Despite what looked to be the end of Anthony Smith’s unlikely rise through the light heavyweight division, ‘Lionheart’ bounced back from his title loss to Jon Jones by submitting long-standing top contender Alexander Gustafsson in his home country.
Meanwhile in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 153, the light heavyweight division saw a rising prospect score a knockout of the year contender as Aleksandar Rakic’s head kick starched Jimi Manuwa early in the first round.
UFC: Stockholm also saw big wins for the likes of Frank Camacho, Christos Giagos and promotional debutant Sergey Khandozhko but with UFC 238 fast approaching on June 8th, here are five fights that the UFC matchmakers should consider in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 153:
Anthony Smith vs. Rockhold/Blachowicz Winner
After somewhat of a journeyman career in the middleweight division, Anthony Smith has undergone a complete career overhaul at light heavyweight.
Adding Alexander Gustafsson to his recent scalps at 205 lbs, Smith could very conceivably get another crack at Jon Jones sooner rather than later.
First things first however, Smith will have to add another title contender to his resume before Jones vs. Smith II can be made.
With a bubbling rivalry with Luke Rockhold already underway, the winner of Rockhold’s light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz should be earmarked for Smith’s next fight.
Aleksandar Rakic vs. Glover Teixeira
The light heavyweight division has slowly been generating some much needed new blood over the past 18 months and Aleksandar Rakic may well be the best prospect there is.
With an already established well-rounded skillset, Rakic showed off some truly devastating power as he landed a flush head kick to knock out Jimi Manuwa.
Rakic is now well placed to take on a veteran of the 205 lbs division and with Glover Teixeira in that perfect gatekeeping position to the elite bracket, a fight between the two would make a lot of sense.
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Sodiq Yusuff
Putting in his annual fight in the UFC, Makwan Amirkhani picked up a big win with a slick anaconda choke on Chris Fishgold.
Amirkhani has long been a what-if in the UFC’s featherweight division as his potential is often an afterthought due to his inactivity.
If Amirkhani is to be a big player for the UFC, he’ll have to fight far more frequently than he is but a fight with fellow talented prospect Sodiq Yusuff would potentially catapult the winner into the path of a top 15 opponent.
Lina Lansberg vs. Marion Reneau
Returning to her native Sweden, Lina Lansberg put in arguably a career-best performance as she dominated former Invicta FC champion Tonya Evinger over three-rounds.
Lansberg has exchanged wins and losses in her last seven but if she builds off of her performance against Evinger, Lansberg could be a serious title challenger.
With Marion Reneau in a similar position due to her own inconsistency, a bout between Lansberg and Reneau would test both women.
Leonardo Santos vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Leonardo Santos may be the best unknown fighter on the UFC roster.
With his career plagued by injuries, Santos still holds a seven-fight unbeaten run in the UFC but his knockout win over Stevie Ray on Saturday night was his first outing since 2016.
With Santos now 39-years old, it’s a case of now or never for Santos.
After fellow Brazilian Francisco Trinaldo had his recently booked fight with Diego Ferreira fall through, a match-up between the two ageing fighters would afford the winner a shot at the lightweight division’s top 15.