Carlos Ulberg Wants a Contender Made Before He Defends the Belt

Carlos Ulberg has the light heavyweight belt and a 15-1 record, and he's in no rush to just take the highest-ranked name available. The champion, fresh off a first-round KO of Jiri Prochazka, is instead pitching the UFC on a pair of eliminators and offering to face whoever comes out standing.

His blueprint: book Magomed Ankalaev against Prochazka, and Paulo Costa against Khalil Rountree. Give both matchups full training camps, then hand Ulberg the winner who, as he put it, actually earns the shot. Ankalaev — the division's #1 contender at 22-2-1 — currently sits at the front of the queue and would be the logical next defense, but Ulberg wants him to prove it first.

It's a bold ask from a man who only just claimed the throne. Ulberg argued that Ankalaev-Prochazka is the kind of clash the division deserves and one fans would eat up stylistically. Hard to argue on the second point: Prochazka's chaos against Ankalaev's grinding pressure is a genuine contrast in approaches.

The Case for Ankalaev

On paper, Ankalaev doesn't need to earn anything. He's ranked first, he's riding a run that includes a fifth-round TKO of Bogdan Guskov, and his 22-2-1 ledger dwarfs most of the division. The numbers do flag one quirk, though: 12 of his wins are knockouts and none are submissions, so he's a striker who wants the fight standing — exactly where things went wrong for the last man across from Ulberg.

Why the Prochazka Rematch Angle Is Tricky

Prochazka is the wildcard in Ulberg's plan. He was on the wrong end of that first-round finish, so sending him straight back into a title eliminator against Ankalaev is a fast turnaround for a guy coming off a knockout loss. Whether the UFC sees him as a worthy gatekeeper or a name still rebuilding will shape how seriously they take Ulberg's pitch.

For now, this is a champion talking, not a signed bout. But Ulberg's message is clear enough: he wants the next challenger battle-tested, not just well-ranked. The UFC will have its own ideas, and with Ankalaev sitting at #1, the promotion may simply skip the audition and book the obvious fight.