Nobody’s parlay survived. Both Dave Simon and AJ D’Alesio had Procházka and Murzakanov as cornerstones of their picks — as laid out in Thursday’s UFC 327 predictions breakdown — and both got blown up in the same two-hour stretch. The UFC 327 results were that kind of night. Three main card upsets. One of the most surreal title-fight finishes in light heavyweight history. And Cub Swanson, the one they all agreed on, was going out exactly as they hoped: a first-round TKO, a 22-year career ended on his terms, in the right city, on the right stage.
Nobody’s parlay survived. Both Dave Simon and AJ D’Alesio had Procházka and Murzakanov as cornerstones of their picks — as laid out in Thursday’s UFC 327 predictions breakdown — and both got blown up in the same two-hour stretch. The UFC 327 results were that kind of night. Three main card upsets. One of the most surreal title-fight finishes in light heavyweight history. And Cub Swanson, the one they all agreed on, was going out exactly as they hoped: a first-round TKO, a 22-year career ended on his terms, in the right city, on the right stage.
Here is the full breakdown from Saturday night’s Ringside Report MMA watch-along with Dave Simon, AJ D’Alesio, and Fred Garcia.
🎯 Key Takeaways
- Carlos Ulberg is the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion: Ulberg beat Jiří Procházka by KO in Round 1 — despite having his knee destroyed by leg kicks midway through the round — making it one of the most improbable title fight finishes in division history.
- Paulo Costa blew up both parlays: Costa knocked out the 16-0 Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick in Round 3. Both Dave and AJ had Murzakanov as a near-lock. Both were wrong.
- Josh Hokit def. Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision (29-28): The undefeated wildcard won a three-round war, was announced for Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis at the White House card, and immediately went to shake Trump’s hand at ringside.
- Cub Swanson goes out a winner: TKO over Nate Landwehr in Round 1 — a perfect ending to a 22-year professional career that started in 2004.
- Dominick Reyes def. Johnny Walker by split decision (29-28): All three hosts picked Walker. All three were wrong. The fight was the worst on the card by a wide margin.
- Breaking news: Gable Steveson signs with UFC: Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson signed with the UFC and will make his debut at UFC 329 on July 11. He has been training with Jon Jones.
UFC 327 Results
UFC 327 Full Card Results
| Fight | Winner | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procházka vs. Ulberg (LHW Title) | Carlos Ulberg 🏆 NEW CHAMPION | KO | R1 |
| Costa vs. Murzakanov (LHW) | Paulo Costa | TKO (head kick) | R3 |
| Hokit vs. Blaydes (HW) | Josh Hokit | Unanimous Decision (29-28) | R3 |
| Reyes vs. Walker (LHW) | Dominick Reyes | Split Decision (29-28) | R3 |
| Swanson vs. Landwehr (FW) | Cub Swanson ✅ | TKO | R1 |
| Pico vs. Pitbull (FW) | Aaron Pico | Unanimous Decision | R3 |
| Suarez vs. Godinez (SW) | Tatiana Suarez | Submission (RNC) | — |
| Holland vs. Brown (WW) | Kevin Holland | Unanimous Decision | R3 |
Cub Swanson’s Perfect Ending
This is the one they all had right, and it is the one the sport deserved to get right. Cub Swanson has been fighting professionally since 2004. He was in the WEC before the UFC absorbed it. He was on the first Fox card in November 2011. He has been doing this — at a level, in front of crowds, against legitimate opponents — for 22 consecutive years. Saturday night against Nate Landwehr was supposed to be his last professional fight. It ended in the first round via TKO, with Swanson’s hand raised.
Dave’s assessment going into the fight had been precise: Landwehr throws reckless volume; a seasoned finisher can find the openings and stay patient. Swanson did exactly that. The retirement fight went exactly as it needed to. Dave’s reaction to the watch-along captured what most longtime Ringside Report viewers were feeling: after 22 years, a 42-year-old man wrapped up his career with a finish. “That’s the way to go out,” Dave said. “You want to go out as the winner. Cub Swanson goes out as the winner.”
In a night where the card handed out nothing but volatility and chaos, Swanson’s result was the one clean, earned, uncomplicated moment. A career like his deserved that. It got it.
📜 Historical Context
Cub Swanson’s professional MMA career ran from 2004 to 2026 — a 22-year span that made him one of the longest-active featherweights in the sport’s history. He competed in the WEC starting in 2007 and transitioned to the UFC when the WEC was absorbed in 2010. His career included fights against Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, and Jeremy Stephens — a who’s-who of featherweight legends. He ends with a TKO win. On his terms. In Miami.
Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker — The Worst Fight of the Night
All three hosts picked Johnny Walker. All three were wrong. Dominick Reyes won a split decision — 29-28 — and the fight itself was so uneventful that by the time the scorecards were read, the only emotion at the watch-along table was relief that it was over. “One of the worst fights I’ve seen in a long time,” Dave said. AJ agreed. Fred didn’t disagree. On a card that delivered genuine violence and genuine drama almost everywhere else, Reyes and Walker spent three rounds producing nothing the crowd could get excited about.
Going into Saturday, the read on Walker had been that he looked healthier and more motivated than a Reyes who had already been knocked off the cusp of a title shot twice. The read was wrong. Reyes showed up, won rounds on damage and control, and walked away with a win that does not dramatically move the division but does put him back in the conversation for a top-ten opponent. The hosts were gracious enough to give Reyes credit. They were equally honest that the fight itself was not worth the airtime.
The Reyes-Walker result is a reminder that previews and press conferences can make it seem like one fight, while the actual 15 minutes can feel like another. That is MMA. But this one was legitimately difficult to watch — and the fact that it was surrounded by the fights it was surrounded by made it stand out even more as the card’s weak spot.
You already KNEW 👏@RazorBlaydes265 vs @Josh_HokitUFC earns FOTN
— UFC (@ufc) April 12, 2026
[ BY2B @ToyoTires | #UFC327 ] pic.twitter.com/oDPp0MRqCb
Josh Hokit Is a Real Problem Now
Before Thursday’s preview, Dave Simon laid out the only strategic path he could see for Curtis Blaydes: shoot takedowns, win ugly, bore the crowd, collect the decision. Win boring or lose exciting — those were the options. Blaydes chose neither boring nor smart. Hokit got into his head at the press conference, Blaydes walked into a brawl, and over three rounds of sustained chaos, Josh Hokit won a unanimous decision that Dave called “fight of the night” without hesitation.
Describing what happened in that fight in linear terms almost doesn’t do it justice. Round one saw Hokit walking Blaydes down with bombs, Blaydes landing jabs and finding his timing, both men rocked and wobbly at the horn. Round two slowed down enough for Blaydes to accumulate volume, but Hokit weathered it and kept coming. By Round 3, both men were running on fumes and sheer obstinacy. Dave’s live commentary: “These guys are moving in slow motion… oh big right from Blaydes, but Hokit’s just eating it and moving forward.” Hokit won 29-28 across all three judges. It was not pretty. It was absolutely entertaining.
The character stuff remains a legitimate conversation. Hokit flipped Blaydes off during the bout — multiple times, during exchanges, between rounds — and celebrated the win by going straight to Donald Trump at ringside. Dave’s opinion on the UFC platforming this style of fighter hasn’t changed. But the fight itself earned its Fight of the Night status, and Hokit showed the one thing that was in legitimate question before Saturday: that he can take a punch from a legitimate heavyweight and not go away. Blaydes hit him flush. He didn’t go away.
Post-fight, the announcement arrived: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis has been added to the White House card. Dave’s immediate read: “I think Hokit probably beats Lewis — isn’t that a step down from Blaydes at this stage?” AJ’s counter: It’s an enormous payday and a fight that will be appointment television regardless of ranking logic. Both are probably right. Dave also raised the question that will linger as Hokit climbs: when he gets in front of a surgical striker at heavyweight — a Ciryl Gane or an Alex Pereira — the “absorb everything and swing back” strategy reaches its limit. For now, though, at 9-0, Josh Hokit is real.
💡 Pro Tip
Dave compared Hokit’s defensive philosophy to Homer Simpson’s boxing strategy — take enough punches until your opponent’s arms are too tired to swing. It’s funny. It also accurately describes how Hokit fought Blaydes for 15 minutes. At heavyweight, this works until you run into someone with the kind of power that doesn’t get tired. That is the ceiling question Hokit still has to answer.
Paulo Costa Ruins Every Parlay in Miami
Here is a sentence that would have seemed impossible 48 hours ago: Paulo Costa, 37 years old, two wins in his last six fights, moving up to light heavyweight, knocked out the 16-0, Fedor-comparison-receiving, knockdown-in-every-UFC-fight Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick in Round 3. And walked over to Donald Trump to have a conversation in broken English immediately after. That is the UFC 327 results summary for the co-main event.
In Thursday’s preview, both Dave and AJ picked Murzakanov as near-certainties. Dave had him as a parlay leg. AJ had him as a parlay leg. The consensus read was that Costa’s trash talk at the press conference looked like nerves, Murzakanov’s translator had already exposed the dynamic (“He’s so nervous — all he can do is talk”), and the Russian’s 16-0 record reflected genuine, dominant, finishing ability at the weight class. That read was not insane. It was almost the majority opinion in the MMA analysis space. Costa won anyway.
The fight itself played out like a chess match through two rounds — Costa using leg kicks and movement to keep Murzakanov at range, Murzakanov landing when he found the inside, but taking accumulating damage to the body. An eye poke from Costa in Round 1 created a stoppage; Murzakanov survived and continued. Round 2 saw Murzakanov find more success, bloodying Costa and landing his best combinations. Then Round 3 arrived, Costa landed a head kick that put Murzakanov on the mat, and the referee waved it off.
Dave’s post-fight take was honest: “I was surprised by that one. I thought Murzakanov was going to be something special here. Costa just puts a stop to that whole train.” The strategic note Dave raised is worth tracking: at 205, Costa looked enormous — bigger than any middleweight cut could have made him. AJ put it plainly: “There’s no way he goes back down to middleweight. Look at the size of him.” Whether Costa stays at light heavyweight or uses the momentum of a televised win — in front of the U.S. President at ringside — to demand a title shot, the light heavyweight division has rarely looked this unsettled entering a post-PPV week.
Breaking: Gable Steveson Signs With the UFC
The biggest non-fight news to come out of Saturday night dropped during the broadcast: Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson has signed with the UFC and will make his promotional debut at UFC 329 on July 11. Steveson was spotted ringside at UFC 327 alongside Jon Jones — whom he has been training with — confirming a pairing that had been discussed quietly for months. Dave’s immediate reaction: “MMA is where he should be. He’s got that type of promise. We may be looking at a new heavyweight champion at some point.”
AJ’s read-aligned: the combination of an Olympic gold-medal wrestling base, a legitimate athletic frame, and a corner that includes Jon Jones represents genuine upside at heavyweight. The Ringside Report MMA crew will be breaking down Steveson’s debut opponent and potential trajectory ahead of UFC 329. This is one of the more significant UFC signings of the year, regardless of how Saturday’s results landed.
🥊 CARLOS ULBERG VS JIRI PROCHAZKA | FULL #UFC327 pic.twitter.com/BomgLeImIx
— Kırmızı Köşe (@KirmiziKoseMMA) April 12, 2026
UFC 327 Results Main Event: Ulberg Stuns the World
There is no clean way to explain what happened in the UFC 327 main event without starting with the knee. Jiří Procházka walked Carlos Ulberg down in the opening minute, landed leg kick after leg kick, and destroyed Ulberg’s right knee to the point where it was visibly buckling. Every time Ulberg tried to step or pivot, the leg gave. Dave described it in real time: “His leg is in big trouble — Yuri’s pointing at the ground saying let’s fight here.” AJ saw the knee joint protruding: “Something is wrong. There’s no way. He’s done.” Ulberg was a sitting duck with a shattered leg in his own main event, fighting for the UFC light heavyweight title.
Then he landed one left hand. Procházka went to sleep. The referee stepped in. Carlos Ulberg is the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.
What followed at the watch-along table was genuine disbelief. “I have never seen a fighter go from so compromised — clearly injured — to winning by knockout in a matter of seconds,” Dave said. “I’ve never seen that.” Fred invoked the Congo vs. Pat Barry fight, in which a nearly finished fighter reversed the outcome at the last second. Dave acknowledged the comparison and then dismissed it: “I’ve never seen a guy whose knee was shattered — couldn’t walk during the fight — and then score the knockout. That was crazy.” AJ’s read: “It was 99.9 percent Procházka’s fight. That 0.1 percent was the knockout.”
The post-fight strategic autopsy is where the analysis gets real. Procházka made a choice in that moment that cost him the belt. Once Ulberg’s knee was gone, Procházka started pointing at the ground — signaling he wanted to stand flat-footed and trade warrior-to-warrior. Dave’s call: “Why would you do that? You can’t move, I can. Let me move. Pick you apart.” Instead of staying mobile, targeting the leg, surviving the round, and letting the corner potentially stop the fight between rounds, Procházka chose honor over tactics. It is an enormously human decision. It is also why he does not have the belt. “Stay away,” Dave said. “Keep throwing kicks. Be smart. Don’t get over-excited. Yuri may have had to just survive the round, and Ulberg may have thrown in the towel because he was so hurt. But Yuri got too excited.”
Ulberg is now the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and will likely face months of recovery from what appears to be ACL damage. The Ringside Report crew noted that an interim title fight could be on the horizon — and that Procházka is the most logical candidate to fight for it. But give Ulberg his due: he was trained by Eugene Bareman of City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand — the same gym that produced Israel Adesanya and Kai Kara-France — and he absorbed everything Procházka threw with one functional leg and kept his hands up. Champions are made in moments like that one. Saturday night in Miami, Carlos Ulberg made his.
Reality Check: Procházka’s Warrior Code Cost Him the Belt
The Reality: Jiří Procházka is one of the most exciting fighters on the planet. He is also, on Saturday night, a fighter who lost the UFC light heavyweight title because he chose to stand flat-footed and trade with an injured man instead of moving, staying sharp, and letting time do the work. The moment Ulberg’s knee gave out, the fight was effectively over — and Procházka voluntarily made it even again. That is not a knock on his character. His instinct to fight with honor is part of what makes him compelling to watch. But you cannot point at the ground and invite a trade when your opponent has one working leg and you are 30 seconds away from a title. The belt went to the better strategic position in that moment, not the better fighter over 25 minutes. Procházka will be back. He is too good not to be. But the reason he is going home without the belt is sitting in the replay, visible on every leg kick, and crystallized in the second he decided to make it a fair fight.
Card Verdict: Best PPV of 2026?
Dave’s overall assessment of the UFC 327 results: thumbs up. Best pay-per-view of the year so far. The Walker-Reyes fight was a legitimate stinker — “one of the worst fights I’ve seen in a long time” —, and that is a real mark against the card. But the rest of the night delivered. Swanson got the sendoff the sport owed him. Hokit-Blaydes was three rounds of wild heavyweight violence that Dave called Fight of the Night without hesitation. Costa-Murzakanov was genuinely unpredictable, even if the wrong man won by most projections. And the main event delivered one of the most surreal title-fight finishes in light heavyweight history. “Overall, thumbs up — good event,” Dave said. “This is the best pay-per-view of the year. We hadn’t had a main event that was this exciting all year.”
The UFC 327 results leave the light heavyweight division in the most interesting state it has been in since Alex Pereira first showed up at 205. Ulberg is the champion. Costa just beat the man everyone thought was the division’s next great threat. Procházka is right there for an interim run. The crew will be back Thursday ahead of UFC 329 in Winnipeg, Manitoba — and with the fallout from Miami still settling, there is no shortage of material to work with. If you were watching Saturday Night Live, you know. If you weren’t, the replay is worth every second.
Who won the UFC 327 main event?
Carlos Ulberg defeated Jiří Procházka by knockout in Round 1 to win the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Ulberg’s knee was badly damaged by Procházka’s leg kicks during the fight, but he landed a left hand that knocked Procházka out and became the new champion. Ulberg trains with Eugene Bareman at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand.
What happened to Murzakanov at UFC 327?
Azamat Murzakanov, who entered the night at 16-0 and was a heavy favorite, was knocked out by Paulo Costa in Round 3 via head kick TKO. Costa had moved up to light heavyweight for the fight and looked visibly larger than at middleweight. Both Dave Simon and AJ D’Alesio had Murzakanov in their parlay picks — both were wrong.
Did Cub Swanson retire at UFC 327?
Yes. Cub Swanson fought Nate Landwehr at UFC 327 as his confirmed retirement bout and won by TKO in Round 1. Swanson is 42 years old and had been fighting professionally since 2004 — a 22-year career that began in the WEC and included fights against Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, and dozens of other elite featherweights. He went out with his hand raised.
What are the UFC 327 results for the full card?
Carlos Ulberg def. Jiří Procházka by KO R1 (LHW Title). Paulo Costa def. Azamat Murzakanov by TKO R3 (head kick). Josh Hokit def. Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision (29-28). Dominick Reyes def. Johnny Walker by split decision (29-28). Cub Swanson def. Nate Landwehr by TKO R1. Aaron Pico def. Patricio Pitbull won by unanimous decision. Tatiana Suárez def. Loopy Godinez by submission (RNC). Kevin Holland def. Randy Brown won by unanimous decision.
Who is Gable Steveson, and why does the UFC signing matter?
Gable Steveson is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling who signed with the UFC and will make his debut at UFC 329 on July 11. He was spotted ringside at UFC 327 with Jon Jones, with whom he has been training. Dave Simon called him a potential future heavyweight champion. With an elite wrestling base, power, and athleticism, Steveson represents one of the more significant heavyweight signings of the year.
HOLY SHIT!!!! UFC 327 is completely empty
— MMA Joey (@MMAJOEYC) April 11, 2026
UFC leaned some hard into right wing grifting & rewarding WWE antics over actual skill & tonight is the payoff
Nobody even knows this event is happening & the arena is completely empty bc they couldn't sell tickets. pic.twitter.com/E80a6eSTAe
