Carlos Ulberg grabbed the light heavyweight championship out of the jaws of defeat at UFC 327 in Miami. After injuring his knee in the opening minute of his title fight against Jiří Procházka, it looked as if Ulberg’s night might end quickly. It did, but only because he caught Procházka with a left hand across the chin and finished him on the ground for the first-round knockout.
It was the surprise culmination of a card full of wow moments. The heavyweights on the main card, Josh Hokit and Curtis Blaydes, put on a slugfest for the ages, and a former Bellator MMA star who had a horrible UFC debut proved first impressions aren’t everything.
Procházka is in for some sleepless nights after this one
History will hopefully remember this as Carlos Ulberg’s night. He deserves that. He kept his composure in an unbelievable moment. Just imagine how frustrating and stressful it must be to blow out your knee in the opening round of your first UFC title fight. Obviously, he wasn’t going to just roll over, but to not skip a beat, show no emotion, continue to confidently look for ways to win and succeed? Incredible.
That said, one man will remember it very differently — and that, of course, is Jiří Procházka. Part of what makes Procházka who he is, what got him here, is his unorthodox, daring personality. But in this instance, it’s probably safe to say he truly made one of the biggest mistakes in the entire history of the UFC. The obviousness of Ulberg’s injury had a greater impact on Procházka than it did Ulberg. He began to yell, point at the ground, throw himself into potential fires that weren’t even lit. There is no question his emotional response and recklessness opened the door for the knockout.
This was his chance. He could get another one. He’s a popular, talented fighter in a wide-open division, but this was a bit of karma coming back in his favor. It wasn’t fair that he suffered a terrible shoulder injury in 2022 and had to vacate his belt before defending it. It wasn’t fair that he was rushed back into title contention when he did return, and ended up essentially fighting Alex Pereira on abbreviated notice both times they fought. He said he felt mercy for Ulberg when he recognized his injury, and frankly, he should have known better. He’s seen how cruel the fight game can be. Nothing is ever certain. I’m not piling on Procházka. His passion is why fans love him. I’m merely pointing out what he undoubtedly realized immediately. His talk with Joe Rogan postfight was one of the more raw interviews we’ve seen in years. Procházka knows exactly what he did on Saturday. Hopefully, it won’t haunt him forever. — Brett Okamoto
Hokit shows the grit behind the gimmick
Josh Hokit decided to create a brash and controversial persona straight out of the WWE playbook to try and generate interest in his fledgling heavyweight run in the UFC. The polarizing gimmick worked just enough to land him a fight with the UFC’s No. 5-ranked heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes, at UFC 327 in only his third fight with the promotion.
The thing about gimmicks is they only work when you’re either winning or wildly entertaining in the Octagon. Well, Hokit managed to do both in one of the all-time great slugfests in UFC heavyweight history. Hokit and Blaydes battled for 15 minutes, breaking several records and leaving fans in awe as he won a unanimous decision and earned a prestigious spot on the White House card in June against Derrick Lewis.
Hokit and Blaydes landed a combined 351 significant strikes in 15 minutes, blowing past the previous record of 304 set by Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier in their five-round fight in 2019. They also broke the record of signature strikes attempted (595) and total strikes attempted (643). All of this took place while Hokit stayed in character, flipping Blaydes the middle finger multiple times and playing to the crowd while blood spilled all over the Octagon. The important part of all this is that Hokit won by demonstrating tremendous heart and an ability to absorb significant punishment. Those traits are exactly what makes fans buy into a fighter. The gimmick simply adds another element to Hokit’s unlikely rise. Without it, he wouldn’t have made it this far. Even though UFC CEO Dana White said in the postfight news conference he isn’t a fan of the gimmick, the performance inside the Octagon was undeniable.
Both fighters were transported to the hospital after the fight, but Hokit will come out of the other side a bigger star than he was before. He couldn’t have written a better outcome for himself with a fight of the year candidate, a likely top-five divisional ranking and an upcoming fight on one of the biggest UFC cards of the year.
Love him or hate him, Josh Hokit has already mastered the art of making you care and backing up the talk with his performance. Who knows how far he goes, but he’s already set himself up to have a massive 2026. — Andreas Hale
The potential of Pico remains something special
At this point, it’s a story as old as time: If Aaron Pico can finally live up to his potential, he can be the best featherweight on the planet. How many times has this been said, going all the way back to his disastrous MMA debut in 2017, when he was submitted 24 seconds into the fight? It’s such a common refrain that it feels easy to dismiss. But hold on a second.
The biggest knocks on Pico have been his durability and ability to blend his world-class wrestling and boxing into an effective MMA style. Let’s address his style first. He’s still only 29. It’s taken him longer than some may have thought, considering he signed his first MMA deal when he was 18. But on Saturday, against a championship-caliber opponent in Patricio Pitbull, Pico looked like a polished MMA title challenger. He didn’t look like someone who was trying to decide whether to box or wrestle, which has been a criticism of him in the past.
As for his durability, is it as bad as it’s been made out to be? Prior to the knockout loss to Lerone Murphy in his UFC debut, Pico hadn’t suffered a knockout since 2019 — in his seventh pro bout. That KO was an ultra-violent flying knee by Adam Borics, and the elbow that Murphy used to put him down last year was one of the best shots of the year. It’s not as if Pico has been going down repeatedly from basic shots.
Pico did look a little stressed out in his UFC debut, and nerves can impact a fighter’s ability to take punches. When a fighter is tense and stressed, he doesn’t roll with the shots as well. He had that nervous, “Octagon jitters” energy. Not saying that’s why he lost, but my point is that the two biggest concerns around Pico’s potential either weren’t present on Saturday or are exaggerated. What is not overexaggerated is his talent, which jumped off the screen yet again at UFC 327. — Okamoto
