On the main card of UFC 320 this past Saturday night, we saw a massive matchup in the light heavyweight division. Former champion Jiri Prochazka (32-5-1) took on former title challenger Khalil Rountree (14-7) in a potential title eliminator.
When you looked at this fight on paper, you just expected it to be violent and that’s what it was. I really expected Rountree to have success early and he did. For the first round and a half, Rountree was well out in front of Jiri Prochazka.
Rountree had a speed advantage and he was catching Prochazka a lot in those early exchanges. That said, Prochazka was doing a great job absorbing all of the shots and never really appearing hurt. Halfway through the second round, things started to turn a little.
The former UFC champion started fighting with a lot more forward pressure and while Rountree was still having success and landing, you could tell he was slowing down. Heading into the third, myself and all three judges had Rountree up 20-18. All he had to do was survive and his corner knew a storm was coming.
Rountree’s corner warned him that Prochazka was going to come at him hard and that’s what he did. From the opening bell in the final round, Prochazka was all over Rountree. You could see Rountree getting more tired and he was starting to get hurt by the shots Prochazka was landing.
Prochazka started ripping to the body and even when Rountree would land a counter, he would get blasted back by Prochazka. Eventually up against the fence, Prochazka landed a right and then a vicious left behind it that slept Rountree giving Prochazka the massive KO win at UFC 320.
What’s next after UFC 320?
If you want my opinion, I think that Jiri Prochazka is the most entertaining fighter on the roster. The man is such a character and no lead is safe when you’re fighting him. We saw Aleksandar Rakic have a ton of success against him. We saw Dominick Reyes have success against him. We saw Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree have success against him.
All four of those opponents got knocked out in the end by Prochazka. Unless the opponent is Alex Pereira, it just feels like Jiri Prochazka is inevitable inside the octagon. Now with his second huge knockout win over the year, what will the UFC do with him next?
Ultimately, I think it comes down to what Alex Pereira does. Pereira is 2-0 with two knockouts against Prochazka, but the first fight was Prochazka’s first after a very long layoff and the second fight was on very short notice in order to save an event. While typically it’s hard to sell a trilogy when one guy is 2-0, this is one that you could sell.
Not too mention both men are massive stars. Carlos Ulberg is also very deserving of a title shot and he would be a fresh opponent for Poatan. If the UFC wants something fresh and they keep Pereira at 205, Ulberg will likely get the shot.
In that scenario, I’d love to see Prochazka face Magomed Ankalaev next. Those two are not fans of each other and I’d love to see them settle things inside the octagon. Perhaps the UFC wants entertainment value for Poatan’s next title defense and in that scenario, Prochazka will get his trilogy.
There is one other option which would result in Prochazka getting his chance. Alex Pereira wants to move up to heavyweight and this year, the UFC has been forcing fighters to vacate their title in order to move up. If that happens, the light heavyweight title would be vacant and it’s clear that the fight to make would be Prochazka – Ulberg.
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