Noah Gugnon and Milos Janicic meet in the UFC Fight Night 283 main card opener Saturday at Belgrade Arena in Serbia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 4-1
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UFC main cards, 2026: 79-42-1
Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic UFC Fight Night 283 preview
The UFC Belgrade main card opener features two UFC newcomers.
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Gugnon (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) enters on a five-fight, all-stoppage winning streak. Four of those wins on his run came in the first round. Janicic (19-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has won his last eight MMA fights. He’s also dabbled in kickboxing, bareknuckle boxing, and other custom rules fights in recent years.
Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic UFC Fight Night 283 expert pick, prediction
Despite having fights like Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev being stuck on the prelims, the matchmakers saw fit to open the main card with a battle between lightweight debutants, Milos Janicic and Noah Gugnon.
To Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby’s credit, this bout should be exciting for as long as it lasts.
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Janicic, who has a deceptively experienced record, is a striking-first fighter with opportunistic submissions in his back pocket. That said, I suspect that Janicic’s grappling will be tested by a more process-driven fighter like Gugnon.
So long as Gugnon can avoid being sucked into a dogfight on the feet, I believe that the Frenchman has superior wrestling and grappling. Should Gugnon get on top, the 25-year-old possesses solid ground and pound that can produce fight-ending damage.
The official pick is for Gugnon to force a stoppage via strikes in Round 2.
Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic UFC Fight Night 283 odds
Despite the oddsmakers opening the man from Montenegro as a big favorite, public money has pushed this fight to nearly pick’em odds, listing Gugnon -120 and Janicic +102 via FanDuel.
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Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic UFC Fight Night 283 start time, how to watch
As the main card opener, Gugnon and Janicic are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 1:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Noah Gugnon vs. Milos Janicic prediction, pick for UFC Fight Night 283
