New UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg tore his ACL during his title-winning fight against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327, his manager, Ash Belcastro, confirmed to Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani.
Ulberg sustained the injury within the first two minutes of the opening round while battling for the vacant title Saturday in Miami. He's also dealing with bone bruising and tibia damage after continuing to fight through the torn ACL, per Belcastro.
The 35-year-old appeared to injure his right knee early in the first round of his bout with Prochazka, who appeared to be on track to become the light heavyweight titleholder for the second time in his career before Ulberg landed a counter left-hook knockout at the 3:45 mark.
"The knee felt like it was kind of going in and out of the socket," Ulberg said Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show," per Uncrowned's Shaheen Al-Shatti. "The pain there, I couldn't bear any weight on that leg. Anytime I pushed off that right foot or step, any kind of weight on that leg, it would give out. So, that's basically it. The pain that I had to go through, too, was unbearable."
The New Zealander underwent surgery Thursday. There's no timeline for when he'll return to competition.
"He's dedicated to getting back as soon as he can," Belcastro said.
Ulberg owns a 15-1 record and is currently riding a 10-fight win streak, which includes victories over Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz.
