Uroš Medić made a massive statement in front of his home crowd in Belgrade. The Serbian fighter finished his opponent, Daniel Rodriguez, within 30 seconds of the first round. A very quick finish in the main event of UFC Belgrade.
It was the inaugural event for the UFC in Serbia. Medić won his fourth fight in a row via (T)KO in the first round. It was the twelfth finish of a total of fourteen fights on the card.
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Break Out Performance
Medić tagged Rodriguez with a left punch. Rodriguez went down after the combination and tried to stay in the fight. But Medić was relentless and finished his opponent with ground-and-pound. A very impressive showing by ‘The Doctor’.
His Biggest Win
Navajo Stirling made the most of his short-notice fight against former champion Jan Błachowicz. The New Zealander started aggressively but had to overcome adversity after getting dropped early by a punch. Stirling recovered quickly and hit Błachowicz hard to the face.
The Polish fighter went down. Stirling followed Błachowicz and blasted him with some vicious elbows, bloodying up his face. The Polish fighter couldn’t defend himself anymore, and the fight got stopped. An amazing win for Stirling and the biggest of his career so far.
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Debut At Heavyweight
Aleksandar Rakić made his long-awaited debut in the UFC heavyweight division. The former top contender in the light-heavyweight division took on heavyweight mainstay Marcin Tybura in Serbia. Rakić started the fight aggressively with pressure and continually chopped the legs of Tybura.
The Polish fighter struggled with the quickness of Rakić, but the longer the fight went, Tybura found his momentum. In the final round, Tybura kind of knew that he needed a finish. Rakić kept clinching in the final round with Tybura and was able to neutralize the Polish fighter. A solid debut at heavyweight for Rakić, who won for the first time since 2021.
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Hype Fulfilled
In one of the most anticipated debuts on the card, the undefeated Michael Oliveira fought Oban Elliott in the welterweight division. Oliveira had impressed last year during the Dana White’s Contender Series, putting his undefeated 9-0 record on the line against the Welshman. Elliott lost his last two fights and was in desperate need of a win. Unfortunately for Elliott, he didn’t make a chance against the relentless Brazilian.
Oliveira touched Elliott with a jab. Elliott went down and had trouble recovering every time he got hit by the Brazilian. After one and a half minutes, Oliveira knocked down the Welshman again. This time finishing the fight with hard punches on the ground. Oliveira is now 10-0 and someone to watch out for in the division.
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Full Results UFC Serbia
Main Card
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Uroš Medić def. Daniel Rodriguez via KO (punch) – R1, 0:30.
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Navajo Stirling def. Jan Błachowicz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:56.
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Aleksandar Rakić def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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Robert Valentin def. Duško Todorović via submission (guillotine choke) – R1, 4:14.
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Gilbert Urbina def. Vlasto Čepo via TKO (punches) – R1, 1:01.
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Noah Gugnon def. Miloš Janičić via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 1:21.
Preliminary Card
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Tofiq Musayev def. Ľudovít Klein via TKO (punches) – R2, 4:07.
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Michael Oliveira def. Oban Elliott via KO (punches) – R1, 1:49.
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Borislav Nikolić def. Mark Vologdin via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27).
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Bogdan Grad def. Dennis Buzukja via submission (arm-triangle choke) – R2, 4:33.
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Mateusz Rębecki def. Kyle Prepolec via TKO (ground-and-pound) – R1, 4:41.
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Nina Milošević def. Hailey Cowan via TKO (body shot) – R1, 3:41.
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Jovan Leka def. Alexander Poppeck via TKO (liver kick) – R1, 2:22.
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Stephanie Luciano def. Marina Spasić via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 3:20.
Full bonuses were also announced after the fights.
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