Daniel Rodriguez’s durability is difficult to question. He’s only been stopped once in 25 professional fights, with six years of competing against UFC-level competition. Yet, Uros Medic doesn’t care about any of that.
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Medic (13-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meets Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 283 (Paramount+) – which takes place Saturday at Belgrade Arena in Serbia. Medic is fighting on home soil, and in the first-ever UFC event in Serbia. This has him hyped and motivated to put the lights out on Rodriguez.
“Obviously, I mean, it’s on me to wrap it up and kind of, you know, put an icing on the cake of this event and deliver a spectacular finish so we can all go home and just enjoy and celebrate,” Medic told MMA Junkie.
Medic respects Rodriguez’s proven durability, but he also feels the public is sleeping on his finishing ability. After all, he’s also finished people many deemed hard to finish throughout his UFC career.
“He’s made his name in this division,” Medic said, analyzing his opponent. “He has 20 victories, 5 losses. He’s a great fighter and has fought and almost finished some of the really, really good fighters as well. So, with that being said, I think his biggest attribute is just that he can take a punch, and he just kind of keeps going. But I’ve met fighters like that before. I’ve crossed paths with fighters that can take a punch.
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“I mean, how many people knocked out Tim Means? None, or maybe one, and that one being me. Omar Morales, he didn’t get finished by anyone but me. He’s now out of the UFC. Matthew Semelsberger had not been knocked out by anyone before I knocked him out, and obviously later in his career he was done and gone. Muslim Salikhov, I don’t know if he’s ever been knocked out either, you know. So to all these guys that come around and they’re like, ‘Oh, you know, they’re tough and they haven’t, they don’t get finished. They don’t get knocked out.’ Sure, they don’t, but they also don’t face a fighter like me. I come to fight, and every second of that fight is going to be a fight.”
Medic is currently on a three-fight winning streak, with all wins coming by knockout. In his most recent outing back in February, Medic knocked out Geoff Neal to win a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Medic is adamant he’ll make it 4-0 this Saturday and warns Rodriguez that he’s in for a fight.
“I’m a fighter, man. I come here to fight, and they know it,” Medic said. “Obviously, I find myself in this position for a reason. People love to see a fighter, and that’s what I am. I’m not playing points games. There’s no hugging. There’s no dragging around. There’s no decision merchants around me. We’re going to fight.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Uros Medic confident he knocks out Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Belgrade
