What’s Next for the Winners at UFC Prague?

What’s Next for the Winners at UFC Prague?

By Ben Jessop 

Magomed Ankalaev defeats Klidson Faria de Abreu via decision

This light-heavyweight bout saw Ankalaev take his second win, in three UFC appearances against UFC newcomer Faria de Abreu. Ankalaev took control for the most part but wasn’t entirely dominant throughout – despite breaking Faria de Abreu’s nose in the first round. Faria de Abreu put in an impressive performance for his UFC debut and dug deep but unfortunately couldn’t find the win.

The light-heavyweight division is a difficult group to match together until you get to the top fifteen. A lot of fighters have a littered record making it hard to see a way to the top. Sam Alvey could be an interesting opponent for Ankalaev. Having 33 wins against 12 losses, you’ll struggle to find someone with more in-octagon experience. Alvey has lost his last two fights against Antonio Rogerio Nogeuira in September 2018 and against Jim Crute earlier this year on the Adesanya vs Silva card. It could be interesting to see who between Ankalaev and Alvey would come out on top.

Petr Yan defeats John Dodson via decision

One of the most exciting bantamweights flying through opposition in the UFC is the 26 year old Russian Petr Yan. He’s currently on a seven fight win streak, four within the UFC. Now ranked #14 in the official UFC rankings, Yan can begin his ascend to the top of the division. Petr Yan has made his own plans for what’s next and has called out Jimmie Rivera. Rivera boats an impressive 22-3 record with losses against top contenders in Aljamain Sterling at the Ngannou vs Velasquez only last week and Marlon Moraes in June of 2018. This would be a huge jump for Yan, Rivera is on the brink of the top five and currently sits at #6.

This fight definitely makes sense for Yan, but perhaps not so much for Rivera who I’d like to see face off against John Lineker. For me, it would make more sense for Yan to face Rob Font (Currently #10) who has just come off a win against Sergio Pettis in December 2018. The bantamweight division competition has an extremely solid top ten, I think Yan can upset the rankings but needs to take more time before gunning for the top spot.

Liz Carmouche defeats Lucie Pudilova via decision

In a close fought bout, Carmouche took on the hometown fighter in Pudilova. It was an exciting contest but Carmouche was consistently looking for the finish but could not find it even when the odds seemed on her side. Carmouche won via unanimous decision, much to the displeasure of the Czech audience but none-the-less it was a solid win for Carmouche who will now be looking to break the top five.

For me, it would be interesting for Carmouche to take on ranked #4 in Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Despite Joanna taking a few hard losses recently, most notably two losses to Rose Namajunas back to back and her most recent loss to Valentina Shevchenko back in December 2018. She seems to be on a slide, but holds a UFC star status so a win for her against Carmouche could be much needed. If Carmouche managed to win against a fighter with a strong media and UFC presence, Carmouche could break the top five and battle for the top spot.

Michal Oleksiejczuk defeats Gian Villante via R1 KO

In the shortest lived contest of the evening, Oleksiejczuk put down Villante with a strong body shot KO a minute and thirty-four seconds into the first round. In the time the fight was live, Oleksiejczuk was really putting on some pressure and gave Villante very little room to even retaliate. After such a dominant performance, people will be looking to see where he could perhaps move going forward. He started his UFC with a bit of controversy, his UFC debut was against Khalil Rountree back in December 2017 but Oleksiejczuk tested positive for a banned substance.

If Oleksiejczuk really wants to prove his worth within the light heavyweight division, he’s going to have to face a big name opponent. Perhaps matching him up against Jim Crute could work. Crute is 10-0 and beat Sam Alvey earlier this February at UFC 234. If Oleksiejczuk manages to put away Crute in a similar fashion, we may have someone to watch on our radar.

Stefan Struve defeats Marcos Rogerio de Lima via R2 submission

This heavyweight bout was the co-main event for this ESPN card and Struve managed to struggle through to a submission in the second round. Struve was dropped in the opening round and de Lima seemed a little reckless and just throwing haymakers. Struve managed to tie him up in a kimura in the first round but had to escape to defend heavy blows back on the feet. In the second round, Struve saw an opportunity to secure an arm-triangle choke because a quick tap from de Lima at 2:21 of the second round.

It’s hard to say what’s next for Struve at this point, he hinted at retirement in Prague, coming off two losses prior to that, perhaps it was a win that Struve wanted to go out on. Struve was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve and an enlarged heart in 2013 but has remained in good spirits since. He noted that he didn’t want to fight until his body was entirely broken and was looking to retire at a good time.

If Struve does decide to hand up the gloves now, it leaves him with a long track record of successes (29-11), with one notably against UFC legend Stipe Miocic. Either way, Struve deserves the retirement but it’ll be interesting to see if he decides to step back into the octagon.

Thiago Santos defeats Jan Blachowicz via R3 KO

Thiago Santos bought some drama to his main event, light-heavyweight bout. Despite the majority of this fight being kept on the feet, Blachowicz kept a decent amount of pressure on Santos but he was quick to change tactics and calculate the strikes he needed to focus on as the fight progressed. Two hooks finally took Blachowicz to the canvas and Santos fired unbelievable ground and pound. Herb Dean left more than enough time for Blachowicz to show some sort of defence but it wasn’t to be, there was no escaping the onslaught from Santos.

This is the third KO/TKO victory in a row for Santos, currently ranked #4 it’s hard to argue that he deserves a shot at the title. With Anthony Smith facing Jon Jones March 3rd, the timelines should match up perfectly should the UFC give Santos the winner of Smith vs Jones. For me, it’s hard to argue against it. There is a lot of movement at the top of the division, with people not knowing what’s in store for Jones and Cormier and with Gustafsson ranked #3 it’ll be interesting to see how the UFC filter through the talent.