UFC books heavyweight matchup between Devin Clark and William Knight

Jun 1, 2019; Stockholm, Sweden; Devin Clark (blue gloves) prior the fight against Darko Stosic (red gloves) at Ericsson Globe. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC has finalized a unique heavyweight matchup for a Fight Night in May. MMA Junkie was the first to report last night that the promotion had finalized a matchup between “Brown Bear” Devin Clark (12-6) and William Knight (11-3).

The matchup will take place at UFC Vegas 51 which goes down in a couple of weeks on April 16th. What’s interesting about this matchup is the weight class that it’s taking place at. The two men will compete at heavyweight.

Both are light heavyweight fighters, but William Knight badly missed weight his last time out. This is likely one of the reasons that the UFC decided to have him fight at heavyweight but it’s interesting that Clark took the fight.

Knight came onto the UFC scene when he earned a contract on The Contender Series back in 2020. Since making his octagon debut, he’s gone 3-2. The last time we saw him was against Masx Grishin at UFC 271 where he lost by unanimous decision.

UFC Return for Brown Bear

UFC Vegas 51 will be the first time we’ve seen Devin Clark since his fight with Ion Cutelaba that took place last September. In a brutal fight, Clark lost a lopsided decision which was his second straight loss inside the octagon.

Prior to that loss, he was submitted by former title challenger Anthony Smith. Clark made his UFC debut when he was a perfect 5-0 yet he’s gone just 7-6 inside the octagon. While it’s not the most impressive record, it’s important to remember the competition.

Five of Clark’s UFC losses have come against Jan Blachowicz, Aleksandar Rakic, Ryan Spann, Ion Cutelaba, and Anthony Smith. He’s not losing to just average light heavyweights. He’s only struggled against some of the best in the world.

His last win came nearly two years ago when he defeated Alonzo Menifield. You can imagine that Clark is anxious to get his hand raised at UFC Vegas 51. This is an interesting one, but it should be a good one in a couple of weeks.

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