Impa Kasanganay Drops to Welterweight, Meets Sasha Palatnikov at April 10 UFC Card

It’s go time!!! Happy to announce a date and opponent excited to put on a beautiful display of violence #ufc https://t.co/kfSyH4PZOl

— Sasha Palatnikov (@PalatnikovMMA) February 25, 2021

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The recipient of an all-time great Ultimate Fighting Championship knockout has decided to change weight classes following that spectacular defeat.

Per MMA Junkie on Thursday, the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on April 10 has gained a welterweight scrap between Impa Kasanganay (8-1) and Sasha Palatnikov (6-2). The two men will face off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and this will be Kasanganay’s welterweight debut after a career spent at 185 pounds. Palatnikov confirmed the booking on his Twitter page on Thursday night.

Kasanganay will be looking to right the ship after suffering Sherdog’s 2020 “Knockout of the Year” at the foot of Joaquin Buckley that September. Before suffering the earth-shattering loss, “Tshilobo” had won each of his first eight MMA bouts, including one inside the UFC against Maki Pitolo. The North Carolina native made his way to the promotion following a pair of decision wins on Dana White's Contender Series.

Palatnikov, the organization’s first fighter out of Hong Kong, wowed in his UFC debut in November by punching out the previously unbeaten Louis Cosce in the third round. Despite coming in on short notice as a +435 underdog, Palatnikov scored one of the biggest betting upsets of the year on the UFC 255 curtain jerking match. Before joining the UFC ranks, the kickboxer appeared twice with the Abu Dhabi Warriors league, where he won once by first-round knockout and also lost to future UFC roster fellow Mounir Lazzez.

The UFC Fight Night event on April 10 will go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with a middleweight headliner matching Darren Till against Marvin Vettori. Other highly slotted fights on the card include a featherweight thriller between Arnold Allen and Sodiq Yusuff, while Mike Perry makes an appearance at welterweight against Daniel Rodriguez.