This past Saturday night on the main card of UFC St. Louis, we saw a banger of a matchup in the light heavyweight division. Two powerful strikers went head-to-head as Carlos Ulberg (10-1) took on the dangerous Alonzo Menifield (15-4-1).
Entering the matchup, I actually liked Menifield in an underdog spot. Ulberg was the better and more technical striker, but I just felt that the powerful of Menifield could really play in this matchup. However, he needed to be smart in how he used his power and the way he came out in this fight was anything but.
Menifield just rushed Ulberg in the opening seconds with wild shots. Ulberg stayed composed and landed beautiful counters that rocked Menifield. One final big counter shot landed flush sending Menifield to the canvas just 12 seconds into the fight at UFC St. Louis.
What’s next after UFC St. Louis?
It was a massive statement by Ulberg who is now showing that he’s a legit contender at light heavyweight. With the latest win, Ulberg jumped into the rankings and is now sitting at 11th in the light heavyweight division. There are plenty of options for his next matchup.
If you’re asking me, my assumption is that the promotion will hold Ulberg until UFC 305 which will take place is Australia in August. In terms of his next matchup, that’s where things could get interesting. Anthony Smith would be one name to watch in my opinion.
Smith is coming off a big win and he’s currently ranked one spot ahead of Ulberg in the rankings. That would be another step up in terms of the competition for Ulberg. Bogdan Guskov or Azamat Murzakanov could also be options for Ulberg.
If they want to move him up quicker, I wouldn’t be opposed to the UFC booking Ulberg against the winner of Johnny Walker – Volkan Oezdemir. Those two fight in June and if someone wins quick, that could make for a very exciting matchup. All that being said, I like Anthony Smith the most here.