3 months ago
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is live THIS MORNING (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) with UFC Belgrade, streaming live online via Paramount+. The event happens inside Beogradska Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. This is the promotion's first-ever trip to the Balkans. Uros Medic vs. Daniel Rodriguez serves as our main event today.
Medic — from nearby Novi Sad, Serbia — gets his first UFC main event slot here. He's earned it with blistering finishes over Geoff Neal (see that here), Muslim Salikhov (that one here) and Gilbert Urbina (re-live that here). The combined time of those fights is less than four minutes. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is coming off a grueling win over Kevin Holland; however, he's been held out for sometime because of legal issues (which saw him stuck in a Mexican jail for eight months).
The co-main event is Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling. Blachowicz was scheduled to face Bogdan Guskov, before Guskov was needed in Abi Dhabi last weekend. Stirling comes in on short notice, just a month removed from his win over Ion Cutelaba.
The rest of the main card is a "Balkans vs. The World" theme with Aleksandar Rakic vs. Marcin Tybura, Dusko Todorovic vs. Robert Valentin, Vlasto Cepo vs. Gilbert Urbina and Milos Janicic vs. Noah Gugnon.
The "Prelims" are headlined by Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev. Mateusz Rebecki (a walking "Fight of the Night") also makes an appearance. He's facing Kyle Prepolec. Other notable fights on the undercard include Oban Elliott vs. Michael Oliveira and Bogdan Grad vs. Dennis Buzukja.
#gilbert
Medic — from nearby Novi Sad, Serbia — gets his first UFC main event slot here. He's earned it with blistering finishes over Geoff Neal (see that here), Muslim Salikhov (that one here) and Gilbert Urbina (re-live that here). The combined time of those fights is less than four minutes. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is coming off a grueling win over Kevin Holland; however, he's been held out for sometime because of legal issues (which saw him stuck in a Mexican jail for eight months).
The co-main event is Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling. Blachowicz was scheduled to face Bogdan Guskov, before Guskov was needed in Abi Dhabi last weekend. Stirling comes in on short notice, just a month removed from his win over Ion Cutelaba.
The rest of the main card is a "Balkans vs. The World" theme with Aleksandar Rakic vs. Marcin Tybura, Dusko Todorovic vs. Robert Valentin, Vlasto Cepo vs. Gilbert Urbina and Milos Janicic vs. Noah Gugnon.
The "Prelims" are headlined by Ludovit Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev. Mateusz Rebecki (a walking "Fight of the Night") also makes an appearance. He's facing Kyle Prepolec. Other notable fights on the undercard include Oban Elliott vs. Michael Oliveira and Bogdan Grad vs. Dennis Buzukja.
#gilbert
3 months ago
Aleksandar Rakic got his first win in more than five years at UFC Fight Night 283, and did so as a heavyweight for the first time.
Rakic (14-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) made a successful transition up from 205 pounds on Saturday when he outworked divisional veteran Marcin Tybura (27-12 MMA, 14-11 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision win by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27 at Belgrade Arena in Serbia.
After Serbian fighters went 0-3 to start the main card, Rakic put his home country on the win column with a methodical striking performance.
Rakic, 34, came out throwing high volume against Tybura, who stayed and fought from inside the pocket. Rakic slowed down a bit as the contest wore on, but remained focused and stayed out of danger while delivering damage on his Polish foes legs and head.
The result brought an end to a four-fight losing skid for Rakic and marked his first time getting his hand raised since March 2021. Tybura, meanwhile, has dropped his past three.
#rakic #tybura #first #aleksandar
Rakic (14-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) made a successful transition up from 205 pounds on Saturday when he outworked divisional veteran Marcin Tybura (27-12 MMA, 14-11 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision win by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27 at Belgrade Arena in Serbia.
After Serbian fighters went 0-3 to start the main card, Rakic put his home country on the win column with a methodical striking performance.
Rakic, 34, came out throwing high volume against Tybura, who stayed and fought from inside the pocket. Rakic slowed down a bit as the contest wore on, but remained focused and stayed out of danger while delivering damage on his Polish foes legs and head.
The result brought an end to a four-fight losing skid for Rakic and marked his first time getting his hand raised since March 2021. Tybura, meanwhile, has dropped his past three.
#rakic #tybura #first #aleksandar
3 months ago
Aleksandar Rakic and Marcin Tybura meet on the UFC Fight Night 283 main card Saturday at Belgrade Arena in Serbia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie ***** yst Dan Tom.
Last event's results: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2026: 79-42-1
Rakic (14-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) aims to end the roughest stretch of his pro career, as he comes in on a four-fight skid. Three former champions have handed him losses on this unfortunate streak, including Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Magomed Ankalaev. Rakic's last win was a unanimous decision over Thiago Santos at UFC 259 in March 2021.
Tybura (27-11 MMA, 14-10 UFC) is also in need of a win after dropping back-to-back fights against Ante Delija and Tyrell Fortune. His last win was a unanimous nod against Mick Parkin last March.
#last #tybura #march #unanimous
Last event's results: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2026: 79-42-1
Rakic (14-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) aims to end the roughest stretch of his pro career, as he comes in on a four-fight skid. Three former champions have handed him losses on this unfortunate streak, including Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Magomed Ankalaev. Rakic's last win was a unanimous decision over Thiago Santos at UFC 259 in March 2021.
Tybura (27-11 MMA, 14-10 UFC) is also in need of a win after dropping back-to-back fights against Ante Delija and Tyrell Fortune. His last win was a unanimous nod against Mick Parkin last March.
#last #tybura #march #unanimous
3 months ago
Jan Blachowicz and Navajo Stirling meet in the UFC Fight Night 283 co-feature Saturday at Belgrade Arena in Serbia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie ******* yst Dan Tom.
Last event's results: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2026: 79-42-1
Blachowicz (29-11-2 MMA, 12-8-2 UFC) is hunting for his first win since May 2022, which came against Aleksandar Rakic. Since then, the former champion has recorded two losses and two draws. His last fight was a majority draw against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 323 in December.
Stirling (10-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) puts his undefeated record on the line against a former ******* leholder in his third fight of the year. He has finished his last two opponents, stopping Bruno Lopes and Ion Cutelaba both in the second round in March and June, respectively.
#last #former #night #saturday
Last event's results: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2026: 79-42-1
Blachowicz (29-11-2 MMA, 12-8-2 UFC) is hunting for his first win since May 2022, which came against Aleksandar Rakic. Since then, the former champion has recorded two losses and two draws. His last fight was a majority draw against Bogdan Guskov at UFC 323 in December.
Stirling (10-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) puts his undefeated record on the line against a former ******* leholder in his third fight of the year. He has finished his last two opponents, stopping Bruno Lopes and Ion Cutelaba both in the second round in March and June, respectively.
#last #former #night #saturday
3 months ago
JanBlachowicz's journey back to ******* le contention has taken anotherunexpected turn.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight ******* leholderwas originally slated to rematch BogdanGuskov at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia. However, those plans changedwhen Guskov was offered the UFC Abu Dhabi main event spot against MagomedAnkalaev following KhalilRountree's withdrawal.
As such, Blachowicz (29-11-2) will now square off against NavajoStirling in the new co-main event in Belgrade and the Polishveteran is unfazed by the change.
After Guskov accepted the short-notice bout against Ankalaev,Blachowicz was paired with Stirling. The former champion insistslittle has changed in his preparation.
"I am doing this all my life," Blachowicz said in a recentinterview. "It's a new opponent. I have a lot of respect for him,but it's just another fighter who I have to stop. I don't thinkabout this mess around because I don't want to waste energy forthat. Okay, it's a new opponent; that's it. We do small changes andwe are here to win the fight against him, or a different opponentdoesn't matter."
The upcoming matchup gives Blachowicz an opportunity to halt thelongest winless stretch of his UFC tenure. He has gone fourstraight outings without a victory and is coming off a majoritydraw against Guskov this past December. His last win came all theway back in May 2022 when he defeated AleksandarRakic.
He'll have his work cut out for him against the surging Stirling,who boasts a perfect 10-0 record.
#main #opponent
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight ******* leholderwas originally slated to rematch BogdanGuskov at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia. However, those plans changedwhen Guskov was offered the UFC Abu Dhabi main event spot against MagomedAnkalaev following KhalilRountree's withdrawal.
As such, Blachowicz (29-11-2) will now square off against NavajoStirling in the new co-main event in Belgrade and the Polishveteran is unfazed by the change.
After Guskov accepted the short-notice bout against Ankalaev,Blachowicz was paired with Stirling. The former champion insistslittle has changed in his preparation.
"I am doing this all my life," Blachowicz said in a recentinterview. "It's a new opponent. I have a lot of respect for him,but it's just another fighter who I have to stop. I don't thinkabout this mess around because I don't want to waste energy forthat. Okay, it's a new opponent; that's it. We do small changes andwe are here to win the fight against him, or a different opponentdoesn't matter."
The upcoming matchup gives Blachowicz an opportunity to halt thelongest winless stretch of his UFC tenure. He has gone fourstraight outings without a victory and is coming off a majoritydraw against Guskov this past December. His last win came all theway back in May 2022 when he defeated AleksandarRakic.
He'll have his work cut out for him against the surging Stirling,who boasts a perfect 10-0 record.
#main #opponent
