On Saturday 25th June at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot, Kiwi Light Heavyweight, Carlos "Black Jag" Ulberg claimed a TKO against his opponent Tafon "Da Don" Nchukwi one minute and 15 seconds into the first round.
At 6 feet 4 inches, 92.7 kgs, and with a professional record of 7-1-0 (W-L-D), Ulberg was determined to showcase his skills and potential for future bouts. His performance most definitely raised a few eyebrows of his next opponents in the Light Heavyweight Division.
Ulberg started the first round off strong by throwing kicks, finding his distance, and looking for an opening in Nchukwi's defence. Ulberg threw a stiff lead jab that found its way through Nchukwi's defense and rocked him. Ulberg then followed up with a flurry of strikes to secure his first round victory.
Out of the 19 strikes that Ulberg threw, 15 of those connected and were counted as significant strikes, with an accuracy rate of 79%. Ulberg worked his opponents levels well and threw nine strikes to the head, six strikes to the body, and six strikes to the legs.
Training out of City Kickboxing in Auckland, Ulberg is surrounded by elite UFC fighters including: Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell, and Kai Kara-France. When asked by Michael Bisping in the post-fight interview about the significance of working alongside current UFC champions, Ulberg responded "It's all inspiration. We all work together. We all keep each other sharp. Man, it's really good to have the boys on my team".
On Sunday 3rd July, UFC 275 boasts a stacked main card consisting of Israel Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier (Middleweight Division), Alexander Volkanovski vs Tom Holloway (Lightweight Division), Sean Strickland vs Alex Pereira (Middleweight Division), and Peidro Munhoz vs Sean O'Malley (Bantamweight Division). Kiwi Lightweight Division fighter Brad Riddell will also face off against Jalin Turner in the prelims. Ulberg even expressed interest in cutting down to Middleweight to get onto this week's card for his next bout.
By Lucas Barker, an amateur UFC fan. 3/7/22
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