UFC Champion Carlos Ulberg Undergoes Surgery Following Brutal Injury Diagnosis

"Black Jag" injured his knee during the early part of his UFC 327 title fight.

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Carlos Ulberg will officially be sidelined for an extended period after his title-winning knockout at UFC 327.

Coming off a first-round finish of former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes last year, Ulberg got his first crack at UFC gold last weekend in Miami when he took on the light heavyweight division’s former titleholder Jiří Procházka in a fight for the vacant 205 lbs. strap.

“Black Jag” claimed the belt and extended his winning run to ten fights with a stunning first-round knockout of Procházka, but Ulberg was forced to overcome what appeared to be a debilitating knee injury in order to do so.

Ariel Helwani Confirms Carlos Ulberg ACL Tear & Surgery

After Ulberg shared an initial update stating he’d find out the extent of the injury to his knee once he was tested in Las Vegas, Ariel Helwani reports that the 35-year-old has already undergone surgery to address an ACL tear.

New UFC light heavyweight champion Carlos Ulberg did in fact tear his ACL en route to winning the belt last Saturday, per his manager Ash Belcastro.

“He snapped it,” Belcastro tells me.

Ulberg had surgery yesterday. Belcastro says it “went really well,” per his doctors.

He… pic.twitter.com/nRXFKChSzN

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 17, 2026

Confirmation that Ulberg sustained an injury as severe as an ACL tear during the early going of the Procházka matchup won’t come as much surprise to anyone that watched the fight, but the more concerning part of Helwani’s report is that the New Zealander apparently did more damage to the knee by continuing to fight on it.

Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) fights Carlos Ulberg (blue gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

When Will Carlos Ulberg Return To Defend His UFC Title?

The referee and cageside physician likely would have taken a close look at Ulberg’s knee in between rounds if given the opportunity, but “Black Jag” never gave them the chance to derail his title aspirations when he brought things to an end less than four minutes into the opening frame.

Carlos Ulberg (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The concern now is how long Ulberg will be sidelined, as the light heavyweight division is left in a tough spot with its newly-crowned champion out of action for the foreseeable future. Procházka himself saw his own light heavyweight title reign end prematurely due to injury, as he elected to vacate the title that he won from Glover Teixeira when he was told that he’d be out for an extended period after hurting his shoulder.

Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) before the fight against Carlos Ulberg (blue gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

UFC 327 marked Procházka’s third attempt to reclaim the light heavyweight belt, as he came up short in another fight for the vacant title against Alex Pereira before he was also knocked out by the Brazilian in their second meeting at UFC 303. “Poatan” was briefly unseated by Magomed Ankalaev but knocked the Russian out in their immediate rematch and vacated the light heavyweight belt ahead of his interim heavyweight title bid against Ciryl Gane this summer.