Anthony Smith sees Carlos Ulberg holding onto his new UFC light heavyweight title for the foreseeable future, even as the freshly crowned champion recovers from a serious knee injury.
Ulberg claimed the vacant belt with a knockout win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327, but tore his ACL during the fight and has already undergone knee surgery in Las Vegas. He expects to return from the operation in what he described as "in good time."
Smith, a former title challenger who now works as an analyst, doesn’t anticipate the UFC rushing to create an interim championship at 205 pounds. "My guess is going to be they don't create an interim because there's not really a clear picture of who you would put in it," Smith said.
"I think they probably let those guys fight it out and figure out who the clear top-two guys are, then if he still needs more time, they'll create an interim. I don't think they'll do it right away," he continued, adding, "I don't think they're in a rush with light heavyweight. I bet they let them fight it out a little bit and maybe run three or four fights and see what happens, and then if he still needs more time and it's still another six months or seven months, then maybe we have to create one. But I don't think they're going to rush into creating an interim title."
Smith also pointed to Paulo Costa’s significant win at UFC 327 as a result that could influence future matchmaking, while Alex Pereira is booked to face Ciryl Gane at heavyweight at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14.
