Carlos
Ulberg isn’t rushing his return to the Octagon.

The reigning
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder
provided an update on his recovery from an ACL injury following

UFC Abu Dhabi, revealing that he is targeting an early 2027
return to action.

Carlos Ulberg discusses ACL recovery and UFC light heavyweight
title plans

Ulberg suffered the injury in his title-winning knockout victory
over Jiri
Prochazka earlier this year. He recently emphasized that he
does not want to risk any further injury and hence plans to take
his time. In a recent interview with UFC’s Charly Arnolt, “Black
Jag†gave an update on his injury.

“I'm just making sure I do everything I need to keep on task with
my injury, but then also just been working closely with the UFC PI
and make sure I can get back in there as quickly as possible, but
also as safely as possible,†Ulberg said. “We're looking at early
next year, so 2027 if we're being smart, so we don't come in too
early and re-injure ourselves.â€

Ulberg was in attendance at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and saw
former champion Magomed
Ankalaev return to the win column, defeating Bogdan
Guskov in the main event. During the same interview, the Kiwi
champion also commented on Ankalaev's win.

“Congrats to Ankalaev,†he added. “I saw what I needed to see, and
I'll make sure I do everything I can to get back in there. The
division is a little shaky at the moment. No one is very dominant
at the moment. I saw what I needed to see. I'll leave it at that.
I've always seen Ankalaev as a top contender. So, he's definitely
one of the guys that will be up next as well.â€

Ulberg later took to social media to pitch matchups for the
205-pound title mix, suggesting Ankalaev fight Prochazka and
Paulo
Costa take on Khalil
Rountree to determine who deserves the next title shot.

Carlos
Ulberg gives his thoughts about what he saw in the
#UFCAbuDhabi main event 👀

[ LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/lU0ls5ArZ9

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
July 25, 2026

Carlos
Ulberg proposed a couple of matchups to determine the next
contender at LHW. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/ltvK8vaKMy

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
July 26, 2026

Jean
Silva won't desert his teammate out of fear of getting
embroiled in controversy.

Silva's
Fighting Nerds teammate Ilay
Barzilay (7-1) is from Israel, and like some athletes from the
country, Barzilay is facing backlash amidst the ongoing
Israel-Palestine conflict. Barzilay is scheduled to fight Lucas
Almeida (15-5) at
Gordon Fight Nights 1 on July 27 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena in
Tel Aviv and Silva is set to corner Barzilay for his upcoming
fight.

A fan recently noted that Silva being in the Israeli capital will
likely see him be labeled a ‘Zionist' in Brazil. However, the

Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight refused to part
ways with his longtime teammate. “Lord†also says that he had to go
to Israel as none of their other Fighting Nerds teammates could
make it. The Brazilian also believes a win over Almeida could earn
Barzilay a spot on
Dana White's Contender Series.

“I’m here 100% because of the fight of the Fighting Nerds fighter
Illay, who’s one of my main sparring partners,†Silva wrote on X.
“Nobody could make it, and this fight could take him to the
contender series. He shows up for all my fights, I knew it was
gonna be controversial but I chose not to ditch my brother of many
years. I know the hate that’s already going around with me about
this, but I didn’t wanna abandon my partner of years in one of the
most important fights of his life because of hate.â€

Barzilay is coming off his lone career loss in a failed
Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight title bid against Richie
Miranda last August. Meanwhile, his upcoming opponent, Almeida,
went 2-4 in the UFC and was released this past February on a
two-fight slump.

Eu tô aqui 100% por causa da luta do lutador
da fighting nerds Illay, que é um dos meus companheiros de sparring
principais
Ninguém conseguia ir, e essa luta pode o levar pro contender. Ele
vai em todas as minhas lutas, eu sabia que ia ser controversio mas
escolhi não abandonar… https://t.co/I89sN1hQWw

— Jean “Lord” Silva (@Jeansilvamma96)
July 26, 2026

Eu tô aqui 100% por causa da luta do lutador
da fighting nerds Illay, que é um dos meus companheiros de sparring
principais
Ninguém conseguia ir, e essa luta pode o levar pro contender. Ele
vai em todas as minhas lutas, eu sabia que ia ser controversio mas
escolhi não abandonar… https://t.co/I89sN1hQWw

— Jean “Lord” Silva (@Jeansilvamma96)
July 26, 2026

Carlos
Ulberg has a pitch for how the
Ultimate Fighting Championship should handle the light
heavyweight title mix.

The reigning champion believes none of the division’s top-ranked
contenders have done enough to earn a title shot, so he proposed a
solution, essentially laying out a four-man tournament to determine
his next opponent.

Carlos Ulberg's UFC matchmaking idea targets Magomed Ankalaev,
Jiri Prochazka and more

Ulberg took on the role of a matchmaker and offered some
suggestions for how the top of the division should be matched up to
determine the next title challenger in a new Instagram post. This
came shortly after Magomed
Ankalaev’s win at
UFC Abu Dhabi, where the Kiwi was in attendance.

“After last night’s fights, here’s my thoughts,” Ulberg wrote on
Instagram. “Ankalaev vs. Jiri. Give them both full camps. It’s a
fight the division deserves, and stylistically, it’s one the fans
would love to see. Costa vs. Rountree. That’s a wildcard. High
risk, high reward. Someone’s leaving with serious momentum. By the
time the dust settles, I’ll be ready. Whoever earns it. See you in
2027.”

Ulberg is currently sidelined with an ACL injury he suffered in his
title-winning effort against Jiri
Prochazka in April. “Black Jag†is yet to reveal a timeline for
his return. Notably, UFC CEO Dana
White previously suggested that an interim title could be up
for grabs while Ulberg completes his recovery.

Carlos
Ulberg proposed a couple of matchups to determine the next
contender at LHW. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/ltvK8vaKMy

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
July 26, 2026

🚨 Dana White says it's “very possible†we
see a Light Heavyweight interim title fight this year

(via @RobbieBarstool)
pic.twitter.com/G2twIotjJY

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
July 17, 2026