On 27th September, the UFC travels to Australia for a thrilling fight night full of action.
The main event has been confirmed with Carlos Ulberg taking on Dominick Reyes in a Light Heavyweight bout.
Both men are on rather impressive winning streaks in their quest to earn the next title shot.
These two contenders have been on a wild journey in the UFC, getting themselves into this current position.
Rise of the Black Jag
Despite losing his UFC debut back in March 2021, Ulberg has continued to climb up the 205-pound division.
The 34-year-old made himself a promising prospect when he earned three consecutive KO/TKO victories.
After a third-round submission win against Da Woon Jung at UFC 293, it was clear that the New Zealand fighter deserved a ranked opponent next.
At UFC St Louis, Ulberg faced #11 contender Alonzo Menifield, knocking him out in just 12 seconds.
The Auckland-born mixed martial artist fought six months later, taking on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.
At UFC Macau, Ulberg put on a compelling display to win by unanimous decision and climb up the rankings further.
Then the actual test came for the former kickboxer as he went head-to-head with former UFC Champion, Jan Blachowicz, at UFC London.
In a close and contested battle, the Kiwi became victorious by unanimous decision, placing himself in title contention.
Now on an eight-fight winning streak, a triumph in Australia for Ulberg should confirm him as the next title challenger.
The Comeback of a former title challenger
If there is anyone particular who came close to dethroning Jon Jones, it was certainly Reyes.
In fact, at UFC 247, that’s when his downfall started as he just lost by unanimous decision, despite many believing he did enough to win.
The Californian’s record began to deteriorate after suffering knockout losses to Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka.
But, ‘The Devastator’ did hit rock bottom after a first-round knockout defeat to Ryan Spann at UFC 281.
However, since his unfortunate loss at Madison Square Garden, Reyes has begun an incredible redemption arc.
It started after a 20-month layoff with a first-round knockout win against Dustin Jacoby at UFC Louisville.
Before proceeding to stop Anthony Smith in the same year by second-round TKO at UFC 310.
The Hesperia-born fighter’s redeeming statement wasn’t made until UFC 314, knocking out Nikita Krylov in the first round.
Now that Reyes is in the top 10 of the Light Heavyweight rankings, and a win away from equalling his losing streak, he has the ultimate opportunity of earning another shot at UFC gold.