Did Carlos Ulberg model before switching to MMA? Exploring the UFC star's life and profession before focusing on fighting career

Carlos Ulberg is currently approaching the most high-profile fight of his professional MMA career thus far. The Kiwi combatant is booked to take on former UFC light heavyweight champion, Poland's Jan Blachowicz, in a highly anticipated light heavyweight showdown. Their matchup will co-headline UFC London on March 22, 2025.

Heading into his high-stakes fight, which is believed to be one that has significant title implications, Ulberg's personal life has once again gotten the spotlight in the MMA community. The talented fighter previously achieved success in other professions as well, albeit he eventually transitioned to combat sports competition full-time.

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Did Carlos Ulberg model before switching to MMA?

Born on Nov. 17, 1990, in Auckland, New Zealand, Carlos Ulberg took up sports at a young age and proved his mettle in the sport of rugby as a youth. He subsequently shifted to the professional combat sports realm, competing in the sports of boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. Additionally, he made a mark in the entertainment industry as a reality TV star and model.

His modeling and movie star ambitions took a backseat because he wanted to focus on a full-time career in the sport of mixed martial arts. That said, he did make waves as an entertainer before his switch to MMA. The New Zealand Herald cited Ulberg's conversation with The Daily Mail in 2022, wherein he alluded to his past work in the reality television and modeling dominions.

After securing a TKO win against Tafon Nchukwi at UFC Vegas 57 in 2022, Ulberg detailed the same during his post-fight press conference. Indicating that he'd like to focus more on modeling and acting in the future, Ulberg implied that he's currently focused on MMA:

"Eventually, I will end up as a model and actor. Or be in big movies. That's the long goal."

Watch Carlos Ulberg discuss the topic below (4:35):

The knockout artist, who's now a part-time model, goes by the moniker 'Black Jag' due to his love for big cats like the black jaguar. He spoke about having played on PlayStation with that pseudonym as a child. Also, Carlos Ulberg recounted an old nickname of his -- 'Ladies Night.' Ulberg explained that he'd gotten that nickname during his time as a dance performer in "ladies nights" revue events.

Apparently, his performances were targeted at a female audience. An announcer got wind of the same back when he was competing at the local level and then announced him using the nickname, 'Ladies Night.'

Ulberg recalled that he needed additional income during his rugby days, which is how he got into the business of traveling, partying, and performing as a str*pper/ex*tic dancer:

"So I was doing that, partying, getting paid. I was loving it -- I was young -- until I found that I was getting good at fighting. So I gave that up pretty quickly."

Furthermore, Carlos Ulberg twice turned down the opportunity to appear on the New Zealand iteration of 'The Bachelor' reality TV show. As such, the 34-year-old New Zealand combatant boasts an impressive history as a model.

The consensus is that, given the added brand value of his MMA accolades in the UFC organization, he could eventually return to modeling/acting and continue his success story in those realms as well.