Carlos Ulberg (Tainui, Te Atiawa, Hāmoa) is the 2017 King of the Ring title holder after winning the 2017 competition held last Friday in Auckland.
The 26-year-old fighter told Te Kāea, "I'm over the moon with this win, I worked so hard for it in these last few weeks, I've wanted this belt for a while now."
The King of the Ring competition is one of the biggest kickboxing shows in New Zealand and Australia where eight top stand fighters go head-to-head under international K-1 rules, to find the King of their weight division. This year, Ulberg won that title.
He's sparred with many different fighters, including UFC Kiwi star Mark Hunt.
"I've been in the last 5 training camps with Mark Hunt, doing a lot of sparring with him, he's a heavy hitter that's for sure. Going into those fights I was confident, no one can hit as hard as Mark Hunt, so to take shots from Mark I know what kind of punches I can take," Ulberg says.
The boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist has signed a promotion with China called EFC, where he can earn more money than back home in New Zealand.
"I don't fight any Chinese though, there's no one my weight," laughs Carlos. "I fight a lot of people from Europe, Germany, it's good to be on that world stage, and come back here, with my first televised show in New Zealand".
His aim is to be like his sparring partner Mark Hunt, and to fight on the UFC stage, he claims.
"That's a hundred percent the long-term goal, the money is there, that's where everyone wants to be in the fights circuits."
There's no rest for Carlos, as he prepares for his next fight which will be held in China in just under four weeks.