The extent of Carlos Ulberg’s knee injury has been confirmed, and the light heavyweight division will be without its champion for a while.
Ulberg defeated Jiri Prochazka in improbable fashion in the main event of UFC 327 in Miami. Despite injuring his knee early in the fight, “Black Jag’s” hook found Prochazka chin, flooring the former 205-pound titleholder. Ulberg capitalized with ground punches to score the knockout win, securing his first UFC championship.
Ulberg’s manager Ash Belcastro has revealed to Ariel Helwani that his fighter suffered a torn ACL. Belcastro noted that Ulberg underwent surgery on Thursday. The manager also revealed additional injuries that Ulberg is dealing with.
“New UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg did in fact tear his ACL en route to winning the belt last Saturday, per his manager Ash Belcastro,” Helwani wrote. “He snapped it. Ulberg had surgery yesterday. Belcastro says it ‘went really well,’ per his doctors. He also experienced bone bruising and tibia damage due to the fact that he was fighting with the torn ACL, per Belcastro. ‘He’s dedicated to getting back as soon as he can,’ Belcastro said.”
Whether or not Ulberg will eventually be forced to vacate the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship remains to be seen. Many are speculating that the UFC brass will book an interim title fight at the very least. If that does happen, it’ll be interesting to see how soon the movers and shakers decide to book such a title fight.
Top contenders such as former champion Magomed Ankalaev and even Paulo Costa, who recently returned to the 205-pound division, are waiting in the wings.
What do you think will ultimately happen with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship? Will we get an interim title fight, or will Ulberg be forced to vacate the title? Join in on the conversation by sharing your opinion in the comments below.
