The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a respectable slate of prelims, and while it may be lacking in immediate relevance, the UFC on ESPN 34 undercard figures to offer some entertainment value. Heavyweights are set to take center stage. Devin Clark and William Knight leave their familiar haunts at 205 pounds to move up a division for a short-notice affair in the featured slot, but viral sensation Chris Barnett should generate the most buzz against a disappointingly normal opponent in Martin Buday. Beyond that, the usual well-matched affairs can be found. Swedish bantamweights Lina Lansberg and Pannie Kianzad rematch in the most relevant of these bouts, while a lightweight showdown between Rafa Garcia and Jesse Ronson stands out as the highlight from an action standpoint.
Heavyweights
NR | Devin Clark (12-6, 6-6 UFC) vs. NR | William Knight (11-3, 3-2 UFC)BETUS ODDS: Clark (-180), Knight (+150)
During his nearly six years on the UFC roster, Clark has been able to improve through adversity and attrition. Upon his UFC debut in 2016, “Brown Bear” seemed to have all the tools to succeed as a powerful wrestler with some striking ability, but he quickly became prone to sudden losses. Never a particularly comfortable fighter, Clark would often put together a solid performance only to suddenly eat a finish, though such losses to Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic have aged particularly well. That made Clark’s June 2020 win over Alonzo Menifield a clear sign of progress. Up until that point, it was a safe bet that anyone with finishing ability would find a stoppage against Clark, but he weathered some early adversity and eventually won an ugly grind. It has not led to a massive step forward in momentum—Clark next outing resulted in a clear loss against perennial fringe contender Anthony Smith—but it did show, along with his September decision defeat to Ion Cutelaba, that he is capable of being a tougher out than he has been in the past. He will look to get back in the win column against Knight, who is not entirely dissimilar as a fighter. “Knightmare” also has a lot of discomfort to his game, but he is helped by essentially being a gigantic ball of muscle with the ability to knock out his opponents with one punch. That is often enough to make opponents uncomfortable, which is when Knight has his best performances; he can either catch them off-guard with a huge punch or simply outmuscle them as they try to wrestle. However, losses to Da Un Jung and Maxim Grishin have left him without many weapons against opponents willing to stay patient and consistent. Thankfully for Knight, that does not describe Clark, so he should have plenty of early opportunities to quickly close the show. He will need them, given that Clark figures to fight better through exhaustion if this lasts more than a round. Clark is more durable than in the past, but between Knight’s knockout power and the fact that he is the type of fighter Knight typically knocks out, the bet is that Manchester, Connecticut, native finds his one path to victory. The pick is Knight via first-round knockout.
Continue Reading » Kianzad vs. Lansberg
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