Thiago Santos continued his sprint up the light heavyweight rankings on Saturday, with a crushing, third-round TKO against Jan Blachowicz.
A former middleweight, Santos (21-6) dropped Blachowicz with a counter left hook and pummeled him with hammer fists until referee Herb Dean stepped in at the 39-second mark. The 205-pound bout headlined UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
Saturday marked the UFC's first visit to Prague. The event drew a sold-out attendance of 16,583 and $1.6 million gate, per UFC officials.
The win is Santos' third in a row at light heavyweight and places him firmly in title contention. Current champion Jon Jones is scheduled to defend the belt against Anthony Smith next week at UFC 235. Santos already holds a win over Smith from their days at middleweight.
"The fans will tell who has to be the next challenger," said Santos, through an interpreter. "I'm going to Las Vegas to watch Anthony Smith against Jon Jones. If it's Anthony Smith, I'll beat him again. If it's Jon Jones, I'll beat him, too."
Fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Santos has quickly developed a reputation as one of the hardest strikers in the division. He has recorded knockouts in each of his three victories at this weight, including stoppages over Eryk Anders and Jimi Manuwa.
He has also developed a reputation as a very fast starter, however, his approach on Saturday was far more measured. He paced himself well for a scheduled five-round fight, which might have prompted Blachowicz (23-8) to come forward in the third round.
"I keep on improving, and I keep gaining experience," Santos said. "The last fight, I could expose a little bit. This fight, I knew I had to take it easy and use my experience."
Santos has won eight of his past nine contests. Blachowicz, of Poland, suffered his first defeat since April 2017. He rode a four-fight win streak into the bout.