Tag: Carlos Ulberg

Carlos Ulberg studying UFC champ Alex Pereira: ‘I’m coming up, and soon I’ll get my chance’

Carlos Ulberg thinks his chance to challenge UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira could come sooner than expected.

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] thinks his chance to challenge UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] could come sooner than expected.

Ulberg (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 248 Nov. 23 from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is fresh off his third light heavyweight title defense – a brutal fourth-round finish of Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 headliner. A former kickboxer himself, Ulberg wasn’t surprised to see Rountree pose problems for Pereira.

“I had my money on Rountree,” Ulberg told Sky Sport New Zealand. “I thought Rountree would do well, given he’s quite explosive and it’ll give a different look to Alex Pereira. But as the rounds went on, I think Pereira came back and he stuck to his game plan, which was to tire him out and make use of the explosive power Rountree was using and over-using.”

Watching No. 8 ranked Rountree get a title shot, Ulberg won’t rule out the possibility of getting his chance with a win over Oezdemir.

“I’ve been studying Alex for a while now. He’s at the top and he’s the prime right now,” Ulberg said. “He’s definitely someone that everyone’s keeping an eye on, so knowing that he’s got a high fight IQ, it is always good to sit back and see how he operates in the octagon.

“I’m coming up, and soon I’ll get my chance. …  Once I get through Oezdemir, which is going to be a hard task for sure, it’s free rein from there and it’ll give me the opportunity to go for the light heavyweight title. As you’ve seen the No. 8 who’s just fought for the light heavyweight title, at any given time we’re going to be called up for that.”

Ulberg has some adversity to deal with before stepping into the cage against Oezdemir. The City Kickboxing standout revealed that he broke his toe six weeks’ out of his fight, but has no intentions of pulling out.

“I just broke my toe yesterday in sparring and didn’t realize that I’d broken it until doing my sit-ups and seeing it was facing the other way,” Ulberg said. “It’s just going through all that pain and struggle, and doing it all over again the next day. So, until then, it’s just doing what I need to do, what’s been working in my favor in the past, and just trying to keep to the same formula really.”

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UFC Macau adds Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci, Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg, return of Wang Cong

The upcoming UFC Fight Night 248 event in Macau on Nov. 23 is filling out with the addition of multiple matchups.

UFC has announced multiple fights for its upcoming event in Macau.

UFC Fight Night 248 takes place Nov. 23 at Galaxy Arena in Macau, featuring a big bantamweight matchup between former 135-pound champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] and former flyweight champ [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag].

Wednesday, the promotion officially announced multiple new fights on social media for the return event to China.

A UFC-ranked top 10 matchup in the women’s strawweight division has been added. Former title challenger [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] will face [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag].

Xiaonan (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) returns to action for the first time since her title challenge loss against Zhang Weili at UFC 300. Ricci (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) enters on a two-fight winning streak, fresh off a unanimous decision win over Angela Hill at UFC on ESPN 62.

Another UFC-ranked top 10 bout is also on the card, this one in the light heavyweight division, between former title challenger [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag].

Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) is on a two-fight winning streak, both by way of early stoppage. His last performance was a devastating knockout of Johnny Walker at UFC on ABC 6. Ulberg (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was a part of the UFC 303 fight shuffle, but was unable to compete. He will now enter his second fight of the year after a 12-second knockout of Alonzo Menifield.

In addition, Wang Cong will compete in her second UFC bout, taking on Gabriella Fernandes.

Cong (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made waves in her promotional debut by flattening Victoria Leonardo in the first round. “The Joker” holds a kickboxing win over current UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

With the additions, the current UFC Fight Night 248 lineup includes:

  • Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci
  • Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
  • Wang Cong vs. Gabriella Fernandes
  • Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang
  • Xiaocan Feng vs. Ming Shi – “Road to UFC” strawweight final
  • Dong Hoon Choi vs. Kiru Sahota – “Road to UFC” flyweight final
  • Balgyn Jenisuly vs. Su Young You – “Road to UFC” bantamweight final
  • Bin Xie vs. Kangjie Zhu – “Road to UFC” featherweight final

How to buy tickets to UFC 303 in Las Vegas

Catch all the UFC action in person this Saturday in Las Vegas. Limited tickets remain for as little as $246.

UFC 303 will be running it back in Las Vegas this weekend.

Ultimate fighting returns to T-Mobile Arena and will be headlined by light heavyweights Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

The fight is a promising bout that replaces another. Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was originally scheduled to headline 303’s card. But after McGregor suffered an injury during training, we have a switch.

SHOP: UFC 303 tickets

Pereira and Prochazka did battle at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden for the then-vacant UFC light heavyweight title. Pereira took it with a TKO.

In addition to Pereira and Prochazka, Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes will fight while Carlos Ulberg will now face former contender Anthony Smith.

You won’t want to miss all this UFC action, and limited tickets still remain for as little as $246.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop UFC 303 tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/0eQ0LNP”]

How to buy tickets to UFC 303 in Las Vegas

Catch all the UFC action in person this Saturday in Las Vegas. Limited tickets remain for as little as $246.

UFC 303 will be running it back in Las Vegas this weekend.

Ultimate fighting returns to T-Mobile Arena and will be headlined by light heavyweights Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

The fight is a promising bout that replaces another. Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was originally scheduled to headline 303’s card. But after McGregor suffered an injury during training, we have a switch.

SHOP: UFC 303 tickets

Pereira and Prochazka did battle at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden for the then-vacant UFC light heavyweight title. Pereira took it with a TKO.

In addition to Pereira and Prochazka, Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes will fight while Carlos Ulberg will now face former contender Anthony Smith.

You won’t want to miss all this UFC action, and limited tickets still remain for as little as $246.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop UFC 303 tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/0eQ0LNP”]

With Carlos Ulberg out of UFC 303, Roman Dolidze steps in vs. Anthony Smith

The featured light heavyweight bout at UFC 303 will see yet another opponent change.

The featured light heavyweight bout at UFC 303 will see yet another opponent change.

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] has been forced out of his June 29 main card matchup vs. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Replacing Ulberg will be [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag], who returns to light heavyweight.

The UFC officially announced the news Friday following an initial report from Vestnik MMA. Benny P was first to report Ulberg’s withdrawal, although a reason hasn’t been disclosed.

Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) landed on UFC 303 by replacing Khalil Rountree against Jamahal Hill. Hill was then forced out due a knee injury. and was replaced by Smith (38-19 MMA, 13-9 UFC). Now Smith will take on Dolidze, who started out his career at 205 pounds.

After winning four straight, including three finishes over Kyle Daukaus, Phil Hawes, and Jack Hermansson, Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) dropped back-to-back decisions to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.

Former title challenger Smith was looking to halt the momentum of another rising contender after submitting Vitor Petrino in just two minutes at UFC 301, handing the Brazilian his first-career loss. The former title challenger has won two of his past three.

The latest UFC 303 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka
  • Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
  • Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Smith
  • Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
  • Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Joe Pyfer
  • Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson
  • Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
  • Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Payton Talbott

EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Gillian Robertson vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Rei Tsuruya
  • Vinicius Oliveira vs. Ricky Simon

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Eugene Bareman: Anthony Smith could be ‘a harder fight’ for Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303 than Jamahal Hill

Eugene Bareman is not taking Anthony Smith as a lighter challenge for Carlos Ulberg.

Eugene Bareman is not taking [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] as a lighter challenge for [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag].

Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was scheduled to face former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] June 29 at UFC 303, but Hill was forced out due a knee injury. Ulberg will now meet Smith (38-19 MMA, 13-9 UFC) on the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Smith is ranked several spots below Hill, but the City Kickboxing head coach thinks he could end up presenting a sterner test for Ulberg.

“(He’s) slightly below, but the top 15, the nature of the top 15 is what separates the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 15 is nothing,” Bareman told Combat TV. “No. 15 could easily beat No. 4 or No. 12 could beat No. 2 – like nothing separates these guys. There is a number next to these guys’ name, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the opponent. They’re all just the best guys in the world.

“So there’s many people that would argue Carlos is jumping into an even harder fight now with Anthony Smith. A little bit of a shame that he’s not fighting a guy that’s ranked above him, and also a bit of a shame that he’s not fighting on the Conor McGregor undercard. I think that brings a lot of value to young fighters coming up.”

Regardless of opponent change, Ulberg will be facing his most notable name to date in Smith. Ulberg is on a six-fight winning streak, with five of his wins coming by finish.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC 303

Oddsmakers give Anthony Smith almost no chance of beating Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303, according to the opening betting line.

What once started as a UFC 303 co-main event of Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree ultimately transformed into [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] following a bevy of changes among light heavyweights.

Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg preview

Smith, No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, stepped into the card on 17 days’ notice after his training partner Hill withdrew due to injury. It’s another quick return and short notice bout for “Lionheart,” who scored a two-minute finish of Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 in May.

No. 15-ranked Ulberg originally stepped in as a replacement for Rountree against Hill, but then he was the one accepting a new opponent in Smith. The striking specialist is riding a six-fight winning streak, including a 12-second knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 56 in May.

Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg odds

DraftKings released the odds for the bout, with Ulberg opening up as a massive -500 favorite over Smith, who’s a +380 underdog.

How to watch Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303

  • When: Saturday, June 29, 2024
  • Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
  • Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Conor McGregor injured, Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka headlines UFC 303, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303, the booking of Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka, more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • The UFC 303 and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] saga has finally come to an end. Unfortunately, the Irish superstar has been ruled out of his return at UFC 303 on June 29 due to injury. This is devastating news for McGregor, but what exactly does this mean for his career? Where does this leave his opponent [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]? We break it all down.
  • McGregor’s injury did not affect Chandler alone. This forced the UFC to strengthen the International Fight Week event by adding new bouts, including a light heavyweight title fight between [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] and [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] for the main event, and a pivotal featherweight bout between [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] and [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] in the co-main. Additionally, [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] suffered an injury and was replaced by [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] for his fight against [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]. We chat about the latest updates for UFC 303.
  • This past Saturday, young, Japanese rising contender [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] got past his toughest test – former UFC title challenger [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]. In a competitive bout, Perez suffered a knee injury while Taira had his back, thus losing by TKO. What’s Taira’s potential? Where does he go next? We discuss.
  • The UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia this Saturday has a new main event. [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] pulled out due to illness, and now [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] will take on undefeated [autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag]. We break down the new main event, along with the rest of the card.

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Video: UFC 303 levels up with Ian Garry vs. Michael Page, Jamahal Hill vs. Carlos Ulberg

Ian Garry vs. MVP and Jamahal Hill vs. Carlos Ulberg are some of the latest additions to UFC 303. We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to some of the changes and additions to UFC 303.

UFC 303, which marks the return of Conor McGregor, has added a welterweight booking between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]. Also, [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] steps in to replace Khalil Rountree to fight former champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag].

How much better is this card now? What’s at stake in these two bouts?

MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host Gorgeous George react to the additions of the June pay-per-view.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/HlprD38OBpI

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Islam Makhachev submits Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor parties, Nick Diaz returns, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Islam Makhachev’s win over Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor’s partying videos and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Mike Bohn will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] remains the champion at 155 pounds. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protege completed his third title defense at lightweight, submitting longtime contender [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] in a thrilling bout in the main event of UFC 302. After the fight, Makhachev called for a chance to fight for the welterweight belt. Should the UFC grant this wish to Makhachev? Where does Saturday’s win put Makhachev in the pound-for-pound conversation? Should Poirier retire after the loss? We discuss.
  • UFC 302 saw other results outside the lone title fight, as [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] got back to his winning ways; [autotag]Kevin Holland [/autotag] picked up a first-round submission win in his return to middleweight; Jailton Almeida continues to be a threat at heavyweight; and more. We revew some of the other highlights of Saturday’s card.
  • The card that will be hosting [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s return to the octagon has finally taken shape. The promotion added an intriguing welterweight bout between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag], while also getting [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] to step in for [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] to take on [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]. The panel discusses the latest additions to the event, along with the videos that surfaced showing McGregor partying weeks away from his return.
  • [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] is back and so is [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]. The two beloved MMA veterans make their return on Aug. 3 at UFC on ABC 7 in Abu Dhabi. On that same card, two big bouts pitting Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Marlon Vera, and Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez were also added. How do we feel about Diaz and Ferguson’s return bouts? What do these other matchups mean for their respective divisions? We cover it all.

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