UFC 327 Picks: Prochazka vs Ulberg Predictions and Best Bets

A new light heavyweight king will be crowned in the Octagon this Saturday night at UFC 327.

The Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, plays host to an interesting night of action in the UFC, with plenty of noteworthy names filling the card from top to bottom – even with the card losing a planned second title fight to UFC 328.

In the main event, with Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight soon, a new UFC champion will be declared at 205 when Jiri Prochazka takes on Carlos Ulberg. Prochazka is 6-2 in the Octagon and previously won the light heavyweight title at UFC 275; however, he vacated the title due to injury before making a defense. Prochazka, whose two Octagon losses have been title fights against Pereira, enters off a finish of Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 320. Ulberg has won nine straight since losing his UFC debut, most recently knocking out Dominick Reyes in September.

The co-main event will also be a light heavyweight contest, as Azamat Murzakanov takes on Paulo Costa. Murzakanov is 16-0, entering this fight off a first-round finish of Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 321. Costa is jumping up to light heavyweight in this fight; he most recently fought at UFC 318, defeating Roman Kopylov by decision.

The main card will also feature Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit, Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker, and Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr in Swanson’s retirement fight.

JIRI PROCHAZKA VS CARLOS ULBERG

When it comes to the circumstances, the edge goes to Prochazka. He’s a former champion who lost the title to injury, and the only guy who’s beaten him in the UFC is one of the pound-for-pound best. Ulberg has a solid winning streak; however, the names of his most recent opponents look better on a 2020 resume than a 2026 one.

When it comes to fighting style, both guys know how to push the pace and can explode with knockout power. That said, the fluidness, creativity, and movements from Prochazka lead me to give him a slight edge here. He’ll definitely need to be wary of Ulberg’s knockout power, but the longer the fight goes, the more it plays into Prochazka’s favor. And if Prochazka can rattle Ulberg’s base, a finish for him is more than likely here.

BET: Prochazka via KO/TKO (FanDuel: +150)

PATRICIO PITBULL VS AARON PICO

If there’s an Upset of the Week, it’s this one. Pico is coming in as a heavy favorite, but that doesn’t make much sense. Pitbull definitely has not looked great, but his loss was to a talented Yair Rodrigurez, and Pitbull defeated Dan Ige. Pico’s UFC 319 debut saw him be the victim of Lerone Murphy’s Knockout of the Year nominee.

Pico is a talented wrestler with powerful hands. But during his Bellator run, when it was time to go to the next level, he faltered. This was the case stretching back to his professional MMA debut in Bellator. Pitbull, a former Bellator champ, has much more experience, a better opponent history, and an Octagon win. Pitbull should be able to use all this to handle Pico’s power, working a counterattack and his grappling en route to scoring the win.

BET: Pitbull to win (Moneyline) (FanDuel: +235)

TATIANA SUAREZ VS LOOPY GODINEZ

Suarez is looking to fight her way back to another title shot, while Godinez is looking to show she’s a true top contender at 115. Whereas the main event is a striker’s battle, this one is going to be a grappler’s grind. This shouldn’t take away from the fact that Godinez can use combinations well and might try to pressure Suarez, looking to push the pace. 

But outside of Weili Zhang, no one has been able to figure out how to stop Suarez’s dominating wrestling and ground game. Godinez needs to bring some true A+-level defense, or it’s going to be a long 15 minutes for her.

BET: Suarez via decision (FanDuel: +130)