The UFC light heavyweight championship is now vacant after Alex Pereira relinquished the title, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed on Instagram Live Friday. The decision clears the way for a vacant title bout between former champion Jiri Prochazka and surging contender Carlos Ulberg in the main event of UFC 327 on April 11 at Kaseya Center.
Pereira exits the 205-pound division after a title run that included three successful defenses following his initial championship victory in 2023. He regained the belt with an 80-second technical knockout of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, avenging his decision loss in their first meeting. The 38-year-old first captured UFC gold in 2022 at middleweight by defeating Israel Adesanya, becoming champion in just his fourth UFC appearance after debuting in 2021. A former two-division kickboxing world champion, Pereira also holds stoppage wins in the UFC over Sean Strickland, Jan Blachowicz, Jamahal Hill, and Khalil Rountree Jr.. He recently weighed in at 243 pounds, leading to speculation of a move to heavyweight in pursuit of becoming the first three-division champion in UFC history.
The vacant title fight will be Prochazka's third attempt to reclaim the belt he surrendered in 2022 due to a shoulder injury. The 33-year-old Czech owns a 32-5-1 record and is 18-2 since 2015, with both recent defeats coming via second-round knockout against Pereira at UFC 295 and at UFC 300. Since then, he has rebounded with knockout victories over Hill and Rountree, maintaining his No. 2 ranking at light heavyweight.
Ulberg, 35, enters with a 13-1 record and a nine-fight winning streak since losing his 2021 UFC debut. The New Zealander, ranked No. 3, most recently scored a first-round knockout of Dominick Reyes and holds consecutive wins over Blachowicz and Volkan Oezdemir.
UFC 327 will also feature a flyweight title co-main event between champion Joshua Van and challenger Tatsuro Taira, along with bouts including Johnny Walker vs. Reyes and Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa. White added that further details regarding the upcoming UFC White House event will be announced next week.
