As Carlos Ulberg stood in the UFC octagon, Perth crowd going wild after his first-round knockout win over Dominick Reyes, it wasn’t the fans the Kiwi light heavyweight addressed first.
After cutting a promo for the broadcast cameras, the 34-year-old made a beeline forUFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell cageside to discuss his next move.
Ranked at No 3 in the division, on a nine-fight winning streak and a first-round knockout of a two-time title challenger in his first main event, Ulberg is in the box seat to be the next man to get a shot at the crown.
But it’s a shot he’s ready to take much sooner than anyone could have anticipated. With the light heavyweight title being contested in Las Vegas this weekend, Ulberg told the Herald he was ready to go again.
“I said to Hunter when I was in the cage, I said, ‘hey, fly to me to Vegas and I will be the back-up for the title fight.’ He said he will chat to the guys and it could be a possibility, but we can definitely fly to Vegas, so they’re going to put me on the next flight to Vegas.”
Carlos Ulberg knocked Dominick Reyes out in the main event at UFC Perth. Photo / Getty Images
It was a premeditated move.
Ulberg admitted as much, saying he went into Sunday’s bout against Reyes prepared to compete in back-to-back weeks. That doesn’t just mean getting into the octagon to fight, but cutting weight as well.
While non-title fights allow athletes to weigh in one pound above their weight class, there is no such wiggle room with the belt is on the line. Ulberg weighed in at championship weight – 205lbs – against Reyes.
Even if he doesn’t get the call-up, to be officially confirmed as the back-up fighter to Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira for a title shot, Ulberg will have to make that mark on the scales again this week. It’s a move often used by the UFC to ensure they have a contingency plan in place should one of the athletes in a title fight be forced out during fight week.
Carlos Ulberg has offered to be the back-up to the UFC light heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas on Sunday. Photo / Finn Little
“The opportunity is always going to be there, but I want it now and I know that I’m ready for it,” Ulberg said of volunteering to be the back-up just a week after he had fought.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever done this, and it’s all about breaking the rules, man. I want to be the first one that had had a fight and [then] the next week fight for the title. Records, man, that’s what I’m trying to break.”
Against Reyes, Ulberg did everything he needed to in order to confirm himself as a title contender. He was sharp, avoided damage and made a statement with the finish.
“With this fight particularly, I didn’t want to go to a second round. If I had to, then all good, but with Reyes, I figured out his range a lot earlier. Whenever the guys are in there with me, they understand.
“I said this earlier. I said, when he feels my power, he’s going to understand. I think he felt the first hook and he knew that he didn’t want to walk into that again.”
As for who he’d rather fight for the title, Ulberg only had one thing on his mind.
“I’m going to be the backup. I believe that I’m going to fight next weekend.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
