‘Playing with big sharks’: Ulberg’s bizarre adventure
It has been a strange six months for Carlos Ulberg.
Last November, the surging UFC fighter looked to have secured his first opportunity to crack the light heavyweight top 15 when he locked in a bout against former title challenger Dominick Reyes.
That bout was scheduled for January 21 in Toronto but was pushed back to the March 31 card in Atlantic City, as Ulberg needed more time to recover from a foot injury.
However, two months out from the March date, Reyes withdrew due to blood clots. Alonzo Menifield — ranked slightly higher than Reyes — was set to step up but the fight was again delayed.
Tomorrow, Ulberg will finally get his chance at the rankings when he and Menifield square off in St Louis.
“It has kept me on my toes,” Ulberg told the Weekend Herald of his year so far. “It has allowed me to stay sharp. I wasn’t able to go out and have a holiday, so in that sense, it was good — it kept me at the gym. I stayed in the gym, put the honest work in and just built from there.
“I guess in some ways it’s a bit of a blessing. But we’re here now, we’re up against a ranked opponent and this is exactly what we’re after and we’re in this position, so we’ll go get that money.”
Menifield holds the No 11 position in the light heavyweight rankings, is unbeaten in his last five bouts and three of his past four wins have come before the final bell.
The American has shown a solid skill set throughout his UFC career. While largely reliant on punching power and athleticism, he has shown he can mix in wrestling.
“This is going to be a good awakening for me. This will be a good challenge to understand this is a big step up, because once you get into those top 15 rankings, you’re playing with the big sharks.
“Coming up against someone like Alonzo, he’s a heavy puncher, he’s explosive, but I feel my timing is going to be the thing that’s going to off-put that; my timing and my speed.”
As Ulberg has made his name in the UFC, Menifield has been among the opponents on his radar as potential rivals.
After his first-round knockout of Nicolae Negumereanu at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2022, Ulberg indicated his desire to fight Menifield.
Now riding a five-fight winning streak with four finishes, including the first submission of his career in his most recent bout last September, Ulberg will face a challenge he believes will test him physically and mentally.
“Stylistically, he’s a good fight for me. He will bring the fight, for sure. He’s got the power, and when you start to feel the power, it’s going to be up to me to figure out whether I’m going to push forward or try to adjust to his game plan. I’m going to try to stick to my game plan and I know he’s going to bring the war. I believe it’s going to be fight of the night.”