Jiri Prochazka, Volkan Oezdemir, Anthony Smith
Outlook: If not for Khamzat Chimaev, Jiri Prochazka would’ve been the biggest discovery to UFC fans after the first stint on Fight Island when he halted Volkan Oezdemir with a flush right hand. Prochazka caught eyes with his quirky fighting style, and his 11-fight winning streak has him on the tip of the tongue when discussing new light heavyweight contenders. Oezdemir, to his credit, looked revitalized prior to dropping his contest with Prochazka. After suffering three straight losses, including a title bout against Daniel Cormier, Oezdemir bounced back with a commanding knockout win over Ilir Latifi and a hard-fought contest against Rakic. Oezdemir’s patient power makes him dangerous against anyone in the division, and his grappling continues to improve, as well, showing that there’s still plenty of time for the 31-year-old known as “No Time.” Anthony Smith, on the other hand, is in a bit of a tough spot. He, like Thiago Santos, went on a three-fight winning streak once he moved up from middleweight, and after a failed title shot against Jon Jones, he returned with a strong submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in enemy territory. He looked to build on that fight early against Glover Teixeira until Teixeira turned things around. Smith is a fighter’s fighter, though, and even though he dropped the follow up bout against Aleksandar Rakic, “Lionheart” earned his nickname and reputation for a reason.
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