Carlos Ulberg KOs Jiri Prochazka After Leg Injury to Win UFC Light Heavyweight Title

Carlos Ulberg beat Jiri Prochazka via first-round TKO to become the newest UFC light heavyweight champion in the UFC 327 main event on Saturday.

The two electric strikers didn't waste much time getting started. Prochazka and Ulberg both attacked with kicks early on. Ulberg appeared to suffer a serious leg injury in one of the opening exchanges. 

However, that turned out to be the setup for a wild ending. With Prochazka expecting to take out a wounded Ulberg, the new champion caught him with a clean left hook that floored him before finishing up the fight with ground strikes.

Ulberg deserves a ton of credit for coming back to win the fight with an apparent injury, but Prochazka caught some criticism for taking his foot off the gas.

The win brings Ulberg to the big stage. The 35-year-old New Zealand native has been a rising star in the division for the last two years. Wins over Volkan Oezdemir, Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes put him on the map.

Saturday's result officially makes him a champion.

Ulberg has an opportunity to establish himself as a dominant champion if he remains active. Alex Pereira has mostly ruled over the division for the last three years. Poatan put together a 6-1 record at 205, but is now headed to the heavyweight division where he will fight for the championship at UFC 250 Freedom in June.

Now the 35-year-old will have the opportunity to fill the power vacuum left be hind. Prochazka was arguably the toughest test remaining in the division. His only losses in the last decade have come against Pereira.

Confidence shouldn't be an issue. Ulberg said before the bout that just becoming a champion wasn't the goal.

"When I get to that top, I'm not really satisfied. I'm not really satisfied, you know? So, I might celebrate, but I know there's a bigger task to be done," he told Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports. "I know there's something more to be done. And that's the whole reason of being in the UFC."

There aren't a lot of obvious next contenders, so Ulberg might have to wait to find his next opponent, especially after Saturday's injury. Magomed Ankalaev is probably the biggest hurdle, but he is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Pereira.

Prize money wasn't officially disclosed for this bout, however, it's safe to say that this was the biggest payday of Ulberg's career. He reportedly received a $50,000 payout for his win over Dominick Reyes last time out. He'll be seeing a lot more opportunities to grow his bank account now that he's a champion.