Kiwi Carlos Ulberg books co-main on Conor McGregor UFC card

By Christopher Reive

Carlos Ulberg is poised to pounce.

Less than two weeks after his 12-second knockout win over Alonzo Menifield earned him a place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight rankings, the “Black Jag” has booked the biggest fight of his career to date.

The Herald can confirm Ulberg will fight former UFC champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 30. Ulberg will be stepping in on short notice, replacing Khalil Rountree Jnr who was forced to withdraw from the bout against Hill after testing positive for a banned substance.

The bout will be the co-main event on the pay-per-view card, which is being headlined by the highly anticipated return of Conor McGregor, who will take on Michael Chandler in a welterweight clash.

“When those opportunities come by you can’t pass them up,” Ulberg told the Herald.

“There wasn’t much thought put into it. It was more like, ’okay, this is it. Let’s go for it’. I have said if anyone is going to make it happen, the UFC can make anything happen. They make your dreams come true, and these are the opportunities.

“I’ve always prepared myself to fight like it is a world title, and I will continue to do so so mentally you’re strong, you’re there. I’m still building through. I feel like I’m only just coming into my prime slowly, so I’ve still got a lot of time and leeway; a lot of gaps to fill there so going into this I feel definitely like it’s time – as Bruce Buffer says.”

By pure coincidence, Ulberg seemingly positioned himself for the fight in an interview with renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani last week, when he said he would take a call-up should either Hill or Rountree Jnr be forced out of the fight.

He told the Herald that after the interview was over he had a conversation with his manager, who asked if Ulberg knew about the situation because they had in fact been approached about it.

“It was something that I had absolutely no idea about. I spoke it, but it just happened that way and I got the call-up yesterday,” Ulberg said.

“Here we go. UFC 303 – I guess we’re going to Vegas, baby.”

It’s a massive spot for Ulberg to find himself in. Hill, who won the title in 2023 but later vacated it due to injury, is ranked at No 3 in the light heavyweight division and comes into the bout off an unsuccessful bid to get the title back from current champion Alex Pereira. Add in the audience that comes anytime McGregor is scheduled to appear in the octagon, it is an opportunity the 33-year-old Kiwi didn’t need much convincing to take up.

In March, Eugene Bareman, Ulberg’s coach at Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym, told the Herald it was an important year in Ulberg’s career and one in which he had to position himself for a run to the title.

“This is his year. This is the year he has to make some considerable leaps towards that title,” Bareman said.

“Carlos has looked after himself well. He’s 33; he’s a young 33, but 33 is not on the front end, it’s on the back end. He’s still got quite a few good years in him, but we want to move sooner rather than later.”

That had been complicated by his return to the cage being delayed several times before the Menifield fight happened this month, but now with the confirmation of his bout against Hill, that timeline appears to be back on track.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission