Carlos Ulberg's victory marks the 20th UFC title win for fighters from Australia and New Zealand combined, counting the Whittaker-Romero rematch which should have remained a title fight for Whittaker despite Romero missing weight. When measured per capita, Australia and New Zealand lead all other regions with one UFC title win 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 analysis attributes the success of Australian and New Zealand combat sports athletes to a well-built cultural sporting infrastructure and world-class sports science. The region has also produced multiple boxing world champions including Jay Opetaia, Joseph Parker, George Kambosos, and Tim Tszyu, while excelling in Olympic competition with Australia ranking 4th and New Zealand 11th at Paris 2024.
