The Octagon’s first trip to the Czech Republic is officially in the books. All and all, this UFC Prague card delivered, and it didn’t hurt that the final contest had ended in North America by dinner time.
With 13 fights in total on the night, seven of which ended via stoppage of some sort, let’s take a look at the fighters that helped themselves the most on the card.
Thiago Santos
Few fighters have experienced the level of recent success in the Octagon as Thiago Santos. The Brazilian has won eight of his last nine fights including his most recent win at UFC Prague over the No. 4 ranked Jan Blachowicz.
Historically “Marreta” is an active fighter, having competed five times in 2018 alone. Depending on what happens in this weekend’s UFC 235 main event between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Anthony Smith, Santos could be looking at a title shot later this year.
Ismail Naurdiev
UFC debuts don’t get much better than the 22-year-old Ismail Naurdiev’s was.
“The Austrian Wonderboy” may not have finished the very tough Michel Prazeres inside of three rounds, however, he gained 15 minutes of irreplaceable Octagon experience against a high-level opponent.
That, in itself, is invaluable for Naurdiev who looked every part a UFC fighter. Keep an eye out for this welterweight going forward.
Dwight Grant
Dwight Grant sure lived up to his moniker of “The Body Snatcher” on Saturday night as he absolutely stole the soul of Carlo Pedersoli with one second left in the opening round.
With the win, the 34-year-old American Kickboxing Academy fighter gets back on track after a setback in his promotional debut.
Chris Fishgold
Chris Fishgold continues to prove why so many MMA fan’s across the pond believe he is the next big thing in European MMA.
Fishgold, 26, rebounded nicely from a loss in his UFC debut to Calvin Kattar last October with a submission of Daniel Teymur in Prague. The win makes it seven of eight for the Liverpudlian, and reestablishes him as a definite preospect to watch.
What performance were you most impressed by at UFC Prague?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/25/2019.