Jan
Blachowicz was a measuring stick fight for Carlos
Ulberg.
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The
City Kickboxing representative proved himself in the UFC
London co-main event, taking a closely-contested unanimous
verdict over the former light heavyweight champion at the O2 Arena
on Saturday.
“If you look at the current champion [Magomed
Ankalaev] and the former champion [Alex
Pereira], their last fight with Jan
Blachowicz was a very close fight, as well,” Ulberg said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I beat him with a
unanimous decision, so it’s a very good feat for me.”
The triumph wasn’t a thing of beauty, especially for someone who
had finished five of his previous seven Octagon opponents. However,
Ulberg acknowledged that it’s often difficult to look good against
someone with Blachowicz’s style.
“We knew he was gonna come out tough and exactly how he came out,”
Ulberg said. “He’s very good at lulling you to sleep. He’s very
good at kind of putting this pressure [on] but not really doing
anything. He kind of just waits on you to make the move.
“Our game plan was to stick and move and hopefully get him to walk
into something. He was definitely smarter than that. He’s a veteran
in the game and a little older now, so he knows not to walk into
the younger power.”
While a Magomed
Ankalaev–Alex
Pereira championship rematch is expected to be the next step at
the top of the division, Ulberg believes he deserves to be on the
brink of a title shot.
“Eight-fight win streak, the longest win streak in the light
heavyweight division,” he said. “I’m definitely looking at a light
heavyweight title contention.”
It’s been a relatively rapid rise for “Black Jag,” who suffered a
second-round knockout loss to Kennedy
Nzechukwu in his promotional debut after earning a UFC contract
on
Dana White’s Contender Series. Ulberg has improved
significantly since then, building a winning streak that ranks
among the longest among active fighters in the organization
today.
“[It’s been a] great journey. I was quick to move,” he said.
“Everything just happened on the fly. I came straight form a
kickboxing career and had to learn on the job. When you put me in
with the sharks, I swim. If you put me in with a title contender,
I’ll get that title for sure.”