UFC 327 has taken a hit, but the show must go on. And with one title fight down, opportunity now presents itself for the fighters remaining on the card.
So who is going to step up and steal the show this Saturday in Miami?
Headliners Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg are unlikely to disappoint, and their vacant light heavyweight championship fight could be just what the division needs to get back on track. But what else will we be buzzing about in the aftermath of this highly anticipated event? Is Azamat Murzakanov next in line to challenge for the title? Can Paulo Costa play the spoiler and possibly creep back into the title picture himself? Is Josh Hokit the next big thing at heavyweight? Or will it be one of the preliminary fighters who sets the bar?
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Jed Meshew, and Alexander K. Lee look ahead to a slightly diminished card and sink their teeth into the juiciest storylines of the weekend.
1. Can the main event winner bring stability to the light heavyweight division?
Heck: The winner will certainly try, but they may have to fight somebody outside of the division next if Khamzat Chimaev makes dominant work of Sean Strickland.
But as far as both of these guys go, even though Jiri Prochazka has teased a move down to 185, if he wins the belt, I seriously doubt he follows through on that. Having spoken to Prochazka multiple times since he was defeated by Alex Pereira a second time, being a UFC champion again will look a lot different than it did during his first reign. It was something he may have taken for granted during his initial run, and I don’t see that happening again.
For Ulberg, he doesn’t strike me as a guy who’s going to be aiming to become a two-division champion in the foreseeable future. He seems Volkanovski-ish when it comes to being the textbook definition of a UFC champion.
The big issue is Chimaev, because if he retains next month, and says he wants to move up, he’s most assuredly going to do so — whether the UFC likes it or not.
Meshew: I suppose that depends on what you mean by stability.
Is the winner of Prochazka vs. Ulberg likely to have a long reign? Probably not. The top of 205 pounds is pretty competitive right now, and the threat of a Chimaev invasion looms large. But is the winner likely to abscond from the weight class like “Poatan” did? Also no. And that is a sort of stability — knowing that for the foreseeable future, the light heavyweight title will continue to be defended against top competitors.
Right now, the most “unstable” UFC titles are the ones that were thrown into chaos by vacating champions. Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev both made things wonky in their previous divisions, and the Jon Jones heavyweight saga crooked everything up there as well. So, Pereira leaving 205 will probably give a strange feel to things here, but it’s unlikely either Ulberg or Jiri will make moves soon, meaning the ship should right itself.
And, of course, Prochazka is going to win, and since he’s one of the three most exciting fighters in the sport, putting the division in his hands is always a good idea.
Lee: Yes—but only if it’s Carlos Ulberg.
While I agree with my colleagues that it’s unlikely Prochazka indulges in any divisional shenanigans, the man’s entire brand is chaos. You simply cannot put Prochazka and “stability” in the same sentence. He could rattle off five straight title defenses or lose the title in five minutes against his first challenger. Anything is possible if Prochazka is back on top of the mountain.
Now, Ulberg, there’s a man who, if he gets the belt, will do anything to hold on to it, and if that means fighting with a seat belt on, then so be it. “Black Jag” has shown flashes of excitement during his impressive win streak, but make no mistake, he’s emphasized winning above all else, and sometimes that means racking up points rather than going for broke. So if you want to see someone prioritize adding rubies to his belt over always pleasing the crowd, I know a guy.
2. With Van vs. Taira off the card, who can raise their stock the most Saturday?
Lee: Want to know who’s really going to have a run at the top of the light heavyweight division? It’s your boy (sorry, Eryk Anders), Azamat Murzakanov.
The time is now for Murzakanov, no spring chicken as he turns 37 this Sunday. What better way to celebrate his b-day than by running through Paulo Costa, improving to 7-0 in the UFC with six knockouts, and demanding that he get the winner of the UFC 327 main event. It’s almost too perfect.
I get it, for one reason or another, Murzakanov barely registers with the average fan despite his undefeated record, but I’m quite fond of the 5-foot-10 Russian dynamo, and if he doesn’t get his flowers after disposing of Costa this Saturday, I’m going to be very, very disappointed in all of you.
Meshew: Look, it’s the obvious choice, but it’s obvious for a reason. Only one man on Saturday can go from unranked to top 5 in one fell swoop: Josh Hokit.
Hokit turned heads coming off Contender Series for his Colby Covington-meets-Chael Sonnen persona, and in two fights in the UFC, he’s scored two first-round finishes and two Performance bonuses. In a moribund heavyweight division, Hokit is one of the few rising bright spots, and that’s why he’s getting this huge opportunity against Curtis Blaydes. If he can get past the long-time top 10 fighter, Hokit becomes an immediate threat to fight for the belt.
Now, having the opportunity and converting the opportunity are two different things. There’s a reason Blaydes has been a staple at the top of this division for a decade. He’s a damn good fighter. Moreover, Blaydes is also good in a lot of ways that could be hugely problematic for Hokit, who still has a lot of developing to do. But if Hokit levels up, he’s the clear choice for biggest mover on Saturday.
Heck: Jed is correct, but allow me to make a case for “Borrachinha.”
Yes, Costa is a weird answer, seeing as he’s fought for a belt, but think about it for a moment. Ever since Costa was posterized by Israel Adesanya, and Winegate became a thing, Costa has sort of fallen into the role of the crazy dude who is tough and will sell fights in wild ways, but not someone who will be taken seriously as a legit title contender. And to be completely fair, Costa hasn’t done much to change that narrative.
But now that he’s at 205—which, let’s be honest, is a pretty awful division—if Costa can go out there and beat Murzakanov? Not only does that change the way fans will view him, but he might just fall bass ackwards into a title fight. The UFC is not about merit; it hasn’t been in a long time. They would certainly entertain Costa fighting for the light heavyweight title if he wins Saturday.
3. Outside of the main event, what fight are you most looking forward to?
Lee: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Vicente Luque because I don’t have the slightest clue what’s going to happen there.
Your eyes do not deceive you, Luque is making the move to middleweight after 24 previous UFC appearances at 170 pounds. Calling it a fresh start wouldn’t be entirely accurate because Luque appears to be doing so solely because he’s run out of matchups at welterweight, not because he’s now in his ideal division. He’s 34 and his wringing whatever fight he has left out of his battle-worn body. There’s no shame in it.
Perhaps the same could be said for Gastelum, who somehow didn’t come close to making weight this past September despite having left welterweight behind years ago. When he’s properly motivated, Gastelum is still one of the more exciting fighters at 185 pounds, and I’m optimistic a matchup with a fellow octagon lifer will bring out the best in both of them.
Come on, fellas, show us that 2026 isn’t the year that the majority of the old guard is put out to pasture.
Heck: Allow me to take this moment to compliment the UFC and the matchmaking team, because this fight card rocks! Without question, it’s the best fight card on paper to this point, and won’t be challenged until the White House card; even then, UFC 327 has a strong case.
I’ll go more storyline than fight here: My pick is Patricio Pitbull vs. Aaron Pico, which is essentially for the Bellator featherweight title since this is the fight the promotion wanted before both guys went to the UFC. While Pitbull was an intriguing signing, all eyes were on Pico in his UFC debut against Lerone Murphy, and despite looking pretty darn good early, he became a permanent fixture in the UFC’s Baba O’Riley hype video, which has led to many questions about Pico’s future coming out of that fight.
In terms of talent, Pico seems to have it all, and if he beats Pitbull, it will be, BY FAR, the best win of his career. But coming back after such a brutal knockout loss will always present questions and concerns. A win produces new questions, just as a loss presents tough and negative ones. For Pitbull, this would be a fine win, but nowhere near his best. The Yair Rodriguez matchup was a nightmare on paper, and it played out that way in the fight, but he looked damn good against Dan Ige.
Do I feel Pitbull has a real title run in him at this point in his career? No, I don’t. But a win here creates some different opportunities for him to defy the odds. With so many questions coming in and more fascinating ones likely to come out, this is my pick.
Meshew: While I agree in principle with Mike—UFC 327 is the best the UFC has done this year—looking at all the matchups, they’re all B-plus fights. Which is awesome! You put a few B-pluses together, and you’re having a great night. But there aren’t many other A matchups on the card in terms of meaningful fights that are also guaranteed action, save one: Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr.
The one good thing about Van vs. Taira falling out of this event is that Cub Swanson got bumped up to the main card. On paper, not only is this the most exciting matchup on the card, but it’s also one of the most significant. On Saturday night, the WEC era officially comes to a close when Swanson retires. Already a Hall of Famer thanks to his 2016 fight with Doo Ho Choi, Swanson is the sort of fighter that old head fight fans will talk about on porches for years to come, telling the “kids these days” that they “just don’t know” how good he was. Cub never fought for a belt, but he gave us over 20 years of memories and ripping fights. And he should be going off with one more for the road.
We should all be so lucky.
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