MIAMI (AP) — Carlos Ulberg’s whole purpose of making the switch from kickboxing to mixed martial arts and joining UFC was to punctuate his presence in combat sports as one of the best.
After Ulberg served former light heavyweight challenger Dominick Reyes a first-round knockout in Perth, Australia, the New Zealand native said he would fight anyone to earn a shot at the title.
Turns out, he already did.
With former champion Alex Pereira vacating the belt to move up and challenge for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC Freedom 250 at The White House on June 14, Ulberg (14-1-0) earned his spot across Jiří Procházka (32-5-1) in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 327 card in Miami.
“If I’m going to do anything, I’m going to be the best at it, in any sport,” Ulberg said. “And anything I wanted to do was get to the very top of that mountain. And that’s what I’m essentially here to do.”
Riding a nine-fight win streak into his championship bout, Ulberg confidently added he’s never doubted his ability while saying he won’t need five rounds to defeat Procházka.
“I always knew I was going to be the best, and I was working toward being the best of this division,” Ulberg said. “You throw a punch, and it could land, and anyone can fall. It’s a game of inches.
“I always have that belief in myself, and now we’re here. It’s about proving it to others.”
Procházka, who held the belt briefly in 2022 and will make his fourth appearance in a UFC title fight, arrives in Miami after defeating his last two opponents by third-round knockout.
And while Procházka insists he’s been dialed in and focused more than ever, even after the recent birth of his daughter, Ulberg is convinced he’s scouted for this moment perfectly.
“He is a smart man, I’m sure he’s gotten himself to this level for a reason,” Ulberg said of Procházka. “I definitely see a lot of holes in the game. I think there are a lot of fighters with holes in their game. I’m purely focused on what I’m going to bring to the table.
“I go in there and do what I do best.”
Procházka is a slight favorite (-120) at BetMGM Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have to lay $120 to win $100.
On the main undercard, fellow light heavyweights Azamat Murzakanov (16-0-0) and Paulo Costa (15-4-0) will battle in what might end up being a qualifier for the victor to meet the winner of Ulberg and Procházka.
Fifth-ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes (19-5-0) will battle undefeated Josh Hokit (8-0-0).
Reyes (15-5-0), now the 10th-ranked light heavyweight, will battle No. 12 Johnny Walker (22-9-0).
In the featherweight division, Cub Swanson (30-14-0) will meet Nate Landwehr (18-7-0).
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
FILE - A UFC logo stands outside the arena, April 24, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department knew or should have known for weeks that its case against a former Olympian charged with intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was flawed, and that he bore no responsibility for longstanding problems at the landmark, defense lawyers said Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Friday moved to dismiss the indictment against David Hearn, saying in a 20-page filing that newly produced evidence from the Interior Department showed the former Olympic canoeist was not responsible for damage to the pool's lining.
Pirro’s office attributed the damage instead to a botched installation by a contractor as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” in the weeks surrounding July 4, as directed by President Donald Trump.
Lawyers for Hearn urged a judge to permanently dismiss the case and foreclose the possibility that the Trump administration could revive it. They took issue with Pirro's assertion that prosecutors only recently learned about the flawed contracting work.
“From the outset, the evidence showed that the pool liner was already failing and that Mr. Hearn did not cause the damage alleged in the indictment,'' Hearn's legal team argued in a 28-page motion filed Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.
The poor condition of the pool was “plainly visible” for weeks and was publicly documented through photographs, video and news reports, lawyers Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin and Norman Eisen wrote.
The contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, “publicly acknowledged, before Mr. Hearn was indicted, that portions of the project required repair,” the lawyers said. The firm was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor.
A spokesperson for Pirro’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Trump said Monday that Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against Hearn. Trump, who met with Pirro late Monday, said he remained disappointed by her assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has backed Trump's claims that vandals damaged the pool.
The dismissal of charges against Hearn was an embarrassing setback for the Justice Department and marked a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him.
Hearn has said he was on a bike ride June 19 when he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool. But he said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.
Felony charges, including a possible prison sentence, were brought “without a meaningful investigation into the central and obvious question in this case: whether Mr. Hearn caused, or even could have caused, any damage to the Reflecting Pool,'' Hearn's lawyers said. “Defying both decency and common sense, the government proceeded to indict Mr. Hearn before it had obtained or evaluated the information necessary to establish a good-faith basis for the charge.”
The Washington Monument is seen in the background of the now drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, is shown, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The Washington Monument is seen in the background of the now drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro listens as Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meeting, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
