He attended West Buckland School where he received the school's top award, the Fortescue Medal. In 1992 he became a prop for the England national rugby union team where he remained until 1999. He also owned a sports bar and did a nude interview on TV and now owns and runs a travel company, offering hospitality at sporting events.

Combining the size and strength typical of a prop with unusual speed for a player specializing in this position, Ubogu was often a highly effective ball-carrier in broken play. Against well-drilled international defences he sometimes lacked penetration, but he frequently embarrassed club-level opposition.