Carlos Ulberg books UFC London bout against ex-champion Jan Blachowicz

Carlos Ulberg will return to the octagon at UFC London in March. Photo / Getty Images

Carlos Ulberg’s road to UFC title contention goes through London.

After ending 2024 ranked well inside the top 10 of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, the Black Jag has received his first assignment of 2025 – taking on former champion Jan Blachowicz in London on March 23. Blachowicz was the light heavyweight title holder in 2021 when Israel Adesanya challenged to become a two-division champion, with the Polish powerhouse becoming the first person to beat the Nigerian-Kiwi in a mixed martial arts bout with a unanimous decision win.

For Ulberg, the bout is another step towards earning a shot at the title, with Blachowicz ranked No 4 in the division. Blachowicz, 41, hasn’t fought since a split-decision loss to now-champion Alex Pereira in July last year and has been dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for all of this year.

In 2024, Ulberg was booked to fight on five dates, but had only two bouts come to fruition due to injuries to him and his potential opponents. He made his time in the octagon count, though, storming into the top 15 with a 12s knockout win over American Alonzo Menifield in May, before a unanimous-decision win over former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir last month had him ranked at No 7 to finish the year.

After that win over Oezdemir, Ulberg told the Herald he would be looking for a fight that would propel him to a title shot next.

He’s got exactly that against Blachowicz, with the former champion possessing all the skills to be Ulberg’s toughest assignment to date. While he became known for his punching power after a four-fight run that had him win three of those by knockout, he has been able to stymie opponents whose primary tool is striking through his wrestling and has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Ulberg has been strong when people have tried to take him to the canvas through his UFC career so far, defending 83% of attempted takedowns according to UFC Stats, but that will almost certainly be put to the test again against Blachowicz.

The 41-year-old also has extensive experience in the MMA arena, with a 29-10-1 record (12-7-1 UFC), with 18 of his 29 wins coming by stoppage (nine KOs, nine submissions).

Ulberg is riding a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC that has included four first-round knockouts, a submission and two unanimous decisions, showing his development in the sport since his loss on UFC debut in 2021.

Should he get past Blachowicz, a title shot could well follow.

Kiwi heavyweight signs on for Sydney

Justin Tafa will look to make his return to the octagon at UFC 312 in Sydney in February, taking on UFC newcomer Tallison Teixeira.

The bout against Teixeira is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, with both men possessing big power and having the majority of their wins come by knockout; the Brazilian earning his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this year with a one-punch KO.

Tafa, who recently signed a multi-bout extension with the UFC, has struggled with injuries this year, with his only bout of 2024 being as a short-notice replacement against American Karl Williams after his brother, Junior, got injured. Tafa lost the bout by unanimous decision.

That came after a good run in 2023 in which he won two fights by knockout, while a third was ruled as a no-contest after Tafa was poked in the eye in the first round and couldn’t continue.

He was booked twice more in 2024, but was forced to withdraw from bouts against No 12-ranked heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.