Rookie Report Card: Grading all Octagon newcomers UFC Belgrade post-mortem

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

NINE rookies stepped into the Octagon yesterday (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) at UFC Belgrade inside Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Collectively, the newcomers went 5-4, with most of them either finishing opponents in the first round or getting finished themselves.

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Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:

Vlasto Cepo

Vlasto Cepo entered UFC riding a two-fight win streak as a longtime Oktagon MMA veteran. but unfortunately, his debut went horribly wrong.

Cepo and Gilbert Urbina went from 0 to 100 immediately, with Cepo throwing bombs from the opening bell. He landed one good right hand early, but then continued swinging with his chin straight up in the air.

And he paid for it.

Urbina popped him with a power jab that sent him crashing to the canvas, then pounced with follow-up punches to finish the fight in just one minute (watch highlights).

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Whew … what a disaster debut for Cepo.

He entered as a -355 favorite and got slept by a fighter who was 1-3 in UFC. This was supposed to be a showcase fight for Cepo, and instead, he got showcased.

If he cannot beat Urbina, who was moving back up to Middleweight, it is tough to see Cepo having a long UFC career. He will probably be involved in some fun fights because he owns a 100 percent finish rate with 10 knockouts and four submissions, all in the first round.

But long term? He may end up on more highlight reels than he creates.

For his next fight, give me Cepo vs. Zach Reese.

Final grade: F

Milos Janicic & Noah Gugnon

The matchmakers knew exactly what they were doing when they put Lightweight prospects Milos Janicic and Noah Gugnon together: Violence.

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And it delivered for as long as it lasted … Kind of.

Janicic appeared to badly hurt — or possibly break — his foot on the first kick he threw after it slammed into Gugnon’s elbow. That was basically the beginning of the end for the Serbian fan favorite.

Gugnon did not waste time, and he followed Janicic to the ground, took advantage of the injury and strangled him in just 90 seconds.

It is tough to take too much away from both of their debuts because the injury changed everything almost immediately, but Gugnon did exactly what he was supposed to do. He stayed composed, recognized the opening and finished the fight without letting Janicic off the hook.

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That matters.

I would not be opposed to UFC running this one back, maybe this time on Gugnon’s turf at UFC Paris.

Gugnon finale grade: A
Janicic final grade: F

Michael Oliveira

At long last, Michael Oliveira, who is basically carved out of stone, made his highly anticipated UFC debut against Oban Elliott, and it was a quick night.

Elliott landed a few right hands early, but within the first minute, Oliveira dropped him with a jab. From that moment on, it never felt like Elliott fully recovered.

A few seconds later, Oliveira cracked Elliott with a right hand, dropped him again and pounced with follow-up shots until the referee pulled him off (watch highlights).

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Coming off season nine of Contender Series, Oliveira was one of the most impressive UFC signings and looked like one of the highest-ceiling prospects from that class. He is built like a Brazilian god, has nasty power, is technical enough to set up his big shots and appears to have solid takedown defense.

The big question is how much longer he can make and stay at Welterweight as he is massive.

But until that day comes, Oliveira is going to be a serious problem at 170 pounds. I cannot wait to see him fight again.

Oliveira revealed that he wants to step in and face Chidi Njokuani at UFC 330.

I’m insanely down.

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Final grade: A+

Borislav Nikolic

Borislav Nikolic entered the Octagon as the BRAVE Bantamweight champion, riding a six-fight win streak and carrying some hype because of his 94 percent finish rate. Oh, and he took the fight on eight days’ notice.

Nikolic came rushing after Mark Vologdin to start the fight and immediately got dropped with a left hook before eating knees in the clinch. It was a rough opening sequence, but Nikolic survived and slowly started to settle in. He went to work with leg kicks, jabs and even landed a takedown before the round ended with Vologdin scoring a takedown of his own.

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Nikolic again started Round 2 aggressively, charging after Vologdin. He was taken down within the first minute and nearly caught in a choke, but Vologdin scrambled wrong, allowing Nikolic to end up on top.

From there, Nikolic had a much better round, pressuring Vologdin and landing crisp strikes.

Then came Round 3, which was easily Nikolic’s best frame.

The Serbian dropped Vologdin twice and nearly finished him with a knee. Vologdin did manage to land another takedown, but Nikolic reversed it straight into a tight guillotine. He eventually gave up the choke and unloaded nasty ground-and-pound that almost ended the fight.

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Ultimately, Nikolic won a unanimous decision.

It was a great debut and Bantamweight rocks.

Nikolic had to battle through real adversity early, but he fought back and showed UFC fans that he is going to be must-watch television. He is wild, aggressive, and constantly looking to finish.

Give me Nikolic vs. Hecher Sosa next.

Final grade: A-

Nina Milosevic

Riding an impressive eight-fight win streak, Serbia’s Nina Milosevic got the call to the big show and she delivered.

Milosevic and Hailey Cowan went to battle immediately, with both women landing power shots during a chaotic three-minute fight. But Milosevic eventually found the target that mattered most: The body.

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The 29-year-old landed a crushing shot to Cowan’s solar plexus that stopped her in her tracks. Cowan tried to fight back, but Milosevic landed one more body shot, and that was enough to force the finish.

Milosevic is an excellent addition to a lackluster Bantamweight division, even if she did beat arguably the worst fighter in the weight class. She has very good striking, throws with real intent and has grappling if she needs it.

That is enough to make her interesting.

I would love to see Milosevic take on Melissa Croden, who is Cowan’s good friend and training partner, later this year at UFC Edmonton.

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Final grade: A

Jovan Leka & Alexander Poppeck

After a terrible Contender Series fight last year, Jovan Leka got busy on the regional scene, rattling off three straight finish wins to earn a call to the big show.

This time, he made the most of it.

Leka took on short-notice replacement Alexander Poppeck, and the size difference was obvious. Poppeck started with feints, low kicks and combinations, but it only took Leka around two minutes to find the kill shot.

Leka ripped a brutal liver kick that dropped Poppeck, then pounced with follow-up shots until the referee pulled him off (watch highlights).

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It was a perfect debut.

Leka completely redeemed himself from Contender Series and showed why UFC was willing to take another look. He is young, only 24 years old, talented, big, and competing in a Heavyweight division that badly needs fresh names.

He probably is not going to be a future champion, but he has the tools to stick around for a long time — think a solid, long Marcin Tybura-type UFC career.

For his second outing, Leka should be rebooked against Max Gimenis.

Final grade: A+

Nothing but props to Alexander Poppeck for stepping in on short notice to fight Leka.

That said, this went exactly how it probably should have gone.

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Poppeck was obviously undersized, coming in at 215 pounds while Leka weighed 262. That is an enormous gap, and it showed almost immediately once Leka landed clean.

Since losing to Jamahal Hill on season three of Contender Series, Poppeck has put together a solid career and really found his stride in Oktagon MMA. He is violent and fun, and I am looking forward to seeing him return to Light Heavyweight.

I like Ibo Aslan for his second UFC opponent.

Final grade: F

Marina Spasic

Marina Spasic started her UFC debut on fire.

Until she did not.

The 32-year-old was aggressive early, marching down Stephanie Luciano and landing just about everything she threw. She connected with solid combinations, sharp 1-2s, and looked like she might overwhelm Luciano with pressure.

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The problem?

Her chin was way up in the air.

Halfway through the round, Luciano finally started firing back and cracked Spasic. Then, Luciano had enough of the striking exchanges, took Spasic down, and strangled her almost immediately (watch highlights).

Rough.

Spasic felt like she only got signed because UFC wanted to fill out the card with as many Serbian fighters as possible. That became even more obvious considering she entered the promotion off just one win.

Still, she does have an 86 percent finish rate with six knockouts, so maybe she can produce some fun chaos if matched correctly.

But do I foresee a long UFC career?

Not really.

Give her Shauna Bannon in her second outing.

Final grade: F

For complete UFC Belgrade results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.