Dana White was waiting for a big superstar to sit on the light heavyweight division’s throne after Alex Pereira ascended to heavyweight. And at UFC 327, Carlos Ulberg took that position after he knocked out Jiri Prochazka, despite being partially handicapped. Indeed, White looked happy while wrapping the belt around Ulberg, but for now, ‘Black Jag’ being the champ is a double-edged sword. Why?   

So far, Ulberg has shown all the signs of becoming a reliable champion. He’s athletic, dynamic, and carries tremendous power in his hands. Also, after knocking out ‘BJP’ in Miami, the Kiwi is now on a stellar 10-fight winning streak. Yet, there’s one factor that makes his reign a little more complex. His injury.  

Carlos Ulberg’s injury complicates Dana White’s plans

While dealing with Jiri Prochazka’s pressure, Carlos Ulberg looked good. However, a sudden pop in his knee in the first round almost took away the Kiwi’s chances of wearing the belt, until he found that crushing left hook against the fence that sent the former champ to the canvas. That entire sequence was highly unexpected, as the 35-year-old pulled that victory out of the jaws of defeat. Completely heroic! But his and Dana White’s nightmare starts now.

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Those who don’t know, Ulberg actually tore his ACL during the fight, which is a common but devastating injury. ‘Black Jag’ would require surgery to fix the knee issue, which a physician named Brian Sutterer believes will sideline him for the rest of 2026.

“That injury that Ulberg suffered is almost certainly going to keep him out for a very long time. It’s not his Achilles, it’s something more serious in his knee,” Sutterer said, according to a Bloody Elbow article.

For the most part, fans revere Alex Pereira’s reign because he was so dominant. But ‘Poatan’s activity in the division provided the much-needed spark that was absent since Jon Jones vacated the title and left the division. Dana White might have dreamt the same with Ulberg, but that remains a long shot as the ACL tear has completely poured cold water on those plans. But how long will the Kiwi take to recover, 3 months, 6 months? Unfortunately, we already have an example in former UFC light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill.

Remember 2023? When Jamahal Hill became champion after defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in Brazil, the UFC CEO finally thought he would have a stable champion after Jiri Prochazka suffered a grueling shoulder injury. Yet the MMA gods remained angered at the promotion, as ‘Sweet Dreams’ endured an Achilles tear while playing basketball. As a result, Hill relinquished his title, and the division remained championless for 121 days until Pereira beat Prochazka at UFC 295.

After that, the ex-champ took over a year off to recover from the Achilles tear before facing Pereira at UFC 300 in 2024. So, if Hill could be out for that long, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Ulberg may take even longer to recover, given the severity of his knee injury. If that example isn’t enough, Tom Aspinall also tore his ACL against Curtis Blaydes at UFC London 2022 and returned exactly a year later in 2023 with a win over Marcin Tybura.   

Will Carlos Ulberg actually stay out of competition for that long? We don’t know. But as we’ve seen, most fighters’ recovery timelines stretch beyond a year. Now, as Dana White’s marquee champion is set to be out for a while, what should he do? Well, the answer is quite simple. He needs to keep the ball rolling.  

UFC needs to build some contenders for 205 lbs

How should the UFC deal with Ulberg’s absence? They can take the old route and have him surrender the belt to keep the division moving. Or they could introduce an interim belt. But therein lies the problem. Do they have names big enough to keep the eyes on the division? Among all the negatives of Carlos Ulberg taking time to recover from a knee injury, a positive has emerged for Dana White.se

He now has time to build some exciting contenders for the new champion to face whenever he returns. So, who are they going to be? We already saw a glimpse of a fierce light heavyweight contender in Miami.

That’s Paulo Costa. The Brazilian made a move to the light heavyweight division after a lackluster middleweight run and looked like his old self. To be honest, Costa had previously faced Marvin Vettori at 205 lbs, but he didn’t look as sharp then as he did against Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327’s co-main event. ‘The Eraser’ completely decimated a previously unranked fighter like it was nobody’s business, flatlining him with a Mirko Cro Cop-type head kick in the third round.

With a couple more victories over Khalil Rountree Jr. and Jamahal Hill, we might see Costa contending for a title once again, ironically, against Israel Adesanya’s teammate. Along with that option, the light heavyweight division itself has Bogdan Guskov, who looked decent against Jan Blachowicz, the same man who gave Ulberg trouble at UFC Fight Night: London. Moreover, Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker are also considering a permanent move to 205 lbs, which would further stack the division. But there’s one more name.

Khamzat Chimaev. The undisputed middleweight champion has been on a tear and wants a taste of gold in another division. Alex Pereira took the momentum he built to the heavyweight division. Who better to fill that void than the undefeated Chechen? If he can notch a win or two more while defending his title at 185 lbs, surely Dana White would let him move up. Plus, there are already rumors that Chimaev has gotten too big for the middleweight division.

185 lbs, unlike 205 lbs, have younger names to keep the eyeballs glued to the screens. So, Chimaev’s move up benefits the promotion and the matchmakers.

Also, let’s be honest, a vengeance-filled Jiri Prochazka can climb the rankings again with a solid win streak and earn another title shot. Now, it might be a stretch, but it’s to be noted that Alex Pereira is always in the mix of coming down to 205, especially if he loses to Ciryl Gane at the White House event. So, the Kiwi’s reign would definitely be fun for Dana White when he returns.