Released UFC fighter reveals he lost 7 family members leading up to the last fight before getting fired

Former UFC light heavyweight William Knight has revealed he tragically lost 7 family members heading into his bout against Marcin Prachnio back in February.

After earning himself a UFC contract following two wins on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS), Knight hoped to continue his fine form in the promotion. Unfortunately the dream move didn't pan out the way he hoped and he left the organization with a record of 3-4 in his seven appearances.

Knight has however recently shined a light on the last fight of his UFC contract, when he faced Prachnio at UFC Vegas in February. The 35-year-old was heavily criticzed for his performance, where he only landed eight strikes across all three rounds despite the entire fight remaining on the feet.

According to 'Knightmare' he was mentally and emotionally exhausted from losing members of his family, which resulted in him freezing up in the octagon. Speaking to MMA Mania, Knight said:

"My last fight I was coming off a f*cked up situation where I lost seven family members. They say if you're not mentally there, you're not physically there. You see what I'm saying? I stood there and I'm not proud of it...Any other person would never have taken that many leg kicks and stayed fighting until the end. My brain just wasn't there."

Catch the interview here:

Aljamain Sterling believes he can KO Henry Cejudo in UFC 288 main event

Aljamain Sterling is hoping to make history this weekend as he seeks to become the first bantamweight champion to defend the title three times during a single reign.

Speaking about the upcoming bout against Cejudo, Sterling also believes he's destined to make more history for himself. 'Funk Master' is confident that not only will he defend the title, but he may do so whilst landing the first standing KO of his career.

Speaking at the UFC 288 media day, the bantamweight champ said:

"I hope he stays on the outside. I'm going to pick his a** apart. I really do think so. I think this might be my first stand-up KO. I would like to get the takedown and then to TKO him on the ground, but I think if he tries to strike with me on the outside, I get to pick him apart and really display my striking once again like I did against Pedro Munhoz, like I did against Jimmie Rivera, and these are all high-level strikers.

Catch Sterling's comments here: