Alex Pereira, Jiří Procházka's Next Best Fights After UFC 303

The legend of Alex Pereira got even more wild on Saturday night as he saved UFC 303 with a second-round knockout win over Jiří Procházka.

It's not just that he became the first fighter to defend the light heavyweight title twice since Jon Jones left the division. It's that he did it on two weeks' notice against a fighter as talented as Procházka.

Pereira is now a two-division champion with multiple title defenses against former champions. He's quickly becoming one of the sports biggest stars and his next fight is sure to draw even more attention.

There are multiple options for him ahead. In addition to options at light heavyweight, there's the prospect of heading up to heavyweight for a superfight with Jon Jones.

This isn't the end of the line for Procházka either. BJP is going to continue to be a contender in the division, but he'll need to recoup some of the lost momentum after coming up short.

Here's a look at the next best opponents for both in the aftermath of UFC 303.

With two consecutive wins over Procházka, it's safe to say the book is closed on this rivalry for a while. The question is whether Pereira wants to stay at light heavyweight and continue building his legacy there or if he wants to truly go big game hunting and become the UFC's first three-division champion.

Jon Jones has already made his case for a fight with Poatan. Bones believes it would be the biggest fight in MMA history.

It very well may be, but it's a bout that favors Jones and his grappling ability too much for Pereira to give up his belt right now. Jones still has a pending fight against Stipe Miocic that doesn't even have a date after being canceled for UFC 295.

Instead, Pereira seems to be correctly looking at Magomed Ankalaev for his next title defense.

"Magomed Ankalaev is a guy I would like to test myself against," Pereira told reporters. "A lot of people talk about that match up and say that he will submit me really quickly. I would like to shut a lot of those people up and show a lot of my ground game as well."

Ankalaev is unbeaten since losing his UFC debut in 2018. A win over Ankalaev would offer a new stylistic challenge for Pereira while giving him the opportunity to further establish himself as the world's best light heavyweight.

It's a fight that should be relatively easy to schedule, is intriguing enough to generate interest and keep Pereira active.

Jan Błachowicz has been making his case for a rematch against Alex Pereira. The champion has a case. He welcomed Pereira to the light heavyweight division in 2023 in a fight that he lost by split decision.

One judge thought that he won the fight and he also has a split draw against Magomed Ankalaev on his resume.

However, Błachowicz hasn't fought since their July 2023 bout as he recovers from a shoulder injury he suffered that forced him to withdraw from a fight against Aleksander Rakic in January.

Ankalaev has more momentum and is a little easier to sell with his unbeaten streak.

So Błachowicz could find himself on the outside looking in at the same time that Prochazka is going to be looking for a fight to get himself back in the mix. They can help each other out by setting a date and seeing who gets to stay in title contention.

Stylistically, the two would put on a show. Błachowicz's one-punch power would be an interesting matchup against Prochazka's frenetic striking.

The winner would have an exciting win over one of the top fighters in the division and a good case to either get another crack at the title or be put in a title eliminator in their next fight.