UFC Vegas 34 Prelims: William Knight vs Fabio Cherant- Prediction and Analysis

UFC Vegas 34: Cannonier vs Gastelum will take place this Saturday with some exciting clashes in its main as well as prelims card. One clash that could excite fans is the light heavyweight duel set to take place between William Knight and Fabio Cherant.

The ‘Knightmare’ Knight will look to bounce back after suffering a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Da-Un Jung at UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs Holland. His current record stands at 9-2 (8 T/KO and 1 decision).

‘The Water Buffalo’ Cherant, who is yet to open his win account for the promotion, last featured in a losing cause against Alonzo Menifield at UFC 260: Miocic vs Ngannou 2. Fabio has picked up 7 wins and has suffered 2 losses. Out of those wins, 5 have come via submissions and 2 via decisions.

William Knight vs Fabio Cherant- Analysis

If we compare their physical stats, ‘Knightmare’ stands tall with 5’10” and has a reach of 73″. Meanwhile, ‘The Water Buffalo’ is slightly taller with a height of 6’1″.

If we take a glance at their UFC career statistics, Knight lands 3.56 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 74%. He absorbs 2.56 significant strikes with a 34% defense rate. On average, he lands 2.56 takedowns per 15 mins with an accuracy of 53%. He also has a takedown defense of 40%.

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Meanwhile, Cherant has landed 1.0 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 30%. Also, he has absorbed 6.73 significant strikes with a 31% defense rate. This hands the advantage to Knight.

However, Knight (33) still has to develop his game to take advantage of an opponent’s leaky defense. He focuses more on his overhand rights and low kicks, but his wrestling would be a concern.

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‘Knightmare’ still could be in with a chance to tag Cherant as the latter tends to take the match to the fence. But, considering Knight’s subpar wrestling game, Cherant could also go for submissions.

Though Knight has a bit more UFC experience and may grind the match to a decision, his inability to defend Jung’s attacks last time around could well be exposed against Cherant.

Final Prediction: Cherant via unanimous decision