Serbia’s own Uros Medic headlines the first-ever UFC card held in his native country on Aug. 1, when he takes on Daniel Rodriguez in a five-round welterweight showdown at the Belgrade Arena.
The UFC announced the pairing Monday.
Medic (13-3) makes his 11th walk to the octagon riding a three-fight winning streak. All of his wins during this stretch have come in the first round, including his bonus-winning 79-second knockout over Geoff Neal this past February.
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“The Doctor” is currently No. 14 at 170 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
Rodriguez (20-5) has also won his past three in the UFC against Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kevin Holland, and re-enters the cage after spending eight months in a Mexican prison after being arrested at the border for possession of marijuana while celebrating his win over Holland.
“I crossed the border to Mexico and I forgot I had a little bag of weed with me,” Rodriguez told The Ariel Helwani Show. “It was under an ounce and I got pulled over at the line, got checked, and the border patrol were tripping on the weed. I was thinking I was only going to be in there probably the weekend, maybe a little bit shorter, but the laws over there in Mexico are way different. They don’t play no games.
“What I was thinking would turn into what was going to be a little weekend or maybe overnight turned into eight months. Smack in the prime of my career, that was it.”
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Two other bouts were also officially announced Monday, with longtime light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakic (14-6), an Austrian native who represents Serbia, moving up to heavyweight to fight Marcin Tybura (27-11), and fellow Serbian Dusko Todorovic (13-6) taking on Robert Valentin (11-6, 1 NC).
