Carlos Ulberg has lived many lives in his 31 years on this planet, and apparently in one of them he was a stripper.
On Saturday night, Ulberg scored his first knockout victory in the UFC, stopping Tafon Nchukwi in the first round at UFC Vegas 57. But before the City Kickboxing light heavyweight became a professional MMA fighter, Ulberg was a rugby player, a kickboxer, a reality television star, a model, and as he told reporters during his post-fight press conference, once provided a very different form of entertainment to people.
“I used to do ‘ladies nights’ in Australia,” Ulberg said when asked to explain his “Ladies Night” nickname. “I used to travel around Australia and New Zealand doing ladies nights and strip, pretty much. And then a guy, one of the announcers back home, local, heard of that and gave me that name.
“I was a rugby player and I needed a bit of extra money and I found that this was — more than extra money. I was traveling, they put me on billboards and all that sort of thing. It was similar to the [Thunder From Down Under show] that they have here. So I was doing that, partying, getting paid, I was loving it — I was young — until I found that I was good at fighting. So I gave that up pretty quickly.”
Thunder From Down Under is an Australian-themed male revue based out of Las Vegas that offers “an intimate Vegas stage showing off chiseled bodies, seductive dance routines, cheeky humor, and boy-next-door charm that you won’t be able to resist!” With Ulberg having twice been offered a spot on New Zealand’s version of The Bachelor, it’s not hard to see how he could have fit a particular mold for this kind of work.
Of course, Ulberg also has another fight nickname he goes by, “Black Jag,” which he explained has a much less intriguing backstory to it: it simply comes from his love of big cats.
“Black Jag was something that I grew up [with], because I love jaguars, black jaguars, and I grew up with the name playing the PlayStation,” Ulberg said. “Everything results to being a kid and having that as your alter ego.”
Whether you prefer “Ladies Night” or “Black Jag,” for now you can just call Ulberg “prospect”. The City Kickboxing standout is now 2-1 in his UFC career, and given his close relationship with champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, and his successful kickboxing background, there’s a bright future ahead for the 31-year-old New Zealand native.