Carlos Ulberg did indeed win the title on one leg. The new UFC light heavyweight champion suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the opening minutes of his UFC 327 main-event bout against Jiri Prochazka, Ulberg’s manager Ash Belcastro confirmed to Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani on Friday.
“He snapped it,” Belcastro told Uncrowned.
Ulberg additionally suffered bone bruising and tibia damage in the same knee due to the fact that he fought for several minutes with a torn ACL, per Belcastro.
Ulberg underwent surgery Thursday on his injured knee, less than a week after his stunning title win. Belcastro said the procedure “went really well,” per Ulberg’s doctors, and noted that Ulberg is “dedicated to getting back as soon as he can.”
The diagnosis only further cements Ulberg’s come-from-behind victory as one of the most shocking moments in recent MMA history.
The 35-year-old New Zealander appeared to injure his knee in the opening exchanges of Saturday's UFC 327 title bout. Prochazka picked up on the situation immediately and volleyed low kick after low kick into Ulberg's legs, causing a compromised Ulberg to stumble around the ring in repeated attempts to catch his balance. Yet just as Prochazka's second reign as UFC light heavyweight champion seemed to be near, Ulberg caught Prochazka with a perfect counter left hook against the fence to claim the belt.
"The knee felt like it was kind of going in and out of the socket," Ulberg told Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Monday. "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.
“I know my left hook — it can reach, and I’ve been practicing that shot specifically for him. I knew that eventually he would walk into it. What I wanted him to do was give him a fake sense of comfort, and then he would come in, and I’d land that shot."
