{"id":90616,"date":"2026-04-10T03:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T03:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/ufc-327-preview-roundtable-whats-at-stake-for-slight-underdog-jiri-prochazka\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T03:23:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T03:23:01","slug":"ufc-327-preview-roundtable-whats-at-stake-for-slight-underdog-jiri-prochazka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/ufc-327-preview-roundtable-whats-at-stake-for-slight-underdog-jiri-prochazka\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 327 preview roundtable: What&#039;s at stake for slight underdog Jir\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The UFC heads to Miami for the next premier numbered card, UFC 327, and it\u2019s quite a party. Ji\u0159\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka will try to win back the 205-pound title against Carlos Ulberg, and Paulo Costa will make the jump to that division to face off with the undefeated Amazat Murzakanov.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The personalities alone make for some potential weirdness, as Josh Hokit is on the card, too, and there\u2019s a supporting cast of names like Johnny Walker, Kevin Holland, \u201cChuck Buffalo\u201d Charles Radke and a Bellator Bonanza featuring Aaron Pico against Patricio Pitbull.<\/p>\n<p>Here are six burning questions ahead of UFC 327:<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-with-joshua-vans-flyweight-title-defense-against-tatsuro-taira-now-off-ufc-327-how-do-you-rate-ufc-327-as-a-special-attraction-card\">With Joshua Van\u2019s flyweight title defense against Tatsuro Taira now off UFC 327, how do you rate UFC 327 as a special attraction card?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>I really didn\u2019t need to see Tatsuro Taira challenge Joshua Van for the title. It\u2019s a weird situation because Van is the champion without having defeated Alexandre Pantoja and so really, the fight that I need to see in terms of the flyweight title is a replay of that one. However, without this fight on the card, it does look pretty shallow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We have another big farewell fight on the back of UFC Seattle as Cub Swanson enters the Octagon for the last time. We have a fan favorite, Ji\u0159\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka, in the main event competing for a vacant title. The card is fine. I just can\u2019t think of a single contest on it that has me constantly saying, \u201cI can\u2019t believe that fight is happening this weekend!\u201d That used to be a weekly occurrence, now it seems to only happen a few times a year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How do I rate it? Is \u201cmeh\u201d a rating?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I think you\u2019re hating just a little bit, Petesy. Maybe you need to revisit Mateusz Gamrot\u2019s greatest hits on the old Fight Pass. That\u2019ll help in spiking your excitement levels.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But in all seriousness, I think this is a pretty decent card event without the flyweight title fight. The Proch\u00e1zka fight <em>should <\/em>end things with a bang, and a lot of times that\u2019s what we remember coming out. That is, if Carlos Ulberg accommodates him enough (which I think he will). I hear you on the Van-Taira situation, but I did see that title fight as a kind of genuine \u201cco-main,\u201d in that it provided some stakes at the top.<\/p>\n<p>At least they just postponed that one until UFC 328.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The thing about this card that I found interesting without the young Van: The average age of the cumulative 10 fighters on the main card is 35. That means we\u2019re watching a lot of experienced fighters, some of them sincerely long in the tooth. At 28 years old, Josh Hokit is the youngest fighter on the main portion, as his maturity levels have surely already informed you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2026-04\/2904c600-3476-11f1-bf93-90e4d8a1a178\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2026-04\/2904c600-3476-11f1-bf93-90e4d8a1a178\" style=\"height:3325px;width:4988px;\" alt=\"MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: (L-R) Opponents Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic and Carlos Ulberg of New Zealand face off during the UFC 327 press conference at Kaseya Center on April 09, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ed Mulholland\/Zuffa LLC)\" data-uuid=\"e31a2704-01c2-3980-b6b2-692e9ea95590\"\/><figcaption>Ji\u0159\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka (left) and Carlos Ulberg of face off during a UFC 327 press conference at Kaseya Center on April 9, 2026, in Miami. (Photo by Ed Mulholland\/Zuffa LLC)<\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">Ed Mulholland via Getty Images<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-carlos-ulberg-is-a-very-slight-favorite-for-his-light-heavyweight-title-fight-with-jiri-prochazka--do-you-agree-with-the-oddsmakers-here\">Carlos Ulberg is a very slight favorite for his light heavyweight title fight with Jir\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka \u2014 do you agree with the oddsmakers here?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I\u2019ll be honest, I\u2019m a little surprised, but I do think that oddsmakers seem to be favoring the upstarts being placed into these big spots. Last week Chris Duncan was installed as a favorite against Renato Moicano at that Apex show, and we saw how that played out. There\u2019s value in the veteran savvy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, having said all that, it blows my mind a little that Ulberg (<a target=\"_blank\" class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/mediaserver.betmgmpartners.com\/renderBanner.do?zoneId=1734022\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" rel=\"noopener\">-105 at BetMGM<\/a>) , at 35, is actually two years <em>older<\/em> than Proch\u00e1zka (-115), who has been putting people into the Zzzz\u2019s for a long time. It\u2019s perhaps a misnomer to call Ulberg an \u201cupstart,\u201d even if this is his first title shot. It seems to me that Proch\u00e1zka has rediscovered his mojo of late, having scored back-to-back knockouts over Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. That\u2019s a dangerous dude. I guess since Ulberg flattened Dominick Reyes his last time out it was enough for the book to handicap Ulberg coming into his own.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>Wait. Ulberg is older than Proch\u00e1zka? I was also completely unaware of that. Had you not just told me that, I would\u2019ve found out when the tale of the tape hit my screen in the early hours of Sunday morning. Luckily for him, there have been many more senior light heavyweight champions, including Jan Blachowicz, Alex Pereira and Pereira\u2019s mentor, Glover Teixeira, so I\u2019m not too concerned about it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not shocked that he\u2019s the favorite either. He\u2019s on a formidable win streak and we haven\u2019t seen him get melted like we saw Ji\u0159\u00ed in his two meetings with Pereira, one of the greatest knockout artists in the history of the sport. With that said, Ji\u0159\u00ed is like Gaethje in that he tends to make his opponents fight him to the death. He makes them find the edge of their limit, and usually, that\u2019s where he\u2019s most comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m very intrigued to see how Ulberg would do in that situation. Every fighter wants to believe he or she has that extra gear, but very few actually have it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-should-prochazka-win-does-it-take-away-from-his-title-accomplishment-given-that-he-lost-twice-to-alex-pereira-before-poatan-vacated\">Should Proch\u00e1zka win, does it take away from his title accomplishment given that he lost twice to Alex Pereira before \u2018Poatan\u2019 vacated?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>You can\u2019t help but think it does, right? Pereira has essentially completed the 205-pound bracket, that\u2019s why none of us seems too beat up about him moving up to heavyweight. I still think there would be great sentimental value in Ji\u0159\u00ed winning the title for the fan base, despite the hangover from his brutal losses to the brilliant Brazilian. He is such a unique character, his style is one of the most entertaining in the entire sport and sometimes I genuinely feel like he exists in a completely different dimension to us mere mortals. He\u2019s a great ambassador for the sport, and for that reason, I think him being crowned would be a very positive outcome for everyone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>It will, at least in the short term. You can\u2019t bang on a door twice, have it slammed in your face both times, and then burst in the moment the tenant moves out and expect everyone to think you own the room.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You know what it reminds me of a little bit? Daniel Cormier. After Cormier lost to Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 182, he ended up fighting for the vacant version of that belt at UFC 187 after Jones was stripped. And he won it. Then he fought Jones again two years later at UFC 214 and lost in dramatic fashion, only to have it wrapped around his waist again when Jones popped for a PED.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By UFC 220, Cormier was defending the title again against Volkan Oezdemir, only because the tyrant of the division was away. Any asterisks we placed on DC\u2019s title run at 205 have since faded, and that\u2019ll happen for Proch\u00e1zka, too, if he wins the title again and puts together some defenses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/2026-04\/457cfaf5-7a36-40de-b8ee-1d25a1888cdc\" data-crop-orig-src=\"https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/2026-04\/457cfaf5-7a36-40de-b8ee-1d25a1888cdc\" style=\"height:2528px;width:3792px;\" alt=\"MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: Paulo Costa of Brazil is seen on stage during the UFC 327 press conference at Kaseya Center on April 09, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ed Mulholland\/Zuffa LLC)\" data-uuid=\"8681f24a-66e6-33c4-b900-988577926704\"\/><figcaption>Is Paulo Costa being set up at UFC 327?<\/figcaption><div class=\"photo-credit\">Ed Mulholland via Getty Images<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-paulo-costa-is-moving-up-to-light-heavyweight--is-it-the-right-call-to-stick-him-in-there-against-a-monster-like-azamat-murzakanov\">Paulo Costa is moving up to light heavyweight \u2014 is it the right call to stick him in there against a monster like Azamat Murzakanov?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I mean, Costa is being thrown to the wolves here a little bit. Murzakanov is one of those guys nobody wants to face, and for good reason. In seven UFC fights, including his Contender Series breakthrough against Matheus Scheffel, he has six knockouts. The only guy to go the distance with him was Dustin Jacoby, who gave Murz a respectable run for his money. (If I\u2019m Costa, I am watching back film of that particular fight in between sips of the secret juice.)<\/p>\n<p>Then again, if you\u2019re trying to make a statement in your new weight class, why not do it against an unsung powerhouse who sits at No. 6 in the UFC rankings? If Costa can go in there and score an upset he\u2019d add a dimension to that weight class, a little excitement at the top.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think he will though, Petesy. I think this is the UFC\u2019s way of telling him that moving up isn\u2019t a cure-all, especially for those who lose focus a little too easily. I like Murzakanov to have his way with \u201cBorrachinha.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>I\u2019m not going to disagree with you on this one, big dog. I remember being told about this booking on a live episode of \u201cThe Ariel Helwani Show,\u201d and my sincere reaction was that Costa would get, and I quote, \u201csplattered\u201d when he gets in there with Murzakanov.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That was a long time ago, Chuck, but I\u2019m standing by it. Costa might be the most esteemed entrant in the Ben Fowlkes category of \u201clooks good getting off the bus,\u201d but on Saturday night, I think he\u2019s gonna feel like he got hit by one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Is it the right call? For Costa? Absolutely not. For the UFC which has had issues with Costa on a number of occasions over the years? They probably think it is. It feels like a last-fight-on-the-contract kind of fight, and regardless of the result, if that is the case, Costa would be excellent fodder for MVP should its MMA tenure last beyond its first Netflix event.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-josh-hokit-is-getting-a-major-step-up-in-competition-against-curtis-blaydes--how-bad-does-the-ufc-need-fresh-blood-in-the-top-10-at-heavyweight\">Josh Hokit is getting a major step up in competition against Curtis Blaydes \u2014 how bad does the UFC need fresh blood in the top 10 at heavyweight?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>Josh Hokit\u2019s shtick feels so out of time, and it depresses me that we need him to inject some energy into the heavyweight division. But we do. It\u2019s a horrific truth that we need to deal with as we continue to hope and pray for the return of the champion and the division\u2019s north star, Tom Aspinall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I do think it\u2019s poor matchmaking, though. Blaydes has a been a perennial title contender in the division for the guts of a decade. Hokit, on the other hand, has fought twice in the UFC, got two big finishes, but how many people could name the opponents without the aid of the internet? Other than Denzel Freeman and Max Gemines, I would wager not a lot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a sink or swim moment for him, and it feels unnecessary. I see these sorts of matchups all the time now. It\u2019s like the UFC has completely abandoned the art of the build.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Am I being too negative, Chuck?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I don\u2019t think you are being too negative here. In fact, this is just the right amount of Irish cynicism to strike upon the truth. Hokit doesn\u2019t really deserve being thrust into a fight against a fighter so far up the heavyweight totem pole, and really it\u2019s kudos to Blaydes that he\u2019s handling it all in stride.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with Blaydes is that the UFC knows his ceiling. He has the Francis Ngannou losses, the big Aspinall revenge loss, and a couple of others to Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich, meaning he\u2019s a kind of the \u201cG-word\u201d for a division that lacks imagination in the top five. He\u2019s also 35 years old. Hokit isn\u2019t the savior, I don\u2019t think, but he\u2019s fresh blood. What the UFC wants more than anything is to get a new cast up at the top of heavyweight, as the elders don\u2019t move the needle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>(And you know the word I mean \u2026 <em>gatekeeper<\/em>, Petesy. One of the most offensive words in the fight lexicon).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><core-module type=\"curatedLinks\" title=\"More from Uncrowned\" headerlink=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mma\/\" subheadline=\"\" listid=\"debcd0f9-416d-4638-ba02-90609a5bc16a\"><\/core-module><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"jump-link-cub-swanson-is-making-the-walk-one-last-time-against-nate-landwehr--what-was-your-favorite-killer-cub-moment\">Cub Swanson is making the walk one last time against Nate Landwehr \u2014 what was your favorite \u2018Killer\u2019 Cub moment?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Chuck: <\/strong>The obvious answer is the epic back-and-forth battle he had with Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206. I was cageside for that one, and I can remember the many phases of dumbstruck awe the crowd there went through in that fight, which had more plot twists than a David Fincher film. Swanson showed a tremendous amount of heart in that fight, which was inducted into the UFC\u2019s Hall of Fame\u2019s \u201cFight Wing,\u201d and that\u2019s one of the many reasons why fans love Cub.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019ll tell you what, Petesy, another fight of his that I fondly recall was that fun one he had with Mackens Semerzier at WEC 52. \u201cMack Da Menace\u201d went after him, and Swanson took everything Semerzier dished out. It was another show of Swanson\u2019s mettle to get that split decision, as he had to dig deep there. It\u2019s worth going back and watching for those who haven\u2019t seen it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Petesy: <\/strong>Excuse me for being what the kids call \u201ca basic bitch,\u201d but my favorite Swanson fight is, of course, that Doo Ho Choi barnburner. Yet, my favorite Cub Swanson moment was when he came to Dublin to pick a fight with then-beloved Irishman, Conor McGregor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Irish capital was completely in the grips of McGregormania ahead of his big return against Diego Brandao at 3Arena. He was playing UFC brass like John Coltrane and he was in the midst of a run that still puts him at the top of the food chain in terms of the promotion\u2019s drawing power.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I was brought to the Gibson Hotel with a convoy of Irish media to interview Swanson. Many of them knew nothing about the sport other than the younger generation\u2019s fascination with McGregor, and the media rarely asked him about anything other than \u201cThe Notorious.\u201d As I waited for my turn to speak with Cub, I watched him give every single reporter his full attention, never once appearing to be exasperated by their ignorance. I pondered what a crazy dualism it is for him to be such a class act in moments like these, but also fight with such viciousness and blood lust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Moral of the story, Cub Swanson is, and always will be, a class act.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mma\/article\/ufc-327-preview-roundtable-whats-at-stake-for-slight-underdog-jiri-prochazka-031225840.html\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UFC heads to Miami for the next premier numbered card, UFC 327, and it\u2019s quite a party. Ji\u0159\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka will try to win back the 205-pound title against Carlos Ulberg, and Paulo Costa will make the jump to that division to face off with the undefeated Amazat Murzakanov.&nbsp; The personalities alone make for some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28698,3808,28699,21227,7411,3290,16408,24828],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90616"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}