Outside Source
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.
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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.
Continue Reading » UFC 327 prelims: Pico decisions ‘Pitbull’
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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