Carlos Ulberg hopes to be fit to fight again during the first few months of 2027.
The light heavyweight champion tore his ACL during his fight for the vacant 205lb title in April.
‘Black Jag’ battled through adversity to knock out Jiri Prochazka in the first round of the UFC 327 main event.
- LATEST NEWS: Jiri Prochazka shuts down recent rumors of upcoming title fight which had fans complaining
Should the UFC create an interim light heavyweight title? 👀
Carlos Ulberg faces up to a year on the sidelines after tearing his ACL at UFC 327.
When will Carlos Ulberg return?
Carlos Ulberg is currently in China ahead of the promotion’s return to Shanghai on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old provided an update about his recovery from surgery and comeback timeline during a pre-fight press conference.
“It sucks to be on the sidelines watching the guys,” Ulberg said.
“I’m still in the gym watching the guys and also doing my rehab. I’d much prefer to be in the gym, having a push and pull with the boys, but I’m a working man, and I’m doing everything to make sure that as the champion, I get myself back on the mats. I’m ready to get myself healthy again so that I can come and defend my title early next year.”
“My pure focus is just to get myself healthy, get myself back into the octagon as soon as I can. So I can, as the champion of the division, you want to make sure that you are healthy and in good time you are back to defend your title.
“I want to be back in there, and like I said, it sucks to be on the sidelines watching from the side, but I want to first and foremost be able to be healthy so that when I’m back, I don’t re-injure myself. That’s the one thing that will hurt.
“If I come back too early, or even now, right now, it’s just guarding the ACL, guarding my knee, so that when I come back, everything is in good order. I know myself that when I come back, I’m going to be stronger mentally and physically for sure.
“So, the focus is me getting back in the octagon, healthy, better, and then also being the champion that I am, traveling, doing this stuff as a champion, showing why I’m a good champion for the people. So, doing that as a working man, but then as well as that is upgrading the software.”
Interim title rumors
Fans assumed the UFC would create an interim light heavyweight title as soon as Carlos Ulberg’s knee injury was confirmed.
Right now, he remains the only 205lb champion, but that could soon change if the rumors are true
It’s believed an interim title bout between Jiri Prochazka and Paulo Costa is about to be announced.
The light heavyweight duo have been linked to a fight at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on October 3.
Nothing is official yet, but it seems to be just a matter of time before that matchup is confirmed by the powers that be.
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