Carlos Ulberg's championship victory marks the 20th UFC title won by fighters from Australia and New Zealand, counting the Whittaker-Romero rematch which should have remained a title fight for Whittaker despite Romero missing weight. The Australia/New Zealand region leads all continents in UFC title wins per capita with one title per 1.6 million population, ahead of North America (1 per 2.3 million) and well ahead of Russia/CIS (1 per 8.3 million). The article attributes the region's combat sports success to well-developed sports science and infrastructure. Roman Fomin, UFC Performance Institute director of sports science, stated that Australian sports science is among the world's best. The region's athletic achievements extend beyond MMA to boxing world champions and strong Olympic performances, with New Zealand placing 11th in the Paris 2024 medal count despite having only 5 million population.
