Close Contest Awarded to Carlos Ulberg By Decision
At UFC London, Carlos Ulberg notched his eighth straight victory in the UFC with a decision win over Jan Blachowicz. Former Light Heavyweight champion Blachowicz falls to 1-3-1 in his last 5 with the loss. It was an incredibly close fight that seemed quite difficult to score.
Round 1 saw Blachowicz stalking forward and applying pressure but with a reserved rate of work. He was primarily content to chop away with his trademark heavy leg kicks and connect on the occasional punch. Ulberg, by contrast, backpedaled and kept the Pole at range with jabs and leg kicks of his own. By the numbers, Blachowicz narrowly outlanded the Kiwi by an 18-15 margin in a cautious, pedestrian round.
In the second, both men were significantly busier from the bell. Carlos Ulberg in particular doubled his output from the previous round and landed a high volume of largely inconsequential leg kicks. However, he also matched Blachowicz in head and body strikes. The sheer number of leg kicks likely scored enough points to steal the round.
The third was the busiest for both fighters. They remained cautious, but both seemed to feel the urgency of trying to land at a higher clip in a very close fight. Carlos Ulberg echoed the previous round, again going to the well time and again with quick inside leg kicks. He narrowly outlanded Blachowicz and spent a bit more time on the front foot than in previous rounds. Jan Blachowicz maintained a similar approach as well, concentrating on leg kicks which set up occasional success upstairs.
Judged awarded Ulberg the win by unanimous decision, with all 3 judges tallying it 29-28. Highlighting the incredibly close nature of the contest though, judges differed on their interpretation of rounds 1 and 3, despite arriving at the same totals.
Huge Top Ten Win For Ulberg
It’s a big win for Carlos Ulberg. The #6 ranked Light Heavyweight has only lost once in his professional career, dropping his UFC debut four years ago. Since then he has been on a mission, racking up eight straight wins. #3 ranked Jan Blachowicz was his toughest test to date. It stands to reason that this should position Ulberg for a #1 Contender fight, especially since many of the fighters ranked above him are coming off of losses. If nothing else, he should move into the top 5 and he is knocking on the door of a chance at UFC gold.
UFC President Dana White has indicated the strong possibility of an immediate rematch between current champion Magomed Ankalaev and superstar Alex Pereira, who lost the belt to Ankalaev just this month. Thus, it may be awhile before we see how everything shakes out. Carlos Ulberg has drawn himself firmly into the picture though with this strong performance over a former champion. Whoever he faces next, it figures to be top competition in a high-profile fight with big implications for the division’s immediate future.
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