UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg had surgery on his injured knee, which he damaged in his title-winning performance at UFC 327.
After suffering a lower-limb injury against Prochazka early in their title fight at UFC 327, it looked like Ulberg was a sitting duck and would be finished in short order. But soon after eating several low kicks that left him looking crippled, Ulberg was able to land a counter left hook to knock Prochazka down to the floor, and he quickly finished his rival with heavy ground and pound to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
However, the victory came at a high cost, as Ulberg suffered a significant knee injury in the fight, one that is expected to keep him sidelined until next year. The good news, though, is that he has had surgery, so he is already on the mend, less than one week after he suffered the injury.
Ulberg shared on his social media on Thursday a photo of himself post-surgery, likely at a hospital in Las Vegas, where the UFC headquarters are. The caption to the photo reads “knee surgery done,” with Ulberg sporting a big smile on his face, as the surgery was successful.
UFC May Create Interim Light Heavyweight Title With Carlos Ulberg Out
With Ulberg likely out for a significant amount of time, the UFC may create an interim title to be fought for in the meantime while he sits out on the sidelines.
If that happens, then looking at the UFC rankings, the top-five contenders in the weight class are Magomed Ankalaev, Alex Pereira, Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz, and Khalil Rountree Jr. The UFC may do an interim title fight featuring two of these fighters, plus Paulo Costa, who picked up a key knockout win over Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327.
There is also the chance the UFC may choose to strip Ulberg of his belt since he won’t be defending it anytime soon. However, in other situations, the UFC typically creates an interim belt first before deciding to strip an injured champion later on, so an interim belt seems more likely. That is the case in the UFC heavyweight division right now, where champion Tom Aspinall is out with an eye injury. With the champ being out, the UFC booked the aforementioned Pereira against Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250.
Ulberg Has Won 10 Straight Fights
After losing to Kennedy Nzechukwu in his UFC debut in March 2021, Ulberg has won 10 straight fights inside the Octagon, with victories over ranked fighters such as Prochazka, Blachowicz, Dominick Reyes, Volkan Oezdemir, and Alonzo Menifield. Although Ulberg’s performance against Prochazka was far from flawless, he still won the bout in a devastating fashion to improve to 14-1 overall in his professional MMA career.
Unfortunately, Ulberg suffered the devastating knee injury against Prochazka, so any hope of him defending the belt again this year has been lost. The good news is that he had successful knee surgery and should be ready to return to the cage in 2027, at which time he will defend his belt for the first time, barring any unforeseen complications.
Carlos Ulberg Has Knee Surgery Following Title Victory at UFC 327