Carlos Ulberg left UFC 327 as the new light heavyweight champion but did so with a serious knee injury suffered in the opening round of his main event clash with Jiri Prochazka at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Despite the setback, Ulberg still finished Prochazka with a decisive strike to claim the title last Sat. night (April 11, 2026). He later explained the extent of the damage.
"It was my knee, I blew out my knee," Ulberg said, before detailing how he stayed locked in on the finish. "I never, ever counted myself out. I knew that all I needed was that one shot, and I ended up getting it. So, I knew that Jiri was hesitant to come forward, and as soon as I landed my left hand, he’s gone. But I gotta sort this knee out. It’s about getting those moments, and we found it. We found that one kill shot. And he said he could hunt me, but you can’t hunt what you can’t kill."
Prochazka, on the other side of the result, reflected on the loss. "This is one of the biggest lessons in my life," he said. "I still can’t understand — that fight was won. I had it. It was in my hands and I just let him [stay in it] because I saw his injury. F—k, man. It’s true, I felt like mercy, you know, in that fight. I felt so sorry for him."
Ulberg expects to have an MRI in the days following the fight to assess the knee damage. The promotion must decide how to handle the light heavyweight title while Ulberg recovers. Ulberg holds a professional record of 14-1 as stated in the article.
