Carlos Ulberg and the UFC 327 Winners and Losers
It was title time on, or at least near, South Beach.
The UFC made its annual trip to Miami on Saturday with a 12-bout card alongside Biscayne Bay at the Kaseya Center, where former champ Jiri Prochazka and streaking contender Carlos Ulberg met in the main event to succeed Alex Pereira as the kingpin of the 205-pound division.
Pereira headed to heavyweight to chase a belt at a third weight, leaving Prochazka another chance to start a second reign at light heavy after his first was cut short by injury, and his next two tries ended in finishes by Pereira in 2023 and 2024.
He was 6-0 against UFC competition, not nicknamed "Poatan," and arrived after consecutive third-round stoppages of Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. in 2025.
Ulberg, meanwhile, had won nine in a row since a loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu in his UFC debut five years ago, including wins over ex-champ Jan Blachowicz and former title challenger Dominick Reyes last year.
B/R's combat team was in the building to take in all the South Florida action and delivered a real-time account of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
Winner: Sudden Superiority
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Ulberg was the happiest man in the Kaseya Center.
And he made sure everyone knew it, too.
The once-beaten New Zealander followed up his shocking one-punch KO of Prochazka with a pair of strutting laps around the octagon, pointing his finger up at a suddenly silent crowd that had brought the Czech fan favorite to the cage with the loudest pop of the night.
The end, which arrived at 3:45 of Round 1, came moments after Ulberg's right knee appeared injured by a hard kick from Prochazka.
Ulberg stumbled on a kick of his own and reeled backward to the cage as Prochazka approached with his right hand down, providing the opening for the left hook that landed on the point of the ex-champ's chin and sent him crashing backward to the floor.
Ulberg followed with a quick flurry of ground strikes that prompted a rescue from referee Marc Goddard, providing the new champ his 10th straight UFC win and joining him with Pereira as the only fighters to beat Prochazka in the promotion.
"I knew that all I needed was the one shot, and I ended up getting it," Ulberg said. "I knew as soon as I landed my left hand, he was done. That's what it's about. It's about getting those moments."
Prochazka, who'd reigned for five months in 2022, was still stunned minutes later.
"I felt mercy in that fight," he said. "This is one of the biggest lessons in my life. I still can't understand. That fight was won. I had it. It was in my hand."
Winner: Waking Up the Echoes
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Well, whaddya know? Maybe all Paulo Costa needed was 20 extra pounds.
The Brazilian strongman who'd skidded to four losses in his last six fights at middleweight looked like a different animal at 205, punishing sixth-ranked contender Azamat Murzakanov with kicks from distance before finally registering a stoppage at 1:23 of Round 3.
The final sequence came when Costa's right shin connected with the side of an already wobbled Murzakanov's head, sending the previously unbeaten Russian stumbling backward until he turned and fell to his side, prompting a wave-off from Keith Peterson.
Analyst Joe Rogan labeled it "a sensational performance" and suggested that Costa hadn't looked that good since he'd won his first five upon arriving to the promotion in 2017.
Costa, not surprisingly, agreed.
"This is unbelievably good. Put some respect on my name," he said. "Fighting at light heavyweight, I can do this. I am skilled enough to perform very well."
Winner: Backing Up Brashness
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You thought Josh Hokit was a loudmouth already?
Just try shutting him up now.
The unranked but chatty heavyweight was a trash-talk machine heading into a duel with No. 5 Curtis Blaydes and he walked through competitive hell to back up his boasts, rallying from the brink of a first-round TKO to win a brutally thrilling unanimous decision.
The post-fight ovation was warranted. And the Fight of the Year votes will be, too.
Hokit started strong in the first and immediately wobbled Blaydes with a series of hard right hands, but he soon tired and was an easy target for an extended follow-up barrage that had Herb Dean on the verge of a stoppage.
But the 28-year-old survived and gave better than he got across the final 10 minutes, leaving Blaydes a bloody, swollen mess after landing 132 strikes to the former interim title challenger's head and warranting the three 29-28 scorecards in his direction.
"One of the most insane fights I've ever seen in my whole life," Rogan said.
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Loser: Everyone in the Building
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Funny thing about fireworks.
Sometimes you get explosions. Sometimes you get duds.
An anticipated light heavyweight clash between contenders Johnny Walker and Dominick Reyes veered far more toward the latter, drawing loud displeasure from an antsy Miami crowd on the way to a split decision Reyes received with a pair of 2-1 scores.
The two men fought at flicking and feinting distance for nearly all of their 15 minutes together, and scattered boos began raining down from the rafters midway through a largely non-violent first round, evolving to a rhythmic "This is bullsh-t" chant in the second that couldn't have been doing much for the cage-side mood of UFC czar Dana White.
The jeers did nothing to prompt action, though, and the pair combined for just 68 landed strikes—37 for Walker, 31 for Reyes—out of 156 combined attempts.
"I don't know how either guy could be upset by that decision," analyst Daniel Cormier said. "You just have to accept that you got what you got and move on."
Winner: Going Away Happy
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Recent UFC retirements have been a mixed bag.
Welterweights Michael Chiesa and Niko Price both said goodbye after a Fight Night duel two weeks ago, with Chiesa getting the happy send-off while Price limped to the sunset as the victim of a rear-naked choke after just 63 seconds.
Cub Swanson seemed pretty determined to make his swan song successful, too.
The 42-year-old ended a 15-year octagonal run with a violently virtuoso performance, pounding fellow vet Nate Landwehr into a stumbly-legged TKO at 4:06 of the first.
The win lifted him to 16-10 with the promotion, giving him the third-most featherweight victories in history behind only Max Holloway and Darren Elkins.
"Flawless in his final performance," Rogan said. "What a way to go out. What a way to end a career. Just flawless. Vintage Cub Swanson. That couldn't have been a more perfect result."
Loser: Making the Jump
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Need evidence of the gap between Bellator and the UFC?
Look no further than Patricio Pitbull.
The Brazilian was a long-term elite in the former operation, winning 24 of his 30 fights overall and capturing belts in two weight classes, with 13 title matches.
But it's not at all translated to the latter, where he split his first two octagonal appearances before falling back below .500 with a desultory three-round loss to Aaron Pico.
Pitbull had been ranked 13th among UFC featherweights before meeting Pico, who'd gone 13-4 in his own Bellator run from 2017 through 2024 before he was finished in one round by Lerone Murphy in his first outing at UFC 319 last August.
Pico landed 84 strikes to Pitbull's 35, scored each of the fight's six takedowns, and racked up better than three minutes of control time on the way to two shutout scorecards and a 2-1 tally from a third judge.
Winner: Customer Satisfaction
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Into every UFC card, a little Kevin Holland must fall.
Or at least he ought to, if the fans have their way.
The 33-year-old Texan hasn't neared a championship level and has lost about as often as he's won, but he hasn't lost his ability to connect with the customers—as evidenced by the loud pops he got before, during, and after a mid-card defeat of Randy Brown.
Holland won the welterweight scrap by unanimous decision with matching 30-27 scores in his favor to improve to 16-12 with the promotion and end a two-fight skid.
It was his first octagonal appearance since last October and his first win since he finished Vicente Luque on the UFC 318 late last spring. And he seemed particularly happy to return.
"Six months off, at home, doing nothing but sitting at home and riding horses, I needed a fist fight," said Holland, who fought five times in 2025. "And thanks to Randy Brown, he cut both my eyes and he gave me a fist fight."
Loser: Arriving Too Soon
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It didn't happen immediately. But it did happen eventually.
Though referee Kevin MacDonald leaned in and looked ready to end Mateusz Gamrot's smothering of Esteban Ribovics a few seconds too soon, his presence was indeed needed when Gamrot's arm triangle left Ribovics unable to continue at 4:19 of Round 2.
MacDonald nearly stepped in as Ribovics briefly stopped battling for an escape after Gamrot had taken him down, rolled through as the Argentine fighter tried to stand, then seized the finishing position by isolating his foe's left arm.
"(Ribovics) just couldn't get his game going," Rogan said. "Every time he tried to open up, Mateusz was all over him."
The win was Gamrot's ninth in 13 UFC outings, and, though it came against a less-celebrated opponent in the 29-year-old Robovics, it didn't keep the No. 8 lightweight from emphatically calling out those slotted higher in the rankings.
"Give me some mother—ker at the top," he said. "I am here."
Winner: Widening the Gap
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They arrived just four spots apart in the rankings, but the competitive gap between second-ranked strawweight Tatiana Suarez and No. 6 Loopy Godínez seemed much larger.
Beaten in a title challenge by then-champ Zhang Weili 14 months ago, the 35-year-old Suarez announced her lingering presence among the division's elite with a second-round finish of Godinez that came after she'd controlled every aspect for seven-plus minutes.
A rear-naked choke tap was Godinez's first inside-the-distance loss with the promotion, and Suarez said it was her foe's track record of grit through 14 fights that provided fuel.
"She really made me better because I see how hard she works," Suarez said. "I knew that she was going to try to take my win away from me."
The end came at 2:29 of Round 2 and was Suarez's ninth win in 10 UFC tries.
"I'm coming for that belt," she said. "I'm only getting better and I'm ready to make another run."
Winner: Getting Them Back
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Chris Padilla needed to win back the purists.
The popular 30-year-old lightweight was the only fighter on the card to miss his number at Friday's weigh-in—sacrificing 20 percent of his fight purse as a result—so he knew it'd take a little extra to turn the downtown Miami crowd back in his favor.
After 15 minutes of consistent, effective pressure that had opponent MarQuel Mederos visibly frustrated and fundamentally loose down the stretch, Padilla heard the positive results of his work as his majority decision victory was announced.
He won two cards by 29-27 margins to offset the 28-28 deadlock on the third.
And despite the weight miss, it was his cardio advantage that helped him do it.
"He just stays on the gas. He didn't give Mederos enough time to give anything back," Rogan said. "He's always giving him something to think about. He's just constant. He gives you no breaks."
Winner: Worth the Weight
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You might have thought it was safe to reboard the Kelvin Gastelum hype train.
Right up until Vicente Luque derailed it, that is.
The Brazilian submission ace was taken down early but got up, dropped his foe with a hard right uppercut and soon worked his way to the d'arce choke finish that legitimized his decision to move to middleweight and take on a former title challenger.
The official time was 4:08 of the first round.
Luque had lost four or five pounds coming in, but looked stronger and more energetic after undergoing a less brutal weight cut than what he'd experienced trying to get to 170.
"(My team) never stopped trusting me. They never stopped believing in me," he said. "My body has developed. It's a tough cut to 170. From now on, this is my weight division."
Loser: Converting Desperation
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He'd clearly lost the first round. He'd potentially lost the second.
And he was absolutely down an extra point after a gruesome eye poke in the third.
So, welterweight Francisco Prado's desperation was real as he tried to turn Charles Radtke's fifth takedown try into a submission by jumping on a guillotine.
The problem was, Radtke wasn't having any part of giving up, and the unanimous decision with which he walked away—scored 30-26 by all three judges—left Prado in a particularly unenviable position by extending his UFC skid to four straight fights.
The 23-year-old is one of a handful of Argentines on the roster and may parlay that into a longer stay with the promotion, but five losses in six fights isn't an ideal recipe for long-term job security.
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Carlos Ulberg def. Jiří Procházka by KO (punch), 3:45, Round 1
Paulo Costa def. Azamat Murzakanov by TKO (kick), 1:23, Round 3
Josh Hokit def. Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dominick Reyes def. Johnny Walker by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Cub Swanson def. Nate Landwehr by TKO (punch), 4:06, Round 1
Prelims
Aaron Pico def. Patricio Pitbull by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Kevin Holland def. Randy Brown by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mateusz Gamrot def. Esteban Ribovics by submission (arm triangle), 4:19, Round 2
Tatiana Suarez def. Loopy Godínez by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:29, Round 2
Early Prelims
Chris Padilla def. MarQuel Mederos by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Vicente Luque def. Kelvin Gastelum by submission (d'arce choke), 4:08, Round 1
Charles Radtke def. Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
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