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Ike Villanueva truly announced himself to the UFC's light-heavyweight division in January. The hard-hitting 205lber picked up a KO stoppage that Mark Hunt would have been proud of, finishing Vinicius Moreira with a brutal overhand right in the second round.
He has now been matched up with Marcin Prachnio, who is coming off a shock decision victory over Khalil Rountree at UFC 257. A victory for either man will see them start putting together a win streak and set them on a collision course with the division's top 15.
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Ike Villanueva's plan to defeat Prachnio
Ike Villanueva recently took out time to speak with Sportskeeda's Frank Bonada, where he discussed how he sees the fight with Prachnio playing out. He stated the following:
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"He's a younger guy. He has a great karate background... "His style- I just gotta beat the kick. I mean, that's what he does. When he wants to get wild he drops his hands."
"Once I put my hands in his face, he's gonna have to shoot. He's gonna shoot or he's gonna walk into an uppercut. If it's not early it's gonna be a war. I'm gonna put on a show and really show he shouldn't be in there with me. I'm ready to put a battle on and show the world who I am."
Where Ike Villanueva sees the future of the light heavyweight division going
With the next fight for the light heavyweight belt between current champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Glover Teixera, recently announced, Ike Villanueva had his say on who he sees coming out on top. He stated:
"Man, that's a tough fight. I witnessed Glover Teixera, what he did to Anthony Smith. I ain't never seen that done to Anthony Smith. And the whole time he's beating on Anthony, he's apologizing to him."
"Glover, he's a veteran" said Villanueva. "Guys overlook his age, they think their gonna run over him. At 205 he's a big 205er. At Jacksonville I walked by him and s***! I better bulk up. He's a vet. I hope he pulls it off. Just for his legacy, I hope he pulls it off. Much respect to Jan, he's the champ. What he did to Adesanya was amazing. A great gameplan. But as a fan, for Glover's career, I hope he can pull it off at that age. If he does, that's just amazing."
