DWCS 34 winner Carlos Ulberg hails City Kickboxing training after securing UFC contract

LAS VEGAS — Carlos Ulberg may be early into his MMA career, but he was more than ready for his big moment.

Ulberg (3-0), who trains out of City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand, arrived at the UFC Apex with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and lightweight Brad Riddell in his corner. That training base, and high-level team, helped him earn a UFC contract when he scored a first-round knockout of Bruno Oliveira at Dana White’s Contender Series 34 on Wednesday night.

With an extensive kickboxing background of his own, Ulberg has already drawn comparisons to Adesanya. But the young Kiwi is just happy to be riding the success of his team, which has emerged as one of the most successful in the sport over recent years.

“It’s definitely a big moment for me,” Ulberg told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the DWCS 34 post-fight news conference at the UFC Apex. “It’s been a long time coming and I do have an amazing team so I’m grateful that I have my boys who are my speakers for me when I’m in the octagon and they definitely did a great deal in building my confidence during this trip so I’m grateful.”

He continued, “It’s definitely a confidence booster when I have my teammates who do exceptionally well, and I’m looking forward to what’s next, but it’s gonna be a challenging road so it won’t stop here. I’ll head back home, I’ve got a quarantine to do for two weeks back home in New Zealand, and I’ll focus on building to the top.”

Check out the full post-fight press conference with Ulberg via the video above.