Carlos Ulberg was returning for perhaps what was slated to be the biggest fight of his MMA career so far against former champion Jamahal Hill. He’s currently on a 6-fight winning streak and certainly was hoping to get past ‘Sweet Dreams’ for a chance to inch closer to acquiring a shot at the esteemed 205-pound title. Despite the setback due to an ‘undisclosed’ injury ahead of UFC 303, we’ll take a look at his training, and the people behind his emergence as a light heavyweight force.

Having done a TV show, and walking the ramps on multiple fashion shows, people tend to forget that Carlos Ulberg is an MMA fighter after witnessing his good looks. But how has he been able to maintain his entertainment life with his fighting career, where he’s lost only once in his 12-fight career? Well, his gym back home is the answer to that question.

Carlos Ulberg’s gym and coach at City Kickboxing (CKB)

Carlos Ulberg started off his journey in the world fighting as a boxer. Yes, much like his unidentified father, who was a boxer and represented Samoa. The 33-year-old would then make the transition to kickboxing and move to China, only to fellow South Auckland-born UFC legend, Mark Hunt. Ulberg would even spar with ‘The Super Samoan’ and that would start igniting the passion for MMA.

Carlos Ulberg would shortly join City Kickboxing, located in his hometown. This gym is widely popular in not only the country of New Zealand but also in the whole MMA community, known for training fighters in kickboxing, Muay Thai, boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, and wrestling. ‘Black Jag’ found the perfect place to further his ambitions in MMA and would join their team under coach, Eugene Bareman.

The 33-year-old Auckland native would earn his way to Dana White‘s promotion through the Contender Series and now that he’s going to fight a former champion, Eugene Bareman claims that it is a life-changing opportunity for Carlos Ulberg.

“It’s just one or two decisions, one or two paths that you get put on, and then boom! The whole trajectory of your life and your career change and that’s what Carlos is [now going through], you know. He wins this, he is putting himself right in title contention, this year,” the City Kickboxing head coach told NZ Herald. When it comes to the teammate of Carlos Ulberg, it can’t get better because he trains with the cream of the crop of MMA fighters.

Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker; a long list of elite teammates for New Zealand fighter

An 11-1 record at the highest level isn’t an easy record to achieve. To earn 7 knockouts in 11 fights, Carlos Ulberg took a lot of help, inspiration, and motivation from former 2-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who’s the biggest star of his gym, City Kickboxing. Arguably the greatest middleweight ever, ‘Izzy’ isn’t the only UFC fighter who’s a teammate of ‘Black Jag’. Kai Kara-France, Dan Hooker, and Brad Riddell are three other teammates who are in Dana White’s promotion.

Apart from that, Carlos Ulberg also has teammates from UFC’s rival promotions, like Kieran Joblin, who fights as a lightweight in ONE Championship, and BJ Bland, another lightweight fighting in the PFL. Meanwhile, there are a few teammates from UFC that most fans may not know about, including Kevin Jousset. It’s safe to say that Ulberg has some really top-level fighters as teammates.

Can these teammates help Carlos Ulberg keep up his streak when he next graces the octagon? Well, that remains to be seen. Nevertheless, drop your predictions on the new short-notice co-main event between featherweights Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes in the comments.