Tag: Carlos Ulberg

Kennedy Nzechukwu ends insane UFC 259 fight with violent KO of Carlos Ulberg

At UFC 259, Kennedy Nzechukwu and Carlos Ulberg went back and forth until the fight came to an end in violent fashion.

If you skipped [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag], by most accounts, you missed out.

Saturday, Fortis MMA’s Nzechukwu (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and City Kickboxing’s Ulberg (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) entered the cage during the UFC 259 preliminary card. Ultimately, Nzechukwu’s hand was raised following a violent knockout at the 3:19 mark of Round 2 – but it was a hard-fought road to get the finish.

In the opening minute of the fight, Ulberg rocked Nzechukwu with a high kick. Although he absorbed an onslaught of attack, Nzechukwu survived. Back and forth the two fighters went. Nzechukwu found success with his sneaky left hand, which he surprised Ulberg in on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, Ulberg targeted Nzechukwu’s body. At times, he wound up and landed full-force body blows on Nzechukwu, who was covered up.

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In Round 2, Ulberg looked refreshed and composed. Despite his calm approach, Nzechukwu caught him with a violent right hand in the midst of an exchange that sent the Israel Adesanya teammate to the mat, propped up against the fence. Nzechukwu swarmed Ulberg and a few follow-up shots finished the fight in the eyes of referee Herb Dean.

The win was Nzechukwu’s first UFC finish victory and he spoiled Ulberg’s promotional debut.

UFC 259 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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UFC 259: Make your predictions for three title fights in Las Vegas

We want your predictions for UFC 259, which features title fights at light heavyweight, women’s featherweight and bantamweight.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 259 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 259 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 259 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Israel Adesanya’s City Kickboxing teammates Kai Kara-France, Carlos Ulberg added to UFC 259

It’s become something of a tradition that when Israel Adesanya fights, his teammates join him on the card. That won’t change at UFC 259.

It’s become something of a tradition that when [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] fights, his teammates join him on the card.

That will be no different at UFC 259, when middleweight champion Adesanya moves up to light heavyweight to fight Jan Blachowicz and try to claim a second belt in the champion vs. champion headliner of the March 6 event.

UFC officials announced Thursday that Adesanya’s City Kickboxing teammates [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] have been added to the UFC 259 undercard.

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Kara-France (21-9 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who is No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sport/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, will meet No. 11-ranked [autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a matchup of 125-pound competitors looking to take the next step into title contention.

Ulberg (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), meanwhile, will attempt to make a splash in his first official octagon appearance. The striking specialist earned a contact on a November Dana White’s Contender Series card, impressing UFC president White with a knockout in just over two minutes. He’ll take on [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who is also a veteran of DWCS and has split his first two UFC appearances.

UFC 259 airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+. The event does not have an official location or venue at this time.

With the additions, the latest UFC 259 lineup now includes:

  • Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya – for light heavyweight title
  • Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
  • Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling – for bantamweight title
  • Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos
  • Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
  • Drew Dober vs. Islam Makhachev
  • Askar Askarov vs. Joseph Benavidez
  • Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
  • Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
  • Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
  • Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Livinha Souza
  • Kyler Phillips vs. Song Yadong
  • Rogerio Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France
  • Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Carlos Ulberg

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Dana White’s Contender Series 34 live results (8 p.m. ET)

Follow along with another night of Dana White’s Contender Series action from Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Dana White’s Contender Series 34, as the show returns to action following a seven-week hiatus.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

The card is headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Brazilian [autotag]Bruno Oliveira[/autotag] (8-1) and City Kickboxing prospect [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] (2-0), while the co-headliner features a clash of welterweight prospects as [autotag]Ignacio Bahamondes[/autotag] (10-3) takes on [autotag]Edson Gomez[/autotag] (6-1), who missed weight for their matchup by three pounds at Tuesday’s weigh-ins.

Featherweights will collide in the second bout of the night, as [autotag]Vince Murdock[/autotag] (12-3) faces off against [autotag]Luis Saldana[/autotag] (13-6), while heavyweights kick off the action, with [autotag]Harry Hunsucker[/autotag] (6-2) taking on [autotag]Jared Vanderaa[/autotag] (10-4)

Up-to-the-minute Dana White’s Contender Series 34 results include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Bruno Oliveira vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Edson Gomez
  • Vince Murdock vs. Luis Saldana
  • Harry Hunsucker vs. Jared Vanderaa

Dana White’s Contender Series 34 weigh-in results, live video stream (12 p.m. ET)

MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 34 fighter weigh-ins.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Tuesday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 34 fighter weigh-ins, with the show returning to action following a seven-week hiatus.

The early weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas. The UFC Apex hosts Wednesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+. The series returns to its traditional Tuesday night slot next week.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

In the night’s featured contest, City Kickboxing product [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] (2-0) – who boasts a wealth of kickboxing experience but is a relative neophyte in MMA – takes on Brazilian middleweight [autotag]Bruno Oliveira[/autotag] (8-1).

Dana White’s Contender Series 34 weigh-in results include:

  • Carlos Ulberg () vs. Bruno Oliveira ()
  • Ignacio Bahamondes () vs. Edson Gomez ()
  • Vince Murdock () vs. Luis Saldana ()
  • Harry Hunsucker () vs. Jared Vanderaa ()