Carlos Ulberg gained the mild heavyweight championship at UFC 327, however dangers having to vacate it as a result of an harm suffered in the struggle.
He would possibly already be doing a check run on dwelling with out the title.
On Monday, Ulberg instructed Fox Sports Australia that after profitable the belt with a shocking knockout over Jiri Prochazka this previous Saturday in Miami, he merely misplaced it afterward. One second, Ulberg was in the octagon celebrating along with his group and household, the get together carried on to a nightclub, and the relaxation is a blur.
“I’ve lost the belt, bro,” Ulberg mentioned. “I don’t know exactly where it is. Initially after winning, the plan was to not have a drink. But you know how these things go, right? First, someone gives you a champagne to celebrate. Then one thing leads to another and you’re doing shots. So it’s ‘OK, I’ll have another, and another, and another…’ We’ve got a big group of boys over here in Miami and, when the fight was done, we all went out to the afterparty at a nightclub.
“Then after that, it was back to one of the boys’ apartments and we all hung out there. I didn’t want to be carrying the belt around so I think it’s still there at the apartment somewhere. One of the boys probably has it in bed with him.”
Ulberg doesn’t sound too overly involved about the belt going lacking, particularly since he’s having to hold round the U.S. a bit longer as a result of his harm. Early in the first spherical of the UFC 327 major occasion, Ulberg tweaked his knee and was visibly compromised as he labored by way of the nightmare state of affairs with Prochazka bearing down on him. Somehow, Ulberg landed an influence left hand that floored Prochazka and adopted with ground-and-pound to safe the championship win.
Until he can have his leg harm identified, Ulberg plans to place off his return to his native New Zealand and get checked out in Las Vegas.
“My knee is really swollen so I’ll stay in the U.S. for scans and then, if I need to go under the knife, I will,” Ulberg mentioned. “I think I’ll fly to Las Vegas in the next few days and see the doctors there. Then I can do physio at the UFC Performance Institute and get looked after by the guys there. That’s the plan. Get the knee sorted in Las Vegas and hang around for a few weeks.”
Ulberg was signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series after simply his fourth professional MMA struggle, and after shedding his UFC debut he rattled off 10 consecutive victories to make it to the prime of the mild heavyweight division. He’s no stranger to the perils of fight sports activities, having competed in kickboxing prior to creating a full dedication to MMA.
That previous expertise has helped him to course of his present predicament.
“Well, I’ve been hobbling around everywhere,” Ulberg mentioned. “So my knee isn’t really wanting to forgive me right now. It’s all been a crazy, crazy whirlwind and I’m just going with it.
“It’s been a bit like when I was kickboxing, and broke my hand during King of the Ring. It was in the second fight on a night where I fought three times. Then after fighting, I’d actually booked a holiday that weekend so still went away. It was only after getting back that I went and saw a doctor who said, ‘You need surgery.’ I already knew and said, ‘OK, let’s get it done.’ And I think that’s what we’re facing now.”
