Jiří Procházka, Alex Pereira's Next Best Fights After UFC 295 Results

Alex Pereira is your new UFC light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian claimed his second UFC title with a second-round TKO win over Jiří Procházka at UFC 295.

With his Madison Square Garden moment in hand, the question inevitably turns to what's next. The light heavyweight division has been in a near-constant state of fluctuation since Jon Jones dropped the belt in 2020.

Since that moment there have been two champions vacate the belt due to injury, a vacant title fight that ended in a draw and just one successful title defense. Even then, it was when Jan Blachowicz beat Israel Adesanya, who was coming up from middleweight.

So, now the question becomes whether Pereira is the man to finally bring some stability to the division. Who should be his first title defense? Where does Procházka go from here?

Let's take a look at the best next fights for each of the main eventers to answer some of those questions.

Pereira: Magomed Ankalaev

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Magomed Ankalaev of Russia prepares to face Johnny Walker of Brazil in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Magomed Ankalaev's title shot has really been in the works for a while. Now that this fight is through and Ankalaev has nothing on his calendar, it's the next championship bout to make.

When Procházka initially dropped the belt due to injury, the UFC responded by setting up a title fight between Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz. It was a perfect setup for Ankalaev to win the title and wait for an inevitable matchup with Procházka upon his return.

Ankalaev was unable to come through, though. The bout was deemed a split draw despite an overwhelming amoung of media scorecards coming out for Ankalaev as the winner.

Once again the UFC teed up a fight between Ankalaev and the champion. They gave him Johnny Walker in his rebound fight but that fight come to another unfulfilling conclusion when it was ruled a No Contest due to an accidental illegal knee rendering Walker unable to continue.

The fact remains that Ankalaev remains unbeaten since losing his UFC debut in 2018.

Jamahal Hill is one of the only other logical options at this point. He briefly held the light heavyweight crown after beating Glover Teixeira in January, but vacated the title due to a ruptured Achilles tendon in July.

Asking him to come back to a title fight less than a year since that injury would be asking a bit much. He likely has to wait for the next title defense.

Procházka: Johnny Walker

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Johnny Walker

The loss is disappointing for Procházka, but this is hardly the last we'll see from him. It's hard to believe, but this was just the fourth fight in his UFC tenure.

After working his way back from a devastating shoulder injury, it might be best to set him up with a step down in competition. Procházka is still an incredibly talented fighter with a marketable personality and style.

Throwing him to the wolves and giving him another elite opponent in his next bout could set him up for failure. Instead, pairing him up with someone like Johnny Walker would provide another opportunity for him to add to his highlight reel and build himself back into a worthy title challenger.

Walker is coming off the frustrating No Contest against Anakalaev, but he was coming off a three-fight winning streak. Walker has been inconsistent throughout his career so the opportunity to beat a former champion in Procházka should be a good consolation for not getting an immediate rematch against Ankalaev.

This keeps Walker in the spotlight a bit longer while giving the Czech Samurai a chance to showcase his striking against another unorthodox and exciting striker.