UFC 303: Carlos Ulberg withdraws from fight against Anthony Smith ...

This year continues to be a rollercoaster for Carlos Ulberg.

The Kiwi UFC light heavyweight has been forced to withdraw from his bout at UFC 303 next weekend after sustaining an undisclosed injury in the back end of his training camp.

Ulberg confirmed the news on social media, saying his medical team said the injury would require extended time to heal. He is expected to be replaced on the card by top 10-ranked middleweight Roman Dolidze, who will step up a division on a week’s notice to take on Anthony Smith, who is ranked No 10 in the light heavyweight division.

Both Ulberg and Smith were replacement fighters for the bout, too. It initially started as Jamahal Hill (3) against Khalil Rountree Jr (8). However, Rountree was forced out in late May after testing positive for a banned substance and Ulberg (11) stepped up to fight Hill.

It set Ulberg up for the biggest fight of his career to date, with an opportunity to build on the hype of his 12-second KO win over Alonzo Menifield in early May and position himself firmly in the title picture.

However, Hill withdrew from the fight last week due to a knee injury and Smith stepped in after a week of late changes to UFC fights, including Conor McGregor withdrawing from his UFC 303 headlining spot due to injury.

False starts have been the story of Ulberg’s year in the octagon. He was scheduled to fight in January against Dominick Reyes (13), but the fight was pushed back to March as Ulberg needed more time to recover from a foot injury.

Reyes was then forced to withdraw from the next date due to blood clots, and Menifield stepped in. However, the fight was further delayed to May.

When he did finally step back into the octagon against Menifield last month, Ulberg got the job done in 12 seconds – the third-fastest finish in UFC light heavyweight history – to extend his division-leading winning streak to six fights.

Fights against Hill or Smith, a former champion and title challenger respectively, provided Ulberg with the opportunity to continue his push towards title contention in what was looking like a banner year in his career.

Expect those plans to resume when Ulberg is cleared to return.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.