UFC CEO Dana White opened up on the current state of things in the light heavyweight division after a crazy UFC 327.
Carlos Ulberg was crowned as the new light heavyweight champion after defeating Jiri Prochazka, but that came at a price. The Kiwi injured his knee during the fight but was able to finish off his Czech rival.
Ulberg recently underwent knee surgery and is expected to be out for a while as he recovers. That leaves the light heavyweight division in limbo with no clear path since Alex Pereira, the former champion, is now moving up to the heavyweight division.
White was asked after the latest UFC event about Ulberg and the future of the division. He revealed that Ulberg might stay in Las Vegas and continue his rehab at the UFC PI.
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White also wanted to see how things play out with the current champion before making a decision:
“We will get him in there and see how fast he starts to recover… we always figure it out.”
However, not everyone wants to wait for Ulberg’s recovery. Paulo Costa, who put on an impressive showing at UFC 327, has been calling for an interim title shot.
That makes sense since it would keep the division going, but White added that there had been no discussions about an interim title fight for now:
“We have not. Carlos is still getting set up here, but we will figure it out.”
Check out Dana White speaking about Carlos Ulberg and more in the clip below:
Carlos Ulberg knew he had to finish Jiri Prochazka
The injured knee played a huge role in how the fight at UFC 327 finished. Carlos Ulberg was speaking during an after-show and was asked if the fight could have been stopped by his corner, and the Kiwi answered in the affirmative.
He also added that the injury was the reason why he pushed hard to finish his rival:
“Yeah, exactly, and I knew I had to finish him in the first round. I knew I had to pop my shots a little harder and get him out of there before he was to go to the corner, and his coaches would be like, ‘Go for it, because his knee’s out,’ I’d be done for.”
Ulberg added:
“I made sure that I would throw my punches a little harder.”
Jiri Prochazka was left a broken man after the fight. The Czech star claimed he knew that Ulberg was injured but decided to show mercy, which he feels ultimately cost him the belt.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim