Las Vegas, NV — It’s been ten months since he last fought, and William Knight is ready to start 2023 off on the right foot.
That, after Knight (11-4) had a rough go of things both in and out of the cage last year.
“Last year was crazy. I lost two fights, I lost two family members, I lost a lot of things,” Knight told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s media day. “That’s the past, right? Only thing I can think of now is just redemption. Climbing up to where I once was, back to the top.”
Knight was supposed to face opponent Marcin Prachnio in the fall, only to pull out of the fight after tweaking his knee. It was a situation that the 34-year old might have fought through in the past, but seeing a number of other fighters suffer knee injuries was a sign.
Knight also alluded to Darrick Minner fighting injured earlier that same month as a reason he chose not to fight through the ailment.
“The health thing — I seen something with the UFC before, with Dana White last year. A fighter went into a fight injured, and his coach knew he was injured or something, and they got in trouble for it. I don’t want that outcome for my team.”
Minner and has coach, James Krause, remain under investigation by the Nevada Athletic Commission regarding the featherweight showing up injured to his November 5 bout with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. A betting scandal also erupted after large amounts of money came in on Nuerdanbieke prior to the bout.
As for Knight, he’s happy just competing, regardless of the opponent. “As long as I’m fighting, I’m fine,” he stated. “I don’t even care [about] the opponent. As you’ve seen, I took two last minute, short-notice fights. That’s what I’m here for, to fight.”
Knight has stated consistently that he doesn’t watch tape of his opponents, and explained why that remains that case. It boils down to the fact that in the modern era, fighters have become true mixed martial artists.
“At the end of the day, a hybrid fighter — I call them hybrids now, they’re not one-trick ponies like they used to be, we’re hybrids with four, five, six, seven different styles of martial arts — one would assume that this person would come back fighting the same,” suggested Knight. “That’s not the case today. Every fighter is looking to improve, and if I’m looking for something in their last fight, I’m sorely mistaken.”
Instead, Knight lets his coach “do what he needs to do, and then he trains me accordingly.”
Should he pick up the win over Prachnio at UFC Vegas 69, William Knight knows exactly who he wants next.
“Carlos Ulberg. [Israel] Adesanya’s teammate. He beat an opponent that I lost to years ago,” stated Knight, in reference to shared opponent Tafon Nchukwi. “The second he beat this guy, he started running his mouth on Twitter. He tagged me in some sh*t. And to be realistic, that fight needs to happen.”
“So after Saturday, that’s who I’m after. He ran his mouth, and he needs to put his money where his mouth is. I’m here for that fight. Because when I called him out, it was ‘oh. it’s June, it’s this, it’s this.’ Now he caught a little W, and he wants to run his mouth. I’m ready for it.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 69 media day appearance by William Knight above.
