Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg (born 17 November 1990) is a New Zealand professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of March 25, 2025, he is #3 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background

Ulberg was born in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to parents of Samoan,

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. His father was a boxer who represented

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He was raised by a foster family in

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

from the age of four and attended Hillary College throughout his upbringing. Ulberg began playing

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

as a child, a sport in which he would later compete at the

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

level when he became a Counties-Manukau representative. He was a contestant on the Game Of Bros reality television show in 2018 and was twice offered the opportunity to star in New Zealand's version of The Bachelor. Ulberg works part-time as a model.

Professional boxing career

In August 2015, Ulberg fought in his first and only professional boxing fight, with his stable mate Sam Rapira main eventing the card. He took on Daniel Meehan. Ulberg won the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ulberg made his MMA debut in 2011 for the King of the Door promotion when he faced Kaota Puna and secured a second round knockout in his first professional fight.

Dana White's Contender Series

Ulberg competed at Dana White's Contender Series 34 on 4 November 2020 and earned himself a

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

contract via a first round knockout of Bruno Oliveira.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ulberg made his UFC debut on 6 March 2021 at UFC 259 where he faced Kennedy Nzechukwu. Ulberg had Nzechukwu in trouble early with a flurry of strikes, but quickly became exhausted and ultimately lost the fight via knockout in the second round. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Ulberg faced Fabio Cherant on 12 February 2022 at UFC 271. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Ulberg faced Tafon Nchukwi on 25 June 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot. He won via TKO in the first round. Ulberg faced Nicolae Negumereanu on 12 November 2022, at UFC 281. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Ulberg faced Ihor Potieria on 13 May 2023, at UFC on ABC 4. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Ulberg faced Da Un Jung on 10 September 2023, at UFC 293. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in round three. Ulberg was scheduled to face Dominick Reyes on 20 January 2024, at UFC 297. However, in late December 2023, it was announced that match was off due to an injury sustained by Ulberg. The pair was rescheduled to meet at UFC on ESPN 54 on 30 March 2024. However, on 23 January it was announced that Reyes had withdrawn from the fight and was replaced by Alonzo Menifield. On 20 February 2024 it was reported that the fight against Menifield was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 56 on 11 May 2024. Ulberg knocked out Menifield 12 seconds into the first round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award. Ulberg was scheduled to replace Khalil Rountree Jr., and face former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill on 29 June 2024, at UFC 303. However, Hill withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by Anthony Smith. Subsequently, one week before the event, Ulberg pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Roman Dolidze. Ulberg faced Volkan Oezdemir on November 23, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 248. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ulberg faced former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz on March 22, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 255. He won the close fight by unanimous decision. 8 out of 12 media outlets scored the bout for Ulberg.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championships ** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu ** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Ihor Potieria and Alonzo Menifield **Third fastest knockout/finish in UFC Light Heavyweight division history (0:12 vs Alonzo Menifield) **Tied (

Lyoto Machida is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as a UFC Middleweight Championship title challenger. He mos ...

) for third longest win streak in UFC Light Heavyweight division history (8)

Kickboxing

* King in the Ring ** 2017 King in the Ring 100 kg Tournament Champion ** 2019 King in the Ring 92 kg Tournament Champion

Mixed martial arts record

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Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Fabio Cherant , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 271 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Bruno Oliveira , KO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , John Martin Fraser , Decision (unanimous) , Eternal MMA 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Umed Rakhmatulloyev , TKO (punches and knee) , World Kings Glory MMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

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, China , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kaota Puna , TKO (punches) , King of the Door: Submission 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand ,

Kickboxing record (partial)

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Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, , KO (low kick) , , 2, , 1:28 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-03-30 , , Win, , align=left, Nato La'auli, , King in the Ring 92 kg II, Semi Final, ,

, , KO (kick to the body) , , 3, , 1:54 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2019-03-30 , , Win, , align=left, Julius Poananga, , King in the Ring 92 kg II, Quarter Final, ,

, , TKO (punches and knees) , , 3, , 0:48 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2018-07-28 , , Win, , align=left, Bruno Susano , , EM Legend 32 , , Chengdu, China , , Decision (unanimous) , , 3, , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2018-04-21 , , Win, , align=left, Oleg Pryimachov , , EM Legend 30 , ,

Emei Mount Emei (; zh, c=峨眉山, p=Éméi shān, O2-mei2 shan1), alternatively Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of th ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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, , TKO (corner stoppage) , , 2, , 0:34 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2017-06-30 , , Win, , align=left, Nato Laauli, , King in the Ring 100kg III, Final, ,

, , TKO (punches) , , 2, , 0:41 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2017-06-30 , , Win, , align=left, Ata Fakalelu , , King in the Ring 100kg III, Semi Final, ,

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, , KO (front kick) , , 2, , 1:52 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2017-03-31 , , Win, , align=left, Jake Heun , , EM Legend 17 , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3, , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2016-12-23 , , Win, , align=left, Sherzad Babazhanau , , EM Legend 15 , ,

, , TKO (retirement) , , 2, , 2:30 , - , - bgcolor="#fbb" , 2016-09-23 , , Loss, , align=left, Sergej Maslobojev , , EM Legend 12 , , Chengdu, China , , TKO (Low kicks) , , 3, , 2:31 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulberg, Carlos 1990 births Living people Martial artists from Auckland New Zealand male kickboxers New Zealand male boxers New Zealand male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters New Zealand Māori sportspeople New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand people of German descent 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen