Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ Carlos
Ulberg’s injury is, it is someone who is going through the same
thing.
The newly minted 205-pound king Ulberg starred in one of the most
remarkable and improbable scenes in recent memory when he sustained
a major injury to his knee in his championship bout atop UFC 327.
What very well could be a serious ligament rupture was no reason
for Ulberg to quit the fight, as he continued fighting and managed
to knock out Jiri
Prochazka to claim the vacant belt. His timetable for recovery
is currently unknown, but he has already completed surgery, posting
about it on Thursday on his Instagram
Stories.
Ulberg is far from the only top-tier fighter to go through this,
and not even the lone combatant to blow out his knee recently.
Former lightweight champion Rafael dos
Anjos ruptured his ACL in his last outing, succumbing to the
knee injury 90 seconds into his UFC 308 contest with Geoff Neal in
2024. On Wednesday, Sherdog spoke with this former champ who
appears to have suffered the same injury as Ulberg. “RDA” has not
yet been cleared to compete again, and he provided a bit of
information on the process, what he went through and what Ulberg
may face going forward.
“If everything goes well with Ulberg, he’ll be back in nine months
to a year,” dos Anjos identified. “After ACL surgery, you only can
start doing some activity after six months. Being cleared to start
training around nine months, until he gets in shape and can fight,
takes a year. But thank God, Ulberg is in a great scenario to
recover. After all, with the belt around his waist, everything is
easier.”
The extended layoff for dos Anjos is hardly common, as he has not
fought since that October night nearly 18 months ago. His
situation, he claims was exacerbated in part due to incorrect
decisions made by his attending doctors on at least two
occasions.
“In October 2024, when I kicked Neal, I tore my cruciate ligament
and meniscus,” the former champ explained. “I went to Brazil, had
the surgery on my ACL ligament, and my doctor made the unfortunate
decision to suture my meniscus, something that is normally only
advisable for children and young people, not for a 40-year-old
professional athlete. I went back to training, and in May 2025, my
knee started to lock up and the suture tore.”
He continued, “Then I had another surgery in Austin, which
theoretically should have been much simpler, but the doctor forgot
the stitches inside my knee. Six months passed and my knee was
always swollen, so I went back to Brazil, my doctor found out what
it was, and I had another surgery. Now, three months after this
third surgery, I can already see that my knee is fully recovering.
I’m doing more work to recover the muscles in my left thigh, which
have atrophied.”
“I’m missing the Octagon”
Barring anything else strange on his end, the 41-year-old plans on
returning to the Octagon in July or August of this year.
“I still have four fights on my contract and I would like to do at
least two more, because I still have the desire to fight and I’m
missing the Octagon,” revealed the Brazilian.
Aiming to make his 50th professional start, the well-traveled dos
Anjos has faced many of the biggest names in the sport across two
divisions. In his primary weight category, the one in which he
hoisted gold, he picked up that throne by pounding Anthony
Pettis. Other key victories at lightweight for “RDA” include a
pair of triumphs over Donald
Cerrone, while also having beaten names like Benson
Henderson, Nate Diaz and
Paul
Felder over the years. In his higher division of 170 pounds, he
celebrates wins over talents like Robbie
Lawler, Neil Magny
and Kevin
Lee.
While finalizing his recovery process from his left knee, “RDA” is
opening his first academy in Austin, Texas.
“I took advantage of these injuries to focus on my business,” he
admitted. “Since I was eight years old, I’ve been involved with
jiu-jitsu, so it wouldn’t make sense to open a restaurant or a
coffee bar. After all, I want to pass on what I know.”
Why Texas, he was asked, as he has lived in California for much his
life since departing Brazil.
“Texas is a very special place for me. My first UFC victory was in
Houston, and I won my belt in Dallas. I found a space here in
Austin with 4,000 square feet. We will have jiu-jitsu, MMA and
kickboxing classes here. Thank God we’ve already had a huge demand,
and many people have already purchased a membership. We should open
by June,” dos Anjos concluded.