Azamat Murzakanov, Loopy Godinez among UFC 327 fighters in spotlight

As the UFC's latest numbered card enters centre stage on Saturday, there won’t be any shortage of fighters looking to make a statement.

The stakes surrounding the featured bout are clear: Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg is for the vacant light-heavyweight title.

Yet there is a lot to dig into throughout the rest of the 12-fight card that features nine ranked contenders outside of the main event.

Even with the recent news that Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira's flyweight championship co-main matchup has been bumped to UFC 328 in May, there's more than enough intrigue to keep fight fans locked in when the action unfolds from Miami's Kaseya Centre.

Here are five fighters who'll be in the spotlight at UFC 327, all of whom can shake up the landscape in their respective weight classes this weekend.

Azamat Murzakanov (16-0-0)

The Russian has rapidly climbed the UFC ranks since earning a contract back in 2021, thanks to a first-round TKO win on Dana White's Contender Series.

Murzakanov is now 6-0 under the UFC banner and is coming off one of his most impressive wins — a first-round knockout of Aleksandar Rakic. The win vaulted the 36-year-old to No. 6 amongst 205-pound contenders and earned him a matchup against one of the promotion's bigger names in Paulo Costa, who's jumping up from middleweight.

The Brazilian does have some experience at 205 pounds, however, as he previously lost a bout against Martin Vettori in 2021 after Costa wasn't able to meet the middleweight limit (or a 195-pound catchweight) before competing in a light-heavyweight bout.

Still, Costa is a staple in the UFC, and without facing the rigours of cutting down to 185 pounds, he presents a quality test for Murzakanov, who would push his momentum into overdrive with a win in what's now serving as UFC 327's co-main event. At the very least, it would warrant a fight against someone in the top five, if not a direct title shot and a meeting with the winner of Prochazka vs. Ulberg.

The UFC's light-heavyweight division was once dominated by lengthy title reigns but hasn't seen a Jon Jones- or even Daniel Cormier-esque reign in years. The belt has swapped waists seven times since 2020 and only two fighters in the past half-decade have held it for longer than a year. Alex Pereira had three title defences in his memorable 2024 and became a two-time champ in 2025 but he is now up at heavyweight.

It might be a leap to assume Murzakanov could put an end to the carousel of 205-pound champs, but the Russian is certainly presenting a strong case to believe in. "The Professional" hasn't lost since going pro in 2010, and all but three of his victories have come by stoppage.

Johnny Walker (22-9-0, 1 NC)

If there's nothing but certainty surrounding Murzakanov's potential, then the opposite is true for Walker.

After earning a UFC contract in 2018 and leaping as high as No. 7 in the rankings following three consecutive first-round TKO wins, the Brazilian has become somewhat of an enigma. Walker is 5-6 with one no-contest in the UFC since a 3-0 start, has lost back-to-back fights three separate times, but he has also put together a three-fight win streak in that same span.

For his lone fight of 2025, Walker knocked out Mingyang Zhang, which ended a three-fight winless skid (two losses and one no-contest) and it earned him a performance of the night bonus. Walker's momentum ahead of UFC 327 seems to be heading upward following his winless 2024 and an injury-riddled start to 2025 that led to two cancelled bouts before he rebounded against Zhang.

The fight game is a fickle best, and Walker's opponent,Dominick Reyes, knows it better than most. The two-time title challenger has walked his own winding road in the UFC and knows momentum can be lost as rapidly as it is gained. Reyes is coming off a first-round loss to Ulberg that snapped a three-fight win streak and dropped him to No. 10 in the division, two spots above Walker at No. 12.

When the pair step into the Octagon on Saturday for a contest that doesn't appear destined to go the distance given each fighter's modus operandi, there's no doubt they'll both be looking to rebuild some much-needed momentum and go for the finish to remain near the the upper echelon of the division.

Josh Hokit (8-0-0)

While the light-heavyweight division has seen no shortage of intrigue in recent years, the heavyweight ranks can't seem to sustain any prolonged excitement.

After the Jon Jones saga ended with his retirement last year, it appeared as though Tom Aspinall's reign could truly begin. Instead, an eye injury and a no-contest against Ciryl Gane in October left the undisputed champ indefinitely sidelined.

There's a chance Alex Pereira's move up from 205 pounds might be the fix, and we'll see what comes of it in his interim title fight with Gane in June, but with how things have gone leading up to 2026, the division needs as many draws as it can get, and that's where Hokit comes in.

Well, according to the outspoken 28-year-old, he's not only already in the conversation following an impressive 2-0 start in the UFC, he now "owns" the heavyweight division. Hokit had a memorable 2025, not only earning a UFC contract through the Contender Series but also landing back-to-back first-round TKO victories for performance of the night bonuses in the UFC.

Since going pro in 2023, he has finished all but one of his fights in the first round, five by KO/TKO and three by submission. Not to mention that he is as eccentric on the mic as he is violent in the cage, often cutting pro wrestling-style promos after wins, much to the dismay of White.

All his antics will be put to the test on Saturday, however, when he faces a major step-up in competition in Curtis "Razor" Blaydes. The No. 5-ranked heavyweight will certainly be fighting with a chip on his shoulder after Hokit will be his second consecutive unranked opponent since getting stopped by Aspinall in their title fight two years ago. The division gatekeeper's task is to figure out whether Hokit's rapid rise has been all smoke and mirrors or if there's any substance behind the theatrics.

Loopy Godinez (14-5-0)

Fans saw someone besides Zhang Weili put the women's strawweight belt around their waist for the first time since 2022 when Mackenzie Dern claimed a then-vacant title in October after Zhang vacated the belt to pursue glory in a new weight class. Dern has yet to make her first title defence, and the division appears more wide open than it has in a long time.

The Mexican-Canadian Godinez needs a bit more momentum before joining the title picture, since previous losses to Dern and Virna Jandiroba (No. 3) in 2024 left more to be desired. Which is why a matchup against No. 2-ranked Tatiana Suarez (14-5-0) provides a perfect launching point.

Godinez is ranked sixth in the division and coming off back-to-back wins in 2025. Her last fight was a unanimous decision victory over former champion Jessica Andrade in August.

Suarez, who fell short in her February 2025 title fight with Zhang, surely has her sights set on Dern, but will have to first deal with Godinez, who's quickly built a reputation at 115 pounds since debuting in 2021. The 32-year-old Godinez ranks top 10 among active strawweights in wins, total and significant strikes landed, significant strike accuracy, she ranks second in total takedowns and boasts the best significant strike defence.

Aaron Pico (13-5-0)

It goes without saying Pico expected more from his UFC debut last year than a first-round knockout loss. Pico came to the UFC with plenty of hype as a Bellator MMA veteran of 16 fights (12-4-0), and before his loss to Lerone Murphy in August, the 29-year-old had won three straight fights, including back-to-back first-round TKOs of his own.

Luckily for Pico, in a featherweight division that's running out of challenges for champion Alexander Volkanovski, it may not take more than a couple of quality wins to enter the title conversation. Before getting to that point, however, the American needs to settle some business with Patricio Pitbull in a fight that most fans expected to see under the Bellator banner, but it never happened.

With a 1-1 record since making his own UFC debut last year, Pitbull enters UFC 327 ranked No. 13 at 145 pounds, and the matchup presents Pico a real opportunity to break into the top 15 despite currently being 0-1 in the UFC. At the very least, settling the score with Pitbull should earn Pico the chance at redemption against Murphy or the ability to challenge someone else in the top 10.