The featured preliminary fight at UFC Vegas 51 featured light heavyweights moved up a weight class, as Devin Clark took on William Knight.
And my oh my, was Clark ever settled in as a heavyweight, tipping the scales just north of 250 pounds. A massive amount of weight, given he had regularly competed at 205 pounds — though a big miss at the scales in his last fight had necessitated the move.
Clark, for his part, had actually debuted in the UFC as a middleweight. Now, he was taking his first fight at heavyweight, in what was likely a temporary move.
Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves. A high kick from Clark started the fight, followed by a calf kick from Knight. A straight right from Clark landed, and Clark then shot for takedown. Knight locked on with a tight guillotine, but Clark defended. Knight had Clark in a headlock for a good three minutes and then landed a flying knee flush. Knight charged Clark and landed some power shots, but Clark eventually landed a takedown and put Knight against the fence. The round ended with both fighters in the center of the cage, with Clark missing a high kick.
Two hard low kicks from Clark started round two. Clark threw his teep kick again, and it barely missed. Clark landed a hard right hand and immediately followed that up with a takedown. Not much action happened; however, Clark had a big cut on his cheek. Clark finally landed an elbow and almost locked up an arm triangle. With less than 10 seconds left in the round, Knight exploded up and landed a half suplex takedown of his own to end the round.
Round three started with a high kick from Clark that partially landed. A right hand, calf kick combo landed from Clark. A body kick from Knight landed. Clark landed a right cross, and takedown but Knight got back up to his feet a lot sooner. Knight got back to his feet but Clark put him against the fence. Clark landed a left hook that hurt Knight, followed by a right hand that put Knight down. That was all she wrote!
BROWN BEAR CAME BANGIN'!!!!! 😳
[ @BrownBearC | #UFCVegas51 ] pic.twitter.com/tZm9KTTHUP
— UFC (@ufc) April 17, 2022
Official Result: Devin Clark def. William Knight by knockout (punch), Round 3, 3:21
