Depending upon where you are in the world, you could have been asleep early Saturday morning (US time) when the UFC touched down in Macau, China for the last UFC Fight Night before Dana White‘s promotion recesses for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. If you were still getting some shuteye, you missed a top-10 contender at 205 lbs. get the job done.
No. 10 contender Carlos Ulberg (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), a 2020 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, was up second on the main card when he battled No. 8 contender Volkan Ozedemir (20-8 MMA, 8-7 UFC) for the latter’s 29th career appearance in MMA. While the former needed just a short 12 seconds to dispose of Alonzo Menifield (15-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) in May during UFC St. Louis, he had to work harder against Ozedemir.
A Stand-Up Battle Throughout
Late in the opening round, Ulberg began throwing counterpunches and combinations to keep his opponent honest. This pace continued during the early part of the second round, where he connected on a two-punch combo, giving Ozedemir a slight crimson mask.
At one point during round two, Ulberg converted on 34 strikes to his adversary’s head, while Ozedemir landed 27 such shots. While Volkan Ozedemir pushed forward in round three and made an effort to take Carlos Ulberg down to the canvas, Ulberg remained stout, denying him the opportunity to make this a ground battle.
In the final round’s final seconds, Ozedemir attempted to land a takedown again, but just like the first time, Ulberg’s defense was just too much for Ozedemir to handle. After 15 minutes of stand-up action, the judges returned a unanimous decision victory in favor of Carlos Ulberg (30-27, 30-27, 29-28.)
#UFCMacau Official Result: Carlos Ulberg (@UlbergCarlos 30-27, 30-27, 29-28) defeats Volkan Oezdemir by Unanimous Decision.
Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/TC2gv8gXg6
— UFC News (@UFCNews) November 23, 2024
During the fight’s live broadcast, analyst Michael Bisping expressed surprise that the fight didn’t end with a finish.
“I wasn’t sure who it was going to be, but I saw a knockout in this fight,” Bisping said toward the end of the contest.
Ulberg Praises Ozedemir Following Win
After the fight, Bisping entered the Octagon to talk to the victorious Carlos Ulberg, who had kind words to say about Volkan Ozedemir.
“Volkan is an experienced fighter,” Ulberg began. “He’s obviously been in there with the best. To prepare for a guy like that was tough. It was a mountain.”
During the same interview, Ulberg discussed what it was like to strategize for someone of Ozedemir’s ilk.
“The gameplan was tough because [if] you get caught in the mid-range with that guy, he can knock anybody out,” the No. 10 contender told the crowd. “To prepare for him, all we had to do was try to make him miss, make him pay.”
Could The Stakes Get Higher Next Time Out?
Saturday’s victory over Volkan Ozedemir marked seven in succession for Carlos Ulberg. As far as stakes go, this was also the most crucial fight to-date in his MMA career, given that Volkan Ozedemir previously challenged Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in 2018 during UFC 220 from Boston, MA.
If Ulberg gets his wish, the stakes will be raised for the second time in as many fights when he walks to the cage again. Later Saturday, he mentioned that he’s already got an adversary in mind for his next appearance in the famed Octagon: No. 6 contender Khalil Rountree.
Back in October, during the UFC 307 main event from Salt Lake City, Rountree faced off against current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira, with “Poatan” defending the 205-lb. strap with a fourth-round TKO by way of punches. A native of New Zealand, Ulberg would prefer a specific date and host city for his upcoming appearance: Feb. 8, 2025 during UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, something he mentioned in a backstage interview.
“It’s always nice to compete in front of our own fans and people back home, or closer to home, anyway,” he mentioned. “If anyone else closer to the title would be ready to fight me in that short space of time, but, yeah.”
Final Thoughts
Anytime a fighter in any combat sports organization can beat an opponent who formerly challenged for the championship, which Carlos Ulberg did on Saturday in Macau, he’s earned the right to call his shot. Feb. 8 is roughly two and a half months away as of press time, so he might not be able to fight in Sydney just after the start of the new year.
There’s no denying it, though: With this win, Carlos Ulberg is now firmly among the top contenders at 205 lbs. Expect, at the very least, for him to be fighting on the main card next time out, whenever that might be.
