At UFC’s fourth event in the RAC Arena in Perth, Carlos Ulberg confirmed to the masses that he belonged at the top of the light heavyweight division.
With 36 seconds left of the first round, Ulberg hit Reyes with a crisp jab, right hook combo, knocking him down before follow-up shots would knock Reyes unconscious.
This would extend the “Black Jag’s” win streak to nine and put him in the front running to face the winner of UFC 320’s headliner next week: Magomedov Ankalaev vs Alex Peirera.
The intense training required for this level of performance often involves demanding sessions where every piece of equipment matters, right down to the choice of custom boxing gloves.
Ulberg had a simple message for the two light heavyweights: “I’m coming.”
However, Ulberg has other plans to be in title contention a lot sooner than most fans expect, as he “told [UFC executive Hunter Campbell] I am prepared to be a backup for next week. Fly me to Vegas and I’ll be there. I am not going to eat or drink anything today. Go spend some time with the family, and if need be, I’ll be there to back up anyone for that title shot.”
“I don’t think anybody has, from the top of my head…fought a fight and then also the very next weekend, fought for the title,” Ulberg continued. That is what I envision, that is what I feel like can happen.”
The title fight picture at 205lbs just got very interesting after this fight, with the winner of Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree also in the mix.
Ankalaev, the current light heavyweight champion and favourite in his rematch with Alex Peirera, before the fight yesterday in Perth.
“To be honest, the fight this week between Reyes and Ulberg is much more interesting to me because (Prochazka and Rountree) fought for the title multiple times – we’ve watched them in title fights,” Ankalaev said during a UFC 320 media event.
On the other side of the coin, Reyes has had another setback to his title shot comeback dream, now being 3-5 in his last eight and has suffered another vicious knockout.
It is unclear where Reyes goes next after this fight, with many of his supporters calling for him to retire due to the amount of damage he has incurred during his career.
