A new light heavyweight clash between Khalil Rountree and Marcin Prachnio has joined the lineup for UFC 257 on Jan. 23.
UFC officials announced the pairing during Saturday’s UFC 256 broadcast. The card will be headlined by the return of Conor McGregor as he faces off with former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.
After hinting at retirement, Rountree ultimately decided to continue his fighting career as he returns in January while attempting to bounce back from a loss in his last outing against Ion Cutelaba in 2019. Rountree was originally expected to fight in March but the coronavirus pandemic scrapped the card and he was forced back to the sidelines.
Now the former Ultimate Fighter competitor will return at the start of the New Year with designs on getting back in the win column after a 4-4 record with one no contest in his first nine fights with the promotion.
As for Prachnio, he is still searching for his first win in the UFC after suffering a trio of losses in his first three appearances inside the octagon. Prachnio has fallen to Sam Alvey, Magomed Ankalaev and Mike Rodriguez in consecutive bouts after putting together an eight-fight win streak outside the UFC in organizations such as ONE Championship.
Rountree vs. Prachnio joins the UFC 257 card, which will also feature a key flyweight showdown between former title contender Jessica Eye and Joanne Calderwood as well as top 10 ranked strawweights Marina Rodriguez battling Amanda Ribas.