Carlos Ulberg shredded his knee at UFC 327, but that didn’t stop “Black Jag” from the winning the light heavyweight title.
It helps that his opponent, Jiri Prochazka, is a complete bonehead and pretty much sabotaged himself during their main event matchup. Regardless, Ulberg is the new king of the 205-pound mountain, but is unlikely to make his first title defense until early next year.
Until then, who’s up for a light heavyweight tourney?
“It sucks to be on the sidelines watching the guys,” Ulberg,
35, told reporters during the UFC Shanghai media day. “I’m still in the gym watching the guys and also doing my rehab. I’d much prefer to be in the gym, having a push and pull with the boys. But I’m a working man, and I’m doing everything to make sure that as the champion, I get myself back on the mats. I’m ready to get myself healthy again so that I can come and defend my title early next year. But I want to first and foremost be able to be healthy so that when I’m back, I don’t re-injure myself. That’s the one thing that will hurt.”
Do it right the first time or risk the same fate as Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“If I come back too early, or even now, right now, it’s just guarding the ACL, guarding my knee, so that when I come back, everything is in good order,” Ulberg (14-1) continued. “I know myself that when I come back, I’m going to be stronger mentally and physically for sure. So, the focus is me getting back in the Octagon, healthy, better, and then also being the champion that I am, traveling, doing this stuff as a champion, showing why I’m a good champion for the people. So, doing that as a working man, but then as well as that is upgrading the software.”
He’s not the only light heavyweight in need of an upgrade.
With Alex Pereira staying at heavyweight for the foreseeable future, the light heavyweight division is currently up for grabs. Magomed Ankalaev is currently the highest ranked contender but the Top 15 (see it here) has a handful of former middleweights — like Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker — making a run at light heavyweight glory.
2027 could be a very interesting year for the 205-pound weight class.
