With his championship dreams seemingly about to go up in smoke,
Carlos
Ulberg defied the odds.
After appearing to injure his right leg due to an awkward step
early in Round 1, Ulberg scored an unlikely knockout victory over
Jiri
Prochazka in the UFC 327 headliner on Saturday night at the
Kaseya Center in Miami. A picture-perfect left hook and
approximately six to seven follow-up blows rendered Prochazka
unconscious at the 3:45 mark of the opening period. With the
victory, Ulberg claims the light heavyweight belt vacated by
Alex
Pereira.
The bout was just getting started when Ulberg suffered his injury,
which instantly compromised his movement. While Prochazka targeted
the leg with kicks, he also let up on the throttle somewhat — even
offering to stand and trade with his wounded foe with a symbolic
point to the canvas. As Prochazka stalked Ulberg near the fence,
“Black Jag” countered with the left hook to instantly send the
former Rizin champ to the floor. As “BJP” attempted to regain his
bearings, Ulberg put him to sleep with well-placed
ground-and-pound.
Ulberg has won 10 straight UFC outings, while Prochazka falls to
0-3 in light heavyweight title bouts.
Costa Head Kick Stops Murzakanov
Paulo
Costa looked like a natural in his light heavyweight debut. The
former 185-pound title challenger made a statement in his new
weight class, stopping the previously undefeated Azamat
Murzakanov with a head kick 1:23 into the third round of the
UFC 327 co-main event. “Borrachinha” has won back-to-back fights
for the first time since 2019 and may have instantly inserted
himself into the title discussion at 205 pounds.
Costa (16-4, 8-4 UFC) started out well, attacking Murzakanov (16-1,
6-1 UFC) with kicks to the head and body before sending his Russian
foe to the canvas with a left hand late in the round. Murzakanov
answered in Round 2, as he pressured Costa and was relentless in
attacking with punching combinations to the head and body.
However, Costa survived the onslaught and put a lasting stamp on
the fight in the final stanza. He battered Murzakanov with a blend
of right hands, head kicks and body kicks — including one high kick
that may have hurt his opponent’s arm while blocking the strike.
That set the stage for one final head kick, a blow that made
Murzakanov wobble back and forth before finally collapsing to the
canvas.
Hokit Wins Slugfest
Josh
Hokit and Curtis
Blaydes were a study in contrasts during fight week, one
playing a pro wresting character and the other seemingly in a
perpetual state of annoyance. However, the two seemed to come to an
agreement when they met in the Octagon on Saturday: absolute
chaos.
In perhaps the wildest brawl in UFC heavyweight history, Hokit
(9-0, 3-0 UFC) improbably outslugged Blaydes (19-6, 1 NC, 14-6, 1
NC UFC), winning a bloody unanimous decision triumph. All three
judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of “The Incredible Hok,”
who went the distance for the first time in his burgeoning
professional career.
Hokit came out on fire, wobbling Blaydes on a couple occasions
while spamming overhand rights in the bout’s opening moments. That
approach took its toll, however, as Blaydes rallied back to take
control, landing a pair of takedowns while outlanding his upstart
opponent on the feet in toe-to-toe exchanges.
Just when it seemed as though Hokit was going to go down in a
flames — and a series of ill-advised middle fingers — he found
second and third winds in what remained a furious brawl until the
final horn. Down the stretch, the Jackson-Wink MMA product began
having success with quick combinations, showcasing superior
handspeed against his veteran foe while also mixing in elbows and
knees. Though he was bloodied and wobbled on a few occasions,
Blaydes continued to fire back until the final horn. When all was
said and done, Hokit (174) and Blaydes (177) combined to land 354
significant strikes, a three-round heavyweight record.
Reyes Edges Walker
Dominick
Reyes took a forgettable split-decision victory against
Johnny
Walker in a pedestrian light heavyweight clash. Two judges
scored the fight 29-28 for Reyes (16-5, 10-5 UFC), while a third
had it 29-28 for Walker (22-10, 1 NC, 8-7, 1 NC UFC). Reyes has
been victorious in four of his last five UFC appearances — though
this was his first time going the distance during that stretch.
There were very few moments of note in a bout between two athletes
who both have a number of knockout victories on their respective
records. Both fighters used leg kicks liberally throughout the
affair, but neither light heavyweight was eager to engage for an
extended period. Instead, the fight consisted largely of Reyes and
Walker throwing single kicks at range as the crowd at the Kaseya
Center voiced its displeasure. Reyes’ ability to mix in the
occasional counter left and high kick may have ultimately made the
difference on the scorecards.
Swanson Enjoys Memorable Farewell
Cub
Swanson just wrote a storybook ending to an accomplished mixed
martial arts career.
Facing Nate
Landwehr in a bout that was already designated as his farewell
fight, Swanson delivered, dropping his foe two times en route to a
first-round technical knockout victory. Referee Herb Dean waved
off the featherweight fight 4:06 into Round 1, sending the beloved
42-year-old veteran out on a high note.
Landwehr (18-8, 5-6 UFC) never really got out of first gear.
Swanson (31-14, 16-10 UFC) stalked the former M-1 Global champion,
tagging him with straight punches to the head and body — along with
the occasional low kick. Smelling blood in the water, the WEC
veteran hurt Landwehr with a left and sent his foe to the canvas
with another left shortly thereafter. From there, Swanson walked
Landwehr down near the fence and folded him backward with a
pinpoint straight right, holding his arms outstretched in
celebration as he admired his work. As Landwehr attempted to dive
forward for a desperation takedown, Swanson added one final
follow-up right hand to seal his victory. When Dean stepped in,
Landwehr attempted to complete the shot on the veteran official — a
sign that the stoppage was just.
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UFC 327 prelims: Pico decisions ‘Pitbull’