Carlos Ulberg reveals he never considered quitting despite knee injury

Carlos Ulberg revealed on Saturday that he was fighting through a knee injury during his light heavyweight title fight at UFC 327, but that stopping never crossed his mind.

The New Zealand standout, fighting out of City Kickboxing, disclosed the injury in the aftermath of his first-round knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka, which earned him the UFC light heavyweight championship. Paraphrasing his own words, Ulberg described his approach as one of pure adaptation — accepting the situation, working around it, and pressing forward regardless. "It's a fight, and these things happen," he said. "You need to continue despite what's happening in the cage."

The 35-year-old now holds a 15-1-0 professional record, with the lone defeat now buried beneath one of the most significant wins of his career. Standing six-foot-four with a 77-inch reach, Ulberg has long been a physically imposing presence in the light heavyweight division, and his numbers back up that reputation. He lands an average of 6.54 significant strikes per minute at a striking accuracy of 55 percent — figures that rank among the more efficient outputs in his weight class.

Why it matters

• Ulberg, previously ranked third in the light heavyweight division, now holds the title after defeating a former champion in Prochazka
• Fighting through a knee injury to finish the bout in the first round underscores the mental and physical toughness that City Kickboxing has become known for developing
• At 35, Ulberg now enters his prime years as champion, with a record and physical profile — 193 cm, 196 cm reach, orthodox stance — that presents a formidable blueprint for the division's contenders to solve