"You can fake it 'til you make it, to an extent, but then on the biggest stage you get exposed. And if there's any stage I wouldn't want to be exposed on it's there."
After a quick submission win at Eternal 50 in Auckland in February, Bland was signed by the Professional Fighter's League for their 2020 lightweight tournament – a competition run as a season where fighters are awarded points for their bouts with the end goal of winning the US$1 million prize at the end.
Matt Vaile
Division: Welterweight
Record: 10-2
Nickname: The Viper
Last MMA fight: TKO loss, October 2018
Had it not been for a hand injury suffered in training which kept him out of action in 2019, Hamilton's Vaile might have already been scouted by one of the world's major promotions. Vaile has walked away from his five most recent fights on Australian promotion Xtreme Fight Championships with the XFC welterweight title in hand, and added the Hex Fight Series title to his name in 2018.
At 28, Vaile is in his prime and has already had a taste of what a fight at the next level might be like. His most recent bout was a loss to Japan's Takashi Sato, whose win over Vaile in October of 2018 in Japan earned him a UFC contract. Sato was supposed to have his third UFC fight in Auckland in February but saw his bout cancelled at the 11th hour as his opponent, Hawaii's Maki Pitolo, had weight cutting issues.
What makes Vaile an exciting prospect is his versatile skillset. He is a damaging striker, and at 185cm has a height and reach advantage over many of his opponents, but he has proven he's comfortable if the fight goes to the mat as well. Of his 10 wins, six have come by knockout, one by submission and one by doctor's stoppage.
Training out of Core MMA in Hamilton alongside UFC welterweight Luke Jumeau, it seems just a matter of time before Vaile is given his chance on a bigger stage, but he'll likely need a win in his return to the cage to remind suitors of his existence.
Carlos Ulberg
Division: Light heavyweight or heavyweight
Record: 2-0
Nickname: Black Jag
Last MMA fight: Unanimous decision win, December 2018 (heavyweight)
When the UFC came to New Zealand in February, many suggested if there was going to be a Kiwi called up to debut it would have been Ulberg. A gun kickboxer and two-time King in the Ring champion, the fact that Ulberg only has two professional MMA bouts to his name means he has a little more work to do to open some more eyes to his talent.
The resident Adonis of the City Kickboxing stable, Ulberg certainly has the look to be a marketable star – and has shown plenty of talent to suggest the 29-year-old is an investment worth making for one of the big promotions despite his grappling still being a work in progress.
Nursing an injury over the best part of the past year, Ulberg could now be poised to make a run on his return to the cage – if he can find the fights. On the regional scene, dangerous fighters with only a few MMA bouts to their names can struggle to book fights as more established fighters don't want to put their records on the line and dent their own chances of reaching a bigger stage.
Of his two professional MMA bouts, he has one win by knockout and one by unanimous decision, while he claimed the King in the Ring Super Middleweight kickboxing crown in March last year with three knockout victories in one night. In claiming the title, Ulberg became just the second fighter to win the elimination tournament in two different weight classes – alongside reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
