This past Saturday on the main card of UFC 311, we saw an absolute war between two former light heavyweight champions. Jiri Prochazka (31-5-1) and Jamahal Hill (12-3, 1 NC) were both looking to get back on track after suffering losses against Alex Pereira in their last fights.
This was a fight that was years in the making and it lived up to the hype. In the first round, Prochazka was able to rock Jamahal Hill back with a beautiful left hand. However, I was really impressed with Hill’s ability to recover. In the second round, Hill really took things over with his crisp technique and he landed some brutal body shots.
This fight came down to the third round with both men needing the round to win the fight. After an intense back-and-forth start to the round, Prochazka landed a brutal right over the top that put Hill down. Hill got back up but was put down once again and this time Prochazka finished it off to get the huge TKO win at UFC 311.
What’s next after UFC 311?
When you have a top contender like Jiri Prochazka who is 0-2 with two knockouts against the current champion, typically it’s hard to envision that contender getting a third fight. However, Prochazka is not a normal contender and I do envision him getting another shot at the light heavyweight title.
It was announced on Saturday that headlining UFC 313 will be Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. I think the clear top option would be for Prochazka to face the winner of that fight, but there is another fight in March I’m watching for Prochazka. Carlos Ulberg and Jan Blachowicz are fighting in London. If Prochazka doesn’t get a title fight next, I’d look at the winner of that fight for his next bout.