In the main event of UFC Vegas 59 last Saturday, Jamahal Hill earned a fourth-round TKO win over Thiago Santos. After the win, he called for a title shot against Jiri Prochazka and his win only further complicates the division and who may face Prochazka next time out.
Prochazka won the belt back in June with a fifth-round submission win over Glover Teixeira. He and Teixeira have talked about running it back while Hill, Magomed Ankalaev, and Jan Blachowicz all have a case to get a title shot.
Here are my rankings on who I think is most likely to get the title shot.
Glover Teixeira
Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka had arguably the best Fight of the Year in June so running it back is the most logical fight.
Both Teixeira and Prochazka have been vocal in saying they want this fight and even Dana White has hinted at wanting to make the fight.
“Hello everybody. I wish you a great day, and I made [a decision] for my next fight: I want to fight Glover the next fight,” Prochazka said on social media. “Not because it will be another big fight, but just one reason, my performance was bad in the first fight, and I will show you why I’m the champion, clearly, decisively. And I think Glover deserves it. So here’s the offer. I will show you why I’m the champion.”
It also could serve as the Brazilian’s retirement fight so Prochazka-Teixeira 2 should be the UFC’s first choice.
Jan Blachowicz
Many might not think Jan Blachowicz deserves a title shot after just one win, which was by injury, he is a former champ and a big name that deserves another crack.
Although Blachowicz beat Rakic by an injury to the Austrian, he could’ve gotten an immediate rematch when he lost his belt to Teixeira and didn’t. He then took on the number one contender in Rakic and held his own and got the win, which puts him as second-most likely to fight Prochazka for the belt next time out.
Jamahal Hill
This is where some people may not agree but Jamahal Hill has a better chance of fighting Jiri Prochazka next time out than Magomed Ankalaev.
Hill is a fan-favorite and stopped Santos by fourth-round TKO on Saturday, which is something Ankalaev couldn’t do. Many have also been critical of Ankalaev’s style as he isn’t the most entertaining fighter while Hill is always entertaining and on paper, Hill vs. Prochazka could be a Fight of the Year contender and will be full of trash-talking in the lead-up to the bout.
Magomed Ankalaev
Finally, Magomed Ankalaev closes the rankings out as although he is ranked ahead of Hill, he hasn’t put on the most exciting fights which will hurt him as the UFC wants to put on exciting fights, especially title fights.
Ankalaev could also be the odd-man out as if the UFC does Prochazka-Teixeira 2, Hill and Blachowicz could be matched up to determine the next time title contender.
