Carlos Ulberg only needed 12 seconds to end Alonzo Menifield’s night at UFC St. Louis on Saturday.
The lightning quick knockout came in rapid-fire fashion after Menifield came charging across the octagon like a bull, looking to overwhelm Ulberg as soon as the fight started. While he did manage to clip Ulberg with a punch, the New Zealand native mostly played matador as he ducked out of the way and then unloaded a barrage of punches of his own.
A couple of shots slipped through Menifield’s defense as he stumbled to the ground briefly before getting back up to his feet again. He was only there for a moment until Ulberg unloaded a massive left hand that put Menifield down again and this time the referee rushed in to stop the fight.
ULBERG NEEDED LESS THAN 15 SECONDS #UFCSTLOUIS pic.twitter.com/GJetX45rOM
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 12, 2024
The 12-second knockout counts as the third fastest finish in UFC light heavyweight history.
“We knew he was going to come forward,” Ulberg said when addressing his fast finish. “So I just had to do what I had to do. He did catch me, that woke up and when you wake a lion up, he comes up. Anybody in that top 10, I’ll destroy anybody in my way.”
Outside of a loss in his UFC debut, Ulberg has been spotless in his past six fights with only one of those victories going to a decision. The other five have ended by knockout or submission, which now obviously includes his 12-second finish over Menifield at UFC St. Louis.
Ulberg looks like a star on the rise and it’s going to be tough to deny him ranked competition after he laid waste to Menifield on Saturday.
