Marcin Prachnio faces moment of truth in UFC battle 

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino mixed martial arts fans are familiar with Polish fighter Marcin Prachnio (15-6, including 2-4 in the UFC). After all, the 34-year-old Polish fighter made a name for himself in ONE Championship by going undefeated in the light heavyweight division.

It was his success there that drew the attention of the UFC. 

However, since entering the world’s top combat sports organization in 2018, he has been rather disappointing. Prachnio dropped three consecutive matches in the UFC — all first-round knockouts. 

It seemed Marcin had a suspect chin. More so, the UFC competition — much, much tougher.

Prachnio righted the ship with two wins in a row, but in his last bout in April 2022, he lost a unanimous decision to Brazilian Philipe Lins.

“My conditioning wasn’t very good in that last fight,” explained Prachnio. “But now, I have had seven months to train and fully prepare for William Knight (11-4 including 3-3 in the UFC). I am in the best shape of my life.”

So is Knight, who posted his Atlas-esque physique on his Instagram.

Knight is a brawler whose wrestling is all right. Prachnio is more of a technical fighter. Meaning, he thinks, adjusts, does what is right. He just needs to translate that into more wins.

Prachnio downplayed his less than desirable UFC record and says he is in no danger of being bounced from the UFC.

“I put everything in the past right now,” said Marcin. “What matters is the fight ahead of me against William Knight. For sure, it will be a tough one. But I expect that. I have a game plan against him that I will use to the best of my abilities.”

Prachnio is much taller than his American foe — standing 6’3” to the latter’s 5’10”. The Polish fighter lands more strikes in a minute as well — 5.8 to 2.9. But Knight does better when the fight goes the distance, something Prachnio isn’t adept at.

How he adjusts to a stronger and more powerful opponent, everyone will find out on Sunday, February 19, when UFC Fight Night is televised in the Philippines at 8 a.m. live on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo TV streaming application.