UFC 327 Main Card is Live Tonight at 9:00 PM ET
(Main card picks listed at the bottom of the article)
Introduction
This weekend, as with any weekend, the Miami streets will flood with lively club-goers planning to drink and dance into the wee hours of the morning. Prior to the central festivities, many of these youthful merrymakers will seek an adequate pregame. Conveniently for them, the leader in combat sports will offer up an enticing warmup to a memorable evening.
Live from the ultimate party town in the Sunshine State, UFC 327 will commence on Saturday night. The enthralling main event is not only built to deliver gripping chaos, but also promises to fill a lingering void atop the promotion’s ranks.
Last month, Dana White announced UFC superstar, and light heavyweight champion, Alex “Poatan” Pereira will be scaling up to heavyweight. In the wake of the Brazilian phenom’s departure from the division, the light heavyweight strap lies unclaimed.
For the title headliner at UFC 327, the organization has elected two worthy candidates to duke it out over the vacant belt. Beloved brawler Jiří Procházka will strive to reassert himself as the 205-pound champion, a badge which Pereira both stripped and denied him of on two separate occasions. However, a Kiwi powerhouse in the form of Carlos Ulberg blockades Procházka’s redemptive trail back to light heavyweight kingship.
Headlining Fighter: Jiří Procházka
Over his nearly six years in the UFC, Jiří Procházka has garnered himself a cult-like following. His unconventional, defenseless fighting style and authentic personality have won him favor with a particular set of fans.
The Czech combatant views mixed martial arts as a pursuit beyond simple craft. To Procházka, fighting is a spiritual lifestyle.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, he approaches the game with the mindset of a samurai. The former light heavyweight champ has been pictured training in very remote, isolated areas. On occasion, his regimen calls for swordwork. At other times, Procházka scraps his body with stinging nettles in order to develop an immunity to pain.
Said simply, this cat is different. Yet, his eccentric practices have fueled an extensive resume of success.
Upon entering the organization in 2020, Procházka immediately demonstrated himself to be one of the most dangerous light heavyweights walking the planet. In his UFC debut, as well as in his subsequent appearance, the Czech sensation distributed second-round knockouts to the likes of Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes.
His electrifying performances would earn him a title opportunity in just his third fight in the octagon.
At UFC 275, Procházka would realize his dream of becoming a world champion. After an engrossing twenty-four and a half minutes of uninhibited battle with former titleholder Glover Teixeira, the Samurai Jiri managed to secure a finishing submission with only seconds to spare in the fight.
Yet, since his night of ultimate reward, Procházka has fallen short of recapturing gold. Instead, the Czech champ unfortunately stumbled upon his kryptonite, incarnated as the aforementioned Alex Pereira.
In Procházka’s eight bouts in the UFC, Pereira is the only man to defeat him. With Poatan now absent from the division, the soil is primed again for Jiří to plant his flag atop the light heavyweight summit.
Headlining Fighter: Carlos Ulberg
While fans prepare the celebrations for the venerated Procházka, Carlos Ulberg plots to spoil the night. Bred at the infamous City Kickboxing, the gym which molded UFC legends Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, Ulberg was anointed a future title challenger early in his UFC career.
The prospect from New Zealand debuted in the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series, and displayed a deadly combination of athleticism and stifling power.
As Ulberg has continued to climb the light heavyweight ranks, he appeared to possess an unparalleled quickness and elusivity for the 205lb weight class.
Ten fights into his UFC tenure, the Kiwi force is a polished assassin. The man has established himself as an absolute problem for his fellow contenders. His merited title chance is granted after accumulating a nine fight unbeaten streak (five of which victories came by a finish).
Surfing the momentum of a first-round knockout win over Dominick Reyes in September, Ulberg is bubbling with confidence. Throughout fight week, his cool demeanor has exuded the air and aura of a future champion.
Main Event Preview
Although both Procházka and Ulberg prefer to engage predominantly in the striking arena, the upcoming bout between them will still persist as a clash of styles and approaches. As it pertains to the aesthetic elements of their individual games, the two light heavyweights are far from comparable.
Jiří Procházka thrives in chaos. Much of his success is forged in muddy, reckless exchanges within the pocket. Contrarily, Carlos Ulberg is perhaps the cleanest striker in the division. He is an expert in the art of evading incoming attacks.
The key for each competitor will be luring the other into their individual style of fight.
Luckily for Procházka, he is no stranger to such a task. It seems each time he confronts a new foe, he frustrates them with a plethora of unorthodox puzzles. He stomps around the octagon with odd mannerisms and unusual body language. Then, all of sudden, he spontaneously ambushes his opponents by thrusting his whole body into the pocket.
In a dance with Ulberg, Procházka would be wise to crash the distance. His Kiwi adversary tends to avoid a shorter range battle, and Jiří’s strikes are extremely difficult to read in close. His wide, hooking shots wrap around the head of his opponents, just barely entering their peripheral vision.
Additionally, Procházka is very durable and somewhat unfazed by punishment. In fact, he seems to be one of the few fighters on the UFC roster that actually improves after absorbing a little violence.
As for Ulberg, the winning formula is the exact inverse. Expect the contender from New Zealand to maintain a healthy distance by posting with his trusty long guard. While Procházka searches to hammer flurries of punches, Ulberg will likely find success peppering his opponent with shorter combinations.
Moreover, Ulberg should wield his very swift kicks. These tactics will allow him to land from a distance as well as mix up the different levels of his strikes.
Procházka has also displayed himself to be liable to body kicks. Not only will the attack assist Ulberg’s attempt to pour destruction upon Jiří, but the technique will also dwindle the inexhaustible cardio of Procházka.
A golden egg for the Kiwi killer will be his counter striking. Despite his sturdy chin, Jiří leaves himself very vulnerable when carrying out his advances. Ulberg will have countless opportunities to slip just out of range and return with rivaling shots of his own.
As always, the patented check left-hook is a looming threat to sleep Procházka.
Main Event Official Pick
The odds of this contest stretching the full five rounds are slim. Over the course of his time in the UFC, Procházka has never once left a fight to the discretion of the judges. Unfortunately, on this particular occasion, Jiří will be on the wrong side of a finishing sequence.
Ulberg will simply be too quick and too precise. After inflicting an accumulation of damage, the lad from New Zealand realizes a knockout in the fourth round and raises up gold.
Underground Pick: Ulberg wins by KO.
Complete List of Main Card Picks:
Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Jiří Procházka vs. Carlos Ulberg – Underground Pick: Winner – Carlos Ulberg
Light Heavyweight Fight: Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa – Underground Pick: Winner – Azamat Mruzakanov
Heavyweight Fight: Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit – Underground Pick: Winner – Josh Hokit
Light Heavyweight Fight: Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker – Underground Pick: Winner – Dominick Reyes
Featherweight Fight: Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr – Underground Pick: Winner – Cub Swanson
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