Ulberg stuns for title

Carlos Ulberg stopped Jiří Procházka in the first round on Saturday night to win the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title in Miami. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com) The knockout came at 3:45 of Round 1 in the main event of UFC 327 at Kaseya Center, after Ulberg appeared to injure his leg moments earlier. ESPN and MMA Junkie both reported that Ulberg rallied immediately and finished the fight with a left hand. (espn.com, mmajunkie.usatoday.com) Ulberg said after the fight that he had "blew out" his knee, according to CBS Miami, while MMA Junkie described him as fighting through an apparent leg injury. Procházka, a former champion, had advanced as Ulberg retreated before the finish flipped the bout. (cbsnews.com, mmajunkie.usatoday.com) The belt was vacant because Alex Pereira was no longer champion, and UFC 327 paired Procházka and Ulberg for the undisputed 205-pound title. ESPN identified Procházka as the former titleholder and Ulberg as the challenger who left Miami with the division's championship. (espn.com) For Ulberg, the win extended his mixed martial arts record to 14-1 and his Ultimate Fighting Championship record to 10-1, according to MMA Junkie. Sherdog reported that he has now won 10 straight UFC fights. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com, sherdog.com) For Procházka, the loss dropped him to 32-6-1 in mixed martial arts and 6-3 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA Junkie reported. ESPN noted that he had previously won the title in June 2022 against Glover Teixeira and had since lost two title fights to Pereira before Saturday's return shot. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com, espn.com) The result also gave City Kickboxing another Ultimate Fighting Championship champion, ESPN reported. Ulberg's finish turned a fight that looked to be slipping away into the division's fastest route back to a settled title picture. (espn.com, mmajunkie.usatoday.com)