Jiri Prochazka fights Carlos Ulberg for light heavyweight title in UFC 327 main event as Alex Pereira vacates

Rebecca French

2 months ago

Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg have locked up a title fight in the UFC 327 main event.

On Friday, the UFC announced that Prochazka will fight Ullberg for the undisputed light heavyweight title, with current champion Alex Perreira potentially vacating his title and moving up to heavyweight, although Pereira was not specifically mentioned in the announcement.

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UFC 327 will take place on April 11 at the Casea Center in Miami. A flyweight bout between previously confirmed champions Joshua Van and Tatsura Taira will serve as the co-main event.

Prochazka is currently ranked third at light heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, with Ullberg right behind him at fourth.

Pereira’s exit clears the way for Prochazka (32-5-1), who has lost both title fights against “Poatan.” Prochazka capped an all-time thrilling run in 2022 with a submission victory over Pereira’s mentor Glover Teixeira to win the light heavyweight title before losing the belt to Pereira in his first defense. Pereira defeated Prochazka again in their rematch at UFC 303, but the Czech star has bounced back with consecutive third-round knockouts of Khalil Rountree and Jamal Hill.

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Ullberg (13-1) worked his way up the light heavyweight ranks, suffering a loss in his 2021 debut before working his way up the ranks. The New Zealander has won nine straight fights, knocking out Dominick Reyes in the first round last September. Reyes also has a win over former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz.

The rest of the UFC 327 card has also been revealed, including the newly announced bouts of Beneil Dariush vs. Manuel Torres, Patricio Pitbull vs. Aaron Pico, and Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics. Additionally, Kelvin Gastelum takes over for Kyle Daukaus against Vicente Luque.