The current light heavyweight champion, Carlos Ulberg, delivered a highlight KO that will be remembered for a long time in his win over Jiri Prochazka. Ulberg tore his ACL just minutes into the fight and was hobbled on one leg for the remainder of the bout. It looked like a guaranteed win for Prochazka, who either had to finish him or just make it out of the round, and he would have the title around his waist. Jiri did not want to win in that fashion, though, and he continued to fight as if Ulberg wasn’t hurt, claiming he had “mercy” on him. Prochazka went for a jab with 90 seconds left in the first round, and Ulberg, on one leg, hit him with a check left hook that knocked the former champion down. Ulberg sprung into action and delivered punishing ground and pound strikes that put Prochazka out cold to win the belt.
The problem now is that Ulberg will need surgery and not be back until at least 2027. This means once again that the belt will be up for grabs, but not too many contenders have earned a title shot. It is up in the air what the next light heavyweight title shot will look like and who will be buying in for that opportunity. The only person who makes sense at the moment is former champion and current #1-ranked Magomed Ankalaev, who, before his last loss to Alex Pereira, was the champion and beat Pereira for the crown in their first fight. He is the right choice to get back to a title opportunity, but who will his opponent be?
There are options available, and some fan favorites that people would love to see, but most of the division hasn’t done enough to claim they should be in the championship fight. Jiri Prochazka needs to work his way back up once again. Khalil Rountree is coming off a brutal KO loss to Prochazka in his last fight, and it doesn’t make sense for someone to have a championship opportunity after losing. Especially when it was to a guy who just fought for the title. There was also a lot of buzz about Azamat Murzakanov who was undefeated and the #6-ranked light heavyweight fighter but he just got KO’s by Paulo Costa at UFC 327 so his title dreams have been put on hold.
Paulo Costa is an interesting option because he moved up in weight from middleweight to light heavyweight and has always been in contention for a title in other weight classes and is still elite. He was not ranked when he fought Murzakanov but is now the #7-ranked fighter in the division with his win. If the UFC wanted to make things interesting they could make a championship fight with Magomed Ankalaev and Paulo Costa which would be very intriguing and likely a great fight. But does one fight in a new division get you a shot at the belt or should Costa have to prove himself more? The problem with the division right now is that most of the top five contenders are on losing streaks and a lot of them have already been beat by Prochazka, Alex Pereira, and Ankalaev.
The whole division is in an interesting spot and it isn’t clear what the future will be at the moment. Will the UFC try and book a title fight with the vacant belt on the line soon? Will they wait for Ulberg to return if he can fast track his recovery? There are a lot of questions and not too many answers regarding the future of the division. Another alternative could be if fighters from other weight classes want to join the race such as middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev who has been speculated to move to light heavyweight soon. Fans will have to wait and see but as of right now there is a lot left up in the air.
