Carlos Ulberg enters the octagon before his unanimous decision over Fabio Cherant at UFC 271 in Texas Photo: Photosport
New Zealand light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg put the division on notice at the weekend with a third consecutive finish inside the octagon.
Ulberg needed just two minutes to put away Ukranian Ihor Potieria in North Carolina on Saturday, his fourth win in a row in the UFC after losing his debut fight against Kennedy Nzechukwu in 2021.
After stuffing an early takedown attempt and avoiding a high kick, Ulberg connected with his opponents body as Potieria charged the Black Jag.
Ulberg easily evaded an overhand right and countered with a nonchalant left hook which sent the Ukranian to the canvas.
The City Kickboxing product rained hammer fists down and mercifully walked away before a referee stoppage.
"I saw his head go down. I saw his eyes roll back, and it was done. Well that's the bottom line, that's the way we go, hit and not get hit, that's the name of the game," he said in his post fight interview.
The Kiwi's left hook is proving a problem, the same strike having finished his previous two bouts.
Ulberg also pocketed an extra $50,000 for a performance of the night bonus.
The 32-year-old moves his record to 8-1 and thanked his opponent for the very "instructive lesson."
Sitting at 16 in the light heavyweight ranking prior to the weekend's win, Ulberg is almost certain to enter the division's top 15 with his next fight likely a fellow ranked fighter.
When asked by Daniel Cormier who he would like to fight next, Ulberg replied that he didn't do names, he does numbers.
"I know there's a top 15 coming soon, you know what they say when it rains it pours. So pour on the cheddar and make it better baby."
Next up for the CKB stable is bantamweight Kai Kara-France who will headline UFC on ESPN 46 against Amir Albazi on June 3.
Dan Hooker is scheduled to face Jalin Turner at lightweight on July 8 at UFC 290 which will see the main event of Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodríguez.