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Uros Medic ensured Saturday will be a night Serbian MMA won’t soon forget.
On an evening where the UFC established new records for the most total finishes (12) and first-round finishes (10) on a single event, Serbia’s Medic ended the festivities with the finest performance of his UFC career, knocking out Daniel Rodriguez in just 30 seconds to set off a raucous party inside the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
Medic (14-3) caught Rodriguez clean with a wicked left hand in the opening seconds, then downed the welterweight veteran with a follow-up combination and sealed the deal with a vicious salvo of strikes. Almost immediately after, the emotions poured out of Medic, 33, who is now tied for most first-round knockouts in UFC welterweight history (5).
“I just want to cry, man. I just want to cry,” Medic said post-fight. “I missed home so much. Nine years, it’s a long time. I left as a student, I was 22 years old, with a dream, and look where it got me.
“I have so many words, I don’t think we enough time tonight. With that being said, I’m going to cook the rest of this division. With you guys by my side, we’re going to bring the belt to Serbia.”
For Rodriguez (20-6), who entered the contest after spending eight months in a Tijuana jail cell on a marijuana possession rap following an arrest while on vacation just two weeks after his UFC 318 win over Kevin Holland, the disappointing performance snaps a three-fight win streak that had him pushing toward a top-10 UFC welterweight ranking.
A feast-or-famine fighter with a 100% finishing rate, Medic has now won four straight bouts with first-round stoppages after going 4-3 over his first seven UFC appearances.
“Listen, there’s guys [in the welterweight rankings] I would love to fight, guys like Carlos Prates. He’s way ahead of me in the division, but this would be the fight to remember,” Medic said. “I asked for Leon Edwards — I think he’s still in hiding. If he decides to come out of the hole he shoved himself into, I’ll be gladly next to knock him out.”
In the co-main event, light heavyweight up-and-comer Navajo Stirling (11-0) became the first man since 2021 to stop former champion Jan Blachowicz (29-12-2) without the judges’ help. The unbeaten City Kickboxing prospect floored Blachowicz early in the opening round with a right hand, then swarmed with punches and elbows to secure his biggest win yet at the 2:56 mark of Round 1.
If [Khalil] Rountree or [Paulo] Costa want to fight before the year ends, you know who to call — 1-800-I’m-gonna-whoop-that-ass,” Stirling said post-fight.
Check out complete UFC Belgrade results and highlights below.
Welterweight: Uros Medic def. Daniel Rodriguez via TKO (strikes) at :30 of R1 |
Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Jan Blachowicz via TKO (strikes) at 2:56 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakić def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight: Robert Valentin def. Dusko Todorovic via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:14 of R1 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Gilbert Urbina def. Vlasto Cepo via TKO (strikes) at 1:01 of R1 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Noah Gugnon def. Milos Janicic via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:21 of R1 | Watch finish
Preliminary card
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev def. Ludovit Klein via TKO (strikes) at 4:07 of R2 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Michael Oliveira def. Oban Elliott via TKO (strikes) at 1:49 of R2 | Watch finish
Bantamweight: Borislav Nikolic def. Mark Vologdin via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad def. Dennis Buzukja via submission (head-and-arm choke) at 4:33 of R2 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki def. Kyle Prepolec via TKO (strikes) at 4:41 of R1 | Watch finish
Women's bantamweight: Nina Milosevic def. Hailey Cowan via TKO (strikes) at 3:41 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Jovan Leka def. Alexander Poppeck via TKO (strikes) at 2:22 of R1 | Watch finish
Women's strawweight: Stephanie Luciano def. Marina Spasic via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:20 of R1 | Watch finish
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On an evening where the UFC established new records for the most total finishes (12) and first-round finishes (10) on a single event, Serbia’s Medic ended the festivities with the finest performance of his UFC career, knocking out Daniel Rodriguez in just 30 seconds to set off a raucous party inside the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
Medic (14-3) caught Rodriguez clean with a wicked left hand in the opening seconds, then downed the welterweight veteran with a follow-up combination and sealed the deal with a vicious salvo of strikes. Almost immediately after, the emotions poured out of Medic, 33, who is now tied for most first-round knockouts in UFC welterweight history (5).
“I just want to cry, man. I just want to cry,” Medic said post-fight. “I missed home so much. Nine years, it’s a long time. I left as a student, I was 22 years old, with a dream, and look where it got me.
“I have so many words, I don’t think we enough time tonight. With that being said, I’m going to cook the rest of this division. With you guys by my side, we’re going to bring the belt to Serbia.”
For Rodriguez (20-6), who entered the contest after spending eight months in a Tijuana jail cell on a marijuana possession rap following an arrest while on vacation just two weeks after his UFC 318 win over Kevin Holland, the disappointing performance snaps a three-fight win streak that had him pushing toward a top-10 UFC welterweight ranking.
A feast-or-famine fighter with a 100% finishing rate, Medic has now won four straight bouts with first-round stoppages after going 4-3 over his first seven UFC appearances.
“Listen, there’s guys [in the welterweight rankings] I would love to fight, guys like Carlos Prates. He’s way ahead of me in the division, but this would be the fight to remember,” Medic said. “I asked for Leon Edwards — I think he’s still in hiding. If he decides to come out of the hole he shoved himself into, I’ll be gladly next to knock him out.”
In the co-main event, light heavyweight up-and-comer Navajo Stirling (11-0) became the first man since 2021 to stop former champion Jan Blachowicz (29-12-2) without the judges’ help. The unbeaten City Kickboxing prospect floored Blachowicz early in the opening round with a right hand, then swarmed with punches and elbows to secure his biggest win yet at the 2:56 mark of Round 1.
If [Khalil] Rountree or [Paulo] Costa want to fight before the year ends, you know who to call — 1-800-I’m-gonna-whoop-that-ass,” Stirling said post-fight.
Check out complete UFC Belgrade results and highlights below.
Main card
Welterweight: Uros Medic def. Daniel Rodriguez via TKO (strikes) at :30 of R1 |
Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Jan Blachowicz via TKO (strikes) at 2:56 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakić def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight: Robert Valentin def. Dusko Todorovic via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:14 of R1 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Gilbert Urbina def. Vlasto Cepo via TKO (strikes) at 1:01 of R1 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Noah Gugnon def. Milos Janicic via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:21 of R1 | Watch finish
Preliminary card
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev def. Ludovit Klein via TKO (strikes) at 4:07 of R2 | Watch finish
Welterweight: Michael Oliveira def. Oban Elliott via TKO (strikes) at 1:49 of R2 | Watch finish
Bantamweight: Borislav Nikolic def. Mark Vologdin via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad def. Dennis Buzukja via submission (head-and-arm choke) at 4:33 of R2 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki def. Kyle Prepolec via TKO (strikes) at 4:41 of R1 | Watch finish
Women's bantamweight: Nina Milosevic def. Hailey Cowan via TKO (strikes) at 3:41 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Jovan Leka def. Alexander Poppeck via TKO (strikes) at 2:22 of R1 | Watch finish
Women's strawweight: Stephanie Luciano def. Marina Spasic via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:20 of R1 | Watch finish
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