Preview: UFC Fight Night 190 Prelims

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Light Heavyweights

NR | Marcin Prachnio (14-5, 1-3 UFC) vs. NR | Isaac Villanueva (18-11, 1-2 UFC)

ODDS: Prachnio (-210), Villanueva (+175)

Persistence certainly paid off for Poland’s Prachnio. His first three UFC bouts went about as poorly as possible. He tried to adapt with various strategies and levels of aggression, but fights against Sam Alvey, Magomed Ankalaev and Mike Rodriguez each saw Prachnio get knocked out inside the first round. It was surprising when Prachnio got a fourth UFC bout and even more so when he managed to survive and beat Khalil Rountree, who is likely the hardest hitter that he has faced to date. Now with a chance to reset his proverbial clock and make some noise inside the Octagon, Prachnio looks to make it two straight wins against Villanueva. Texas’ Villanueva was a late-notice pickup by the UFC shortly after the pandemic, and he is a fairly straight-ahead knockout artist who, like Prachnio, did not find much success early in his UFC career. His promotional debut saw him move up to heavyweight and look completely outgunned against Chase Sherman, and his sophomore effort against Jordan Wright quickly ended in a stoppage loss due to a cut. However, Villanueva made good on his third chance with a brutal knockout of Vinicius Moreira and, like Prachnio, now has a chance to carve out a niche for himself inside the UFC. Prachnio is the much faster and more technical fighter, but Villanueva could wind up leveraging his durability in pursuit of a knockout. With Villanueva needing to rely on straightforward blitzing attacks, it seems more likely that Prachnio finds success hitting him as he attempts to crash in. The pick is Prachnio via second-round knockout.

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