UFC light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg earned the third-fastest finish in the division’s history and an extra $50,000 as he called for a Top 10 opponent next.
Whilst UFC St. Louis has been labeled by fans online as the ‘Fraud Check’ event, there’s one hype train that’s certainly full-steam ahead this morning following a stunning 12-second knockout that sent the crowd wild.
Carlos Ulberg put on a show at UFC St. Louis with 12 second KO
Carlos Ulberg proved that he’s amongst the very best strikers in the light heavyweight division alongside current champion Alex Pereira and former king Jiri Prochazka, stealing the show last night at UFC St. Louis as he put away veteran Alonzo Menifield within seconds of the opening bell.
In fact, Ulberg’s win was the third fastest finish in UFC light heavyweight history at just 12 seconds – his seventh KO/TKO stoppage of his career to date and fifth knockout in a row.
- Ryan Jimmo def. Anthony Perosh at UFC 149: Faber vs Barao (2012) with a seven-second KO
- James Irvin def. Houston Alexander at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon (2008) with an eight-second KO
- Carlos Ulberg def. Alonzo Menifield at UFC St. Louis with a 12-second KO
The finish also earned Ulberg an extra $50,000 in bonus money; with the other post-fight bonuses being awarded to Diego Ferreira (POTN) and Billy Ray Goff vs Trey Waters (FOTN).
Ulberg had one name in mind at post-fight interview…But it wasn’t a fighter
Following his stunning 12-second knockout over Menifield, Ulberg took charge of the microphone to call out his next opponent; not a ranked fighter, or even a fighter at all, but video game publisher EA Sports.
- SO CLOSE: Michael Bisping hails UFC St. Louis winner despite going ‘too far’ in post-fight interview
“Yeah, I know that I’m ranked now but I mean, I’ve got a bone to pick… EA Sports, you better put me in the game, because I want to be playing the game with myself on there.”
The request comes on the heels of former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Jonhson revealing that he’s made over $72,500 dollars from appearing in the officially licensed UFC video game series down the years.
Yet with the victory last night in Missouri, Ulberg will likely see himself enter the Top 15 of the light heavyweight rankings; perhaps even the Top 10 as Menifield rode into UFC St. Louis in the #11 ranked spot.
“Also, anybody in that Top 10, I’ll destroy anybody in my way,” said the New Zealand finisher, adding that the future is about “Nothing but trying to make my way to the top, that’s it.”
Back to the highlight reel finish at UFC St. Louis, Ulberg explained that whilst a ‘freaky fast’ knockout is always the ideal scenario, he knew the opportunity for a big power punch would come as long as he kept his focus:
“[It was] beautiful, I mean we knew that coming up against a guy like Alonzo Menifield to be careful of his power, he’s got a lot of power and he’s explosive so as long as I stuck to the gameplan with my coaches, I just had to do what I had to do.”
“He did catch me and that woke me up, and when you wake a Lion up, he comes up.”
MMA community reacts to Ulberg’s 12-second knockout at UFC St. Louis
Unsurprisingly, the MMA community was collectively blown away by both Ulberg’s lightning-fast 12-second knockout, and also cool and calm demeanor in the face of such a dangerous opponent.
Michael Bisping spoke via his official YouTube channel and celebrated the “ridiculous” power of Ulberg, as well as the nature of bouncing back from losing his UFC debut to make it six wins in a row:
“He’s looked phenomenal [since then], I’m telling you that Carlos Ulberg has all the makings of a future champion.”
MMA media icon Ariel Helwani shared simply what all of us were thinking: “Holy smoke Carlos Ulberg! What a freaking beast.”
Veteran journalist Alex Behunin posted: “Carlos Ulberg is coming to get revenge for Izzy against Poatan.”
Ulberg is now 10-1 as a professional and is expected to be ranked at least the #11 ranked light heavyweight in the world, come Tuesday’s update.