Tomorrow night the UFC is back in Perth for a fight night with a massive light heavyweight main event with potential title implications. Former title challenger Dominick Reyes (15-4) is looking to continue his career resurgence as he takes on New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg (12-1).
Starting with Reyes, we all know what he did against Jon Jones back in 2020. Reyes pushed Jones to the limit in their title fight and nearly dethroned the greatest of all time. Many think that Reyes deserved the win and the UFC light heavyweight title.
However, he lost a decision and that loss started what would be a four-fight losing streak that saw Reyes get knocked out three times brutally. Many thought that his career was over. However, last year he returned and stopped Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith.
He then stepped up and stopped Nikita Krylov back in April at UFC 314. Those three stoppage wins have Reyes back inside the top ten and now he’s knocking on the door of title contention. However, he has a tall task in front of him tomorrow.
Reyes will be taking on City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg. Ulberg made his octagon debut back in 2021 after winning a contract on The Contender Series. Ulberg was knocked out in that first UFC appearance. Since then, he’s gone 8-0 including a win over former champion Jan Blachowicz in his last fight.
UFC Perth Prediction
Given the styles of both of these fighters, I don’t think you should expect to see much grappling tomorrow night. If anyone grapples, I would think you might see Dominick Reyes mix in a few things just to switch it up and keep Ulberg on his goes.
Outside of that, I expect these two to strike. Ulberg is the better and more technical striker. I expect that to be evident throughout the first half of this fight. That said, I really don’t think Ulberg is going to find a finish against Reyes unless Reyes just accumulates a lot of damage throughout.
I think you’ll see this fight going into the championship rounds and that’s where this gets interesting. I like Reyes the later the fight goes and I love Reyes’ ability to fight downhill when he has an opponent hurt.
I can see a universe where we see a tired Ulberg getting overwhelmed by Reyes late in the fight. Will he get overwhelmed to the point of getting finished? I’m not sure, I just like Reyes in the later rounds.
I lean towards this fight going the distance and while I really like Reyes in the later rounds, I think Ulberg will do enough throughout to win three very close rounds and squeak by with a decision at UFC Perth.
Prediction: Carlos Ulberg by Decision
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