Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill are finally set to face each other in the octagon. The two men are former light heavyweight champions and seemed to be on a collision course until last year when Alex Pereira won the title and beat both of them shortly after.

Now Hill and Prochazka are set to face each other at the UFC’s first PPV card of 2025 at UFC 311 in January. UFC analyst and former champion Michael Bisping feels that the winner of their clash will probably find themselves fighting for the title next.

“Now as I said they’re both coming off losses to Alex Pereira. Jiri lost in the second
round at UFC 303, Jamahal Hill lost in the first round at UFC 300. Remember that
shovel upper-cut? Unbelievable. Jiri Prochzaka got dropped by the same left hook in the first round right at the end, and then in the second round, shin on chin, flush to the mush. Alex knocked them both out. Now as I said this could be a number one contender matchup,” he said on his YouTube channel.

But that is in the future. The UFC commentator pointed out that the man who deserves to fight for the title is #1 ranked Magomed Ankalaev. The latter, of course, has been the clear frontrunner for a title shot since last year.

The UFC has been strangely reluctant to have the Dagestani face ‘Poatan’, which some suspect may be because they are protecting Pereira against a stylistic nightmare in Ankalaev. But Bisping feels Ankalaev is almost surely next for Pereira, with the winner of that title fight set to face the winner of Hill-Prochazka.

“But the real number one contender is Magomed Ankalaev. That is going to be the next person that Pereira fights. And maybe the winner of this between Jamal and Jiri, well maybe they going to give the shot to whoever comes out victorious in Alex versus Magomed Ankalaev,” Bisping added. But Hill is confident he knows who will be the winner of the Pereira-Ankalaev clash.

Jamahal Hill explains why Ankalaev beats Alex Pereira in a potential clash

Jamahal Hill thinks Magomed Ankalaev will beat Alex Pereira. The former champ claimed that there are three massive advantages that the Dagestani has on paper going into the Pereira clash.

“I give Ankalaev a big chance at winning it [a Pereira fight], just because of the way he fights… If you notice Ankalaev is a counter fighter… And Alex is a pressure fighter, he’s a forward pressure fighter… He kind of leaves himself exposed to be countered… Plus Ankalaev is a southpaw, so that’s another factor of a puzzle that he’s gonna have to figure out. And then the wrestling from Ankalaev, so yeah I give him a chance,” he told ‘Inside Fighting’ in a recent interview.

Pereira, of course, has been known to have issues against southpaws going back to his kickboxing days. In addition, the Brazilian champ doesn’t really have a ground game, with his worst performance at 205 coming against Jan Blachowicz in a wrestling-heavy clash last year. While Ankalaev is also primarily a striker, he does have a serviceable ground game, which is another weapon Pereira will have to contend with.

But ‘Poatan’ is the best in the world, and one does not become that without the ability to adapt to different opponents’ styles, strengths, and weaknesses. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s take on the light heavyweight title picture at the moment?