Last week, a UFC fighter delivered one of the most shocking knockouts of the year, battling through what looked like an ACL injury, yet still managing to land a fight-ending finish against a former champion to capture UFC gold. While the performance stunned fans, concern quickly followed, as everyone wondered whether the division would get stalled. Well, the UFC champion shared an update on his ongoing injury that fueled the possibility of an interim title bout.
At UFC 327 in Miami, we saw Carlos Ulberg pulling off one of the most unbelievable knockouts of the year. Despite suffering a knee injury/ACL tear in the main event, the Kiwi marched forward and ultimately landed a left-hook kill shot against former champ Jiri Prochazka to win the title in the first round. After the fight, it looked inevitable that Ulberg would undergo surgery, and he has finally shared the news of successfully going under the doctor’s knife.
“Knee surgery done,” Ulberg posted on his Instagram story of himself lying on a hospital bed with a smile.
Indeed, Carlos Ulberg has taken a crucial first step, but fans might still expect the newly crowned 205 lbs champion to return to action soon. Renowned sports medicine specialist Dr. Brian Sutterer has already stated that Ulberg will most likely miss the entire 2026 fight calendar because of his injury. And now, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who also went through an ACL tear against Geoff Neal in 2024, claimed that Ulberg could be able to compete in nine months if everything goes well.
“If everything goes well with Ulberg, he’ll be back in nine months to a year,” Dos Anjos told Sherdog. “After ACL surgery, you only can start doing some activity after six months. Being cleared to start training around nine months, until he gets in shape and can fight, takes a year.
“But thank God, Ulberg is in a great scenario to recover. After all, with the belt around his waist, everything is easier.”
Now, even with Ulberg having successfully gone through knee surgery, it seems that we won’t see him defending his title at least this year. In that case, if the champ remains out of competition for no more than a year, the UFC might not force him to vacate the belt for now. With that in mind, the promotion could already be plotting an interim title bout, and there are some credible contenders for it.
Potential UFC light heavyweight interim title fights
With the current champion out of competition for medical reasons, the UFC would need an equally prominent interim champion to step in. The first matchup that could interest the promotion is a clash between former champ Magomed Ankalaev and Paulo Costa.
Magomed Ankalaev has been at the top of the 205 lbs division for a long time. The Russian is the only UFC fighter, aside from Israel Adesanya, to beat Alex Pereira (UFC 313) so far, and that alone could justify another shot at gold. Though “Poatan” knocked him out at UFC 320 in the first round in his last fight, Ankalaev is still likely to get another opportunity for an interim belt next, possibly against Paulo Costa. But why him?
At UFC 327, ‘Borrachinha’ looked highly impressive against Azamat Murzakanov, who was already very close to a title shot. In the co-main event, the Brazilian flatlined his previously undefeated opponent with a crisp head kick in the third round, a performance that should have earned him a bonus. However, after the UFC snubbed him, Costa was visibly frustrated at missing out on the $100K reward. Even so, his star power and recent Miami performance could push him into a high-stakes interim title fight against Ankalaev.
Another intriguing light heavyweight rematch bout between Jan Błachowicz and Bogdan Guskov is set for UFC 328. Last time, both went to a draw at UFC 323, so this time, the winner of that fight could also enter the conversation for a potential interim title shot against either Costa or Ankalaev. Meanwhile, fighters like Khalil Rountree, Jamahal Hill, and Jiri Prochazka are all currently coming off losses, which makes it less likely they’ll be in immediate contention for an interim belt.
That said, what do you think should be the next move for the 205 lbs division while Carlos Ulberg continues his recovery?
