UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg

FSM Recap: UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg

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UFC 327 settled in Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday night, and the main card was full of electric moments with a new light heavyweight champion being crowned.

Main Event – Carlos Ulberg vs. Jiří Procházka

Nobody could have said what happened in that Octagon on Saturday night. Carlos Ulberg (14-1) captured the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship by knocking out Jiří Procházka (32-6-1) in the first round despite suffering a blown-out right knee in the opening minute.

Everything seemed to favor the former champ early. Prochazka was picking apart a hobbled Ulberg and looked like he was getting ready to finish it. But Ulberg never stopped looking for the shot that would change everything.

Ulberg landed a perfect left hook on the former champion’s jaw. It dropped him, and Ulberg finished the deal. After seemingly being on the verge of losing, he connected with that counter left hook that put Prochazka on the deck and then rained down punches to seal it.

Ulberg now joins Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya as City Kickboxing fighters to win a UFC title. That is a legendary gym.

Co-Main Event – Paulo Costa vs. Azamat Murzakanov

Paulo Costa walked into the light heavyweight division and wasted no time making a statement. He took the fight to Murzakanov in the first round, looking like the best version of himself. Murzakanov clawed back into it in the second, but Costa came out firing to start the third and landed a brutal head kick that finished the fight.

This was the best Paulo Costa we have seen in years. He looked like a completely different fighter at 205, and that head kick finish was nasty. The division just got a lot more interesting.

Full Card Recap

Main Card

• Carlos Ulberg def. Jiří Procházka — KO (Punches), Round 1, 3:45 (Vacant Light Heavyweight Title)

• Paulo Costa def. Azamat Murzakanov — KO (Head Kick), Round 3, 1:23
• Josh Hokit def. Curtis Blaydes — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dominick Reyes def. Johnny Walker — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cub Swanson def. Nate Landwehr — TKO (Punches), Round 1, 4:06

Preliminary Card

• Aaron Pico def. Patricio Pitbull — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

• Kevin Holland def. Randy Brown — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mateusz Gamrot def. Esteban Ribovics — Submission (Arm Triangle Choke), Round 2, 4:19
• Tatiana Suarez def. Loopy Godinez — Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round 2, 2:29
• Chris Padilla vs. MarQuel Mederos — Majority Draw (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
• Vicente Luque def. Kelvin Gastelum — Submission (D’Arce Choke), Round 1, 4:08
• Charles Radtke def. Francisco Prado — Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

What’s Next?

Ulberg is the new champion, but depending on how bad his knee injury is, he could be on the shelf for a while. Regardless of how long it takes, he earned every bit of that belt. What a moment.

Costa’s knockout of Murzakanov makes him an immediate contender at 205. He moved up from middleweight and looked like he belonged right away. Give him a top-five opponent and see what happens.

Hokit improved to 9-0 with his win over Blaydes and is already booked for his next fight. He will face Derrick Lewis at the UFC White House event in June. He went from a guy fans were barely paying attention to, to one of the hottest names in the sport overnight.

Cub Swanson closed out his MMA career in spectacular fashion with that first-round knockout over Nate Landwehr, bringing a 22-year career to a close. One of the great featherweights of his generation got to go out exactly the way he deserved. Respect to Cub for everything.

Be sure to tune into FSM’s Main Event with Kalani Lua (@KLua11) on Franchise Sports Media for all the latest in combat sports.

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