as they come forward. The Polish fighter tends to lead more with his kicks than with his hands, but when opponents do come forward on him, he like to duck his head and swing back with wild punches.
Much of Prachnio’s style on the feet is built around his kicking game. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Knight doesn’t have the same kind of kicking output that Prachnio does, but the 34-year-old does regularly step into hard low kicks that can quickly compromise his opponent’s lead leg if they aren’t avoided.
“Knightmare” also tends to jab more actively than Prachnio, but that strike is usually used more to draw out reactions from an opponent than it is to set up combinations. Knight is most comfortable when he’s backing away from a pursuing fighter and can look for counter strikes like his left hook, which is what he used to stop Fabio Cherant for the only finish of his UFC career.
The majority of Knight’s career wins have come via knockout. (Zuffa LLC)
The 34-year-old also likes to hunt for occasional single leg takedowns, but there have been times where his reliance on strength has resulted in these attempts getting reversed. Knight found himself on the bottom after trying to take down both Maxim Grishin and Alonzo Menifield, but the 34-year-old has also had success creating scrambles to get to his feet or end up in top position.
The leg kick battle between these two men will be a big thing to watch out for, as they both rely heavily on the technique but haven’t been particularly adept at avoiding low kicks coming back their way.
Prachnio’s tendency to duck his head when throwing might also leave him open to big counters from Knight, but the 34-year-old’s height advantage could also make his active kicking game a significant source of frustration for “Knightmare” in this matchup.
The Stakes
Light heavyweight isn’t exactly the UFC’s deepest division and may have a larger margin for error than other weight classes, but neither of these men should feel comfortable about potentially suffering another loss.
It’s already been noted that Prachnio stayed with the UFC after being stopped in his first three fights, but after his last loss to Philipe Lins he’s now just 2-4 overall in the promotion.
The 34-year-old has a unique style and has shown flashes of promise like the body kick that stopped Ike Villanueva, but only having two UFC wins in between losing streaks wouldn’t be a strong foundation to keep his place on the roster.
Knight is currently 3-3 overall in the UFC, but it’s probably safe to say the 34-year-old hasn’t quite performed the way the promotion expected when he was signed.
Knight moved up to heavyweight for his last fight against Devin Clark. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“Knightmare” was 8-1 with eight finishes following his Contender Series win, but so far, the only UFC opponent he’s stopped was Fabio Cherant. The finish was a brutal one and showed how much power he has, but Knight certainly hasn’t been stopping opponents the way he did prior to joining the UFC.
Another concerning factor for the 34-year-old is that he failed to make the light heavyweight limit to fight Maxim Grishin, which resulted in his failed move to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his last bout. The UFC hasn’t always been especially forgiving if a fighter misses weight more than once, and at only 5’10”, Knight is probably best suited to staying at light heavyweight.
Despite each fighter only having one finish during their time in the UFC, they’re still both capable of ending this fight with one good shot. There’s a chance that some periods of this bout are relatively slow-paced while both men look for openings, but if that’s the case I expect those periods to be broken up by moments of intense action where each man swings for the fences in pursuit of a finish.
How do you think this bout between Knight and Prachnio will turn out? Are there any other fights from UFC Vegas 69 that you feel deserve more attention?
Welcome to the MMA News’ Sleeper Scrap! The relentless schedule of the MMA world means that some fans don’t have a full look at a fight card until days before the event, leaving the promoters to decide which bouts you should be paying the most attention to.
Everyone wants to tune in for main events and fights that feature popular names, but that means meaningful or potentially action-packed matchups from elsewhere on fight cards sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A Sleeper Scrap might highlight interesting style matchups, fighters with notable storylines, or bouts that simply have the chance to be a Fight of the Night contender.
Last week’s Sleeper Scrap from UFC 284 saw Jamie Mullarkey put on a veteran performance to defeat the debuting Francisco Prado, and this week’s UFC Vegas 69 is loaded with another batch of new fighters joining the UFC.
Cards like this are always ripe for underrated fights to be highlighted, and this week’s Sleeper Scrap is a light heavyweight bout from the UFC Vegas 69 main card that features William Knight and Marcin Prachnio.
The Fighters
Marcin Prachnio’s pre-UFC career saw the Polish fighter move between several weight classes, and immediately prior to joining the UFC he went 4-0 in ONE Championship with three first-round finishes.
The 34-year-old’s time in the UFC didn’t get off to a great start when the light heavyweight suffered three-straight losses. Prachnio had only lost twice in his whole career before joining the promotion, and he was also stopped in the first round in all three of those fights.
A losing streak to start your UFC career could easily have resulted in Prachnio being cut, but in 2021 he scored his first victory in the promotion with a unanimous decision against Khalil Rountree. That win was followed by a body kick finish again Ike Villanueva, but that brief period of success ended when Prachnio lost a decision to Philipe Lins in his only fight of 2022.
William Knight had never gone the distance leading up to his fight with Cody Brundage on Contender Series 2020, and “Knightmare” continued that trend when he stopped Brundage in the first round to earn a UFC contract.
The 34-year-old ended up seeing the scorecards for the first time in his first two UFC bouts, but a 1-1 start to his time in the promotion was followed by a two-fight winning streak when he defeated Fabio Cherant and Alonzo Menifield in 2021.
Knight missed weight for his next fight against Maxim Grishin before losing a unanimous decision, and an attempt to move up to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his most recent bout saw the 34-year-old quickly go from having back-to-back wins to being on a two-fight skid.
The Matchup
Neither of these men are particularly high output strikers, but one weapon that Prachnio constantly utilizes is a variety of kicks with his lead leg.
The 34-year-old will regularly feint with his lead leg and mix up his targets when he does commit to throwing a kick. The attacks with his lead leg are largely used for volume striking, but he’ll also step into hard low kicks with his rear leg and occasionally send it up to his opponent’s head as well.
Prachnio’s guard is a bit unique in that he always has his right hand right by his head, and he’ll keep his lead hand extended to occasionaly throw a jab or counter opponents as they come forward. The Polish fighter tends to lead more with his kicks than with his hands, but when opponents do come forward on him, he like to duck his head and swing back with wild punches.
Knight doesn’t have the same kind of kicking output that Prachnio does, but the 34-year-old does regularly step into hard low kicks that can quickly compromise his opponent’s lead leg if they aren’t avoided.
“Knightmare” also tends to jab more actively than Prachnio, but that strike is usually used more to draw out reactions from an opponent than it is to set up combinations. Knight is most comfortable when he’s backing away from a pursuing fighter and can look for counter strikes like his left hook, which is what he used to stop Fabio Cherant for the only finish of his UFC career.
The 34-year-old also likes to hunt for occasional single leg takedowns, but there have been times where his reliance on strength has resulted in these attempts getting reversed. Knight found himself on the bottom after trying to take down both Maxim Grishin and Alonzo Menifield, but the 34-year-old has also had success creating scrambles to get to his feet or end up in top position.
The leg kick battle between these two men will be a big thing to watch out for, as they both rely heavily on the technique but haven’t been particularly adept at avoiding low kicks coming back their way.
Prachnio’s tendency to duck his head when throwing might also leave him open to big counters from Knight, but the 34-year-old’s height advantage could also make his active kicking game a significant source of frustration for “Knightmare” in this matchup.
The Stakes
Light heavyweight isn’t exactly the UFC’s deepest division and may have a larger margin for error than other weight classes, but neither of these men should feel comfortable about potentially suffering another loss.
It’s already been noted that Prachnio stayed with the UFC after being stopped in his first three fights, but after his last loss to Philipe Lins he’s now just 2-4 overall in the promotion.
The 34-year-old has a unique style and has shown flashes of promise like the body kick that stopped Ike Villanueva, but only having two UFC wins in between losing streaks wouldn’t be a strong foundation to keep his place on the roster.
Knight is currently 3-3 overall in the UFC, but it’s probably safe to say the 34-year-old hasn’t quite performed the way the promotion expected when he was signed.
“Knightmare” was 8-1 with eight finishes following his Contender Series win, but so far, the only UFC opponent he’s stopped was Fabio Cherant. The finish was a brutal one and showed how much power he has, but Knight certainly hasn’t been stopping opponents the way he did prior to joining the UFC.
Another concerning factor for the 34-year-old is that he failed to make the light heavyweight limit to fight Maxim Grishin, which resulted in his failed move to heavyweight against Devin Clark in his last bout. The UFC hasn’t always been especially forgiving if a fighter misses weight more than once, and at only 5’10”, Knight is probably best suited to staying at light heavyweight.
Despite each fighter only having one finish during their time in the UFC, they’re still both capable of ending this fight with one good shot. There’s a chance that some periods of this bout are relatively slow-paced while both men look for openings, but if that’s the case I expect those periods to be broken up by moments of intense action where each man swings for the fences in pursuit of a finish.
How do you think this bout between Knight and Prachnio will turn out? Are there any other fights from UFC Vegas 69 that you feel deserve more attention?
Click here to view the article.
