What Will the UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division Do With Its Injured King on Top?
A new king was crowned this past weekend at UFC 327. Carlos ‘Black Jag’ Ulberg won the vacated UFC Light Heavyweight Championship after a rollercoaster of emotions and events occurred in Round One of his matchup against former champ Jiri Prochazka. ‘Black Jag’s leg landed awkwardly after a kick attempt early in the round. On slow-motion replay, it looked like Ulberg’s ACL was torn, resulting in him fighting on one leg for the rest of the fight. Ulberg tried a spinning wheel kick that further hindered his movement later on in the fight. Prochazka started chopping at Ulberg’s only good leg and looked as if he was trying to survive until the end of the round, where it would’ve been likely Ulberg’s corner, Marc Goddard, or octagon-side doctors would’ve stopped the bout to protect Ulberg’s MMA future. Instead, the former champ showed mercy, rushed in on a one-legged Ulberg, got caught with Ulberg’s signature check hook, and Ulberg knocked Prochazka out cold before the end of the first round.
This was an impressive feat on ‘Black Jag’s end. He won Performance of the Night and the First Round knockout bonuses to cap his night on one leg. The future of UFC’s Light Heavyweight is in dire jeopardy, however. King Carlos is projected to be sidelined until 2027, and it’s barely the middle of April. Here is what the UFC could do to keep the Light Heavyweight Division busy at the top without its new king.
Book an Interim Light Heavyweight Championship Between Top Contenders
This seems like the most likely outcome, given that Ulberg will be out for a significant period of time. Magomed Ankalaev seems like a guarantee in this fight, beating an injured Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira to win the belt before losing the belt against Pereira when he was injured himself in their rematch. The trilogy, unfortunately, never materialized. Who would Ankalaev fight for the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship, though? Prochazka doesn’t seem like a good candidate now, as he has lost his last three title fights. He would need to win a couple more fights before reentering the Light Heavyweight Championship title picture. Khalil Roundtree Jr. could be a potential opponent. While he lost to Prochazka in his last fight, he was winning that fight before he got knocked out. He’s got the most technical and powerful Muay Thai striking in the division, and if he could keep his distance from Ankalaev’s takedowns, he has a real shot at winning the belt. Jan Blachowicz seems like a shot in the dark. He and Ankalaev fought to a split draw for the then-vacant Light Heavyweight Championship in 2022. The MMA community has been split on how the decision went, so this could potentially settle that debate. It doesn’t help that Blachowicz hasn’t won a bout since 2022; in his last four bouts, he has no wins, two losses, and two draws. A dark horse candidate that could generate a lot of buzz is Paulo ‘The Eraser’ Costa. He debuted at light heavyweight at UFC 327 and put on a clinic to knock out top prospect Azamat ‘The Professional’ Murzakanov. Any fight between Ankalaev, Roundtree, Blachowicz, and Costa could help keep the division interesting until King Carlos returns.
Nothing and Wait on the Champ to Recover
The UFC shouldn’t leave any of its divisions out to rot. Knowing that all they care about is increasing the value of their stock prices, Paramount and TKO could genuinely continue as if the Light Heavyweight Division didn’t mean anything to them. The division has some scary and talented fighters. The only marketable fighters in the division with Pereira’s move up to heavyweight are Ulberg and Prochazka, however. Blachowicz, Roundtree, and Costa are fighters that fight fans support, but their names don’t carry the same cachet as Ulberg or Prochazka. Maybe White and UFC’s matchmaking team will wait on Ulberg’s full recovery to give a shot to Ankalaev. That doesn’t seem likely, as White has talked down on Ankalaev’s marketability despite his superb fighting skills. Maybe he proves me wrong, but I don’t see Anakalev being in an interim title bout or next in line for a Light Heavyweight Championship matchup.
Strip King Carlos to Book Another Vacant Light Heavyweight Championship Bout
Some may argue that this is too stingy on the UFC’s part. Looking back at UFC’s history in stripping former champs shows that it’s not out of the picture. Many top champions have been stripped due to inactivity and injuries. With Ulberg projected to return no sooner than early 2027, TKO and Paramount could pressure White and the matchmaking team to strip King Carlos of his belt for another vacant Light Heavyweight Championship title bout. UFC 327 was arguably the best numbered card so far in 2026. TKO and Paramount could see this as an opportunity to duplicate 327’s success. The only problem with this is looking for worthy fighters for the belt. Ankalaev is the only one who’s undoubtedly qualified to fight for the belt. Prochazka would become the light heavyweight version of Ciryl Gane should he get another title shot, getting title fight after title fight because there isn’t anyone else. Blachowicz and Roundtree have lost to other top-five light heavyweights, and Costa just entered the division. Everyone below the top-five light heavyweights is in a similar boat as Prochazka, where they need at least one or two fights to prove they are worthy of a title shot; The UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division continues to stay cursed.
