London — With a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz in the co-main event of UFC London on Saturday, New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg claimed his eighth straight victory, and will now likely be firmly in the title picture in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
“Eight fight win streak, the longest win streak in the light heavyweight division,” Ulberg (12-1) noted after the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I’m definitely looking at light heavyweight title contention.”
In his last two fights, Ulberg has defeated a former title challenger (Volkan Oezdemir) and now a former UFC champion in Blachowicz. It only seems fitting that a title fight would come next, a concept Ulberg readily agreed with. “One hundred percent. That’s what I’m looking to do, that’s the plan.”
If it doesn’t pan out that way — Magomed Ankalaev is expected to rematch Alex Pereira sometime soon, after all — then there’s always another former champion. Jiri Prochazka, fresh off a win over Jamahal Hill, has expressed interest in a fight with Ulberg.
“Yeah for sure, I’ll get anyone. But where is he placed at the moment?” questioned Ulberg. “I’m looking to go forward for sure, and I’m definitely looking at a title shot in the near future.”
Prochazka sits at the #2 ranking in the 205lb division, just ahead of #3 Blachowicz. Ulberg started Saturday sitting in the #6 spot, though he’ll likely jump up a few spots in the coming days.
Regardless, since arriving in the UFC off the Contender Series in 2021, outside of a loss in his promotional debut, it’s been smooth sailing for Carlos Ulberg. A “great journey” is how “Black Jag” put it on Saturday. “I was quick to move, everything just kind of happened on the fly. I came straight from the kickboxing career and had to learn on the job. And when you put me in with the sharks, I swim. So if you’re going to put me with a title contender, I’ll get that title for sure.”
As for the fight with Blachowicz itself, “it went exactly as how I expected it,” Ulberg stated. “We knew that he was just going to lull me into his game, the way he would pressure but not really do anything. So we had to adjust our game, which was to move and attack him when he was on the step. We tried to stand in the middle, but he was kind of just waiting for me to do my thing, so we had to move and create something from it.”
Watch the full UFC London post-fight press conference with Carlos Ulberg above.
