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
We at Sherdog provide regular, in-depth preview coverage for allmajor events, including our oft-praised preview column along withour "Sheehan Show" handling all sorts of related matters includingbetting. With those official sources for picks handled, we wouldlike to take the edge off here and get a bit lighter with one finalbreakdown.
The industry of sports betting is exploding before our very eyes,with billions of dollars pumping in since legalization stateside.Oftentimes, those driving the lines are right on the money withtheir openings, valuations and ***** yses. Occasionally, they are wayoff, or otherwise merit some additional conversation. That is wherewe come in with this reinvigorated series of Prime Picks, where,swiping a line from game show host Sam Reich, we hold hands andjump into the abyss together for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's maiden voyageto Serbia on Saturday. Try it out.
JanBlachowicz (+260)
OR
MarcinTybura (+280)
Why Not Both Total: (+1268)
First off, we are not suggesting that one should go out on a limbfor both Blachowicz and Tybura, but rather that one should choosetheir poison. The most daring, optimistic bettors might be temptedto throw a few bucks on the flier, but we see that as just a way topad the betting company's bank account. One or the other, however,could pull off the upset as elder statesmen in their respectivedivisions of light heavyweight and heavyweight. The "fightinguncle" movement is still very much in play.
Having turned 43 in February, former champ Blachowicz isunquestionably on the tail end of his UFC career. The last time hewon a fight, GloverTeixeira held the belt in their weight class and future starPaddyPimblett just picked up his second win under the UFC banner.There is an age cliff that every athlete encounters, and thatincludes Yoel Romeroeven as he draws Darren Tillsoon without gloves on. With that gloom-and-doom surrounding thePolish vet's tenure out in the open, there are still ample ways hecan pick up the win. After all, if a top-10 BogdanGuskov—whom he drew with in December—is the worst loss he hassuffered in that stretch, who is to say how "washed" he is againstburgeoning talent?
Blachowicz is an equal opportunity finisher despite his reputationof "Polish Power," with that expectation looming so large that mostforget he posts an equal number of subs to knockouts. It has notbeen since 2018 that he landed one, and it is not the implicationthat he will put NavajoStirling in danger with offensive submission grappling, butrather that he has demonstrated a wherewithal in the field to addanother wrinkle to his game. Additionally, Blachowicz serves ***** neakily effective takedown artist, practically shutting downIsraelAdesanya in a performance that at the time seemed shockingwhile in hindsight might have been predictable. Blachowicz canspoil the record of the unbeaten upstart in a variety of ways, aslong as he does not keep his chin on the proverbial gunnery rangehoping to s
The industry of sports betting is exploding before our very eyes,with billions of dollars pumping in since legalization stateside.Oftentimes, those driving the lines are right on the money withtheir openings, valuations and ***** yses. Occasionally, they are wayoff, or otherwise merit some additional conversation. That is wherewe come in with this reinvigorated series of Prime Picks, where,swiping a line from game show host Sam Reich, we hold hands andjump into the abyss together for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's maiden voyageto Serbia on Saturday. Try it out.
JanBlachowicz (+260)
OR
MarcinTybura (+280)
Why Not Both Total: (+1268)
First off, we are not suggesting that one should go out on a limbfor both Blachowicz and Tybura, but rather that one should choosetheir poison. The most daring, optimistic bettors might be temptedto throw a few bucks on the flier, but we see that as just a way topad the betting company's bank account. One or the other, however,could pull off the upset as elder statesmen in their respectivedivisions of light heavyweight and heavyweight. The "fightinguncle" movement is still very much in play.
Having turned 43 in February, former champ Blachowicz isunquestionably on the tail end of his UFC career. The last time hewon a fight, GloverTeixeira held the belt in their weight class and future starPaddyPimblett just picked up his second win under the UFC banner.There is an age cliff that every athlete encounters, and thatincludes Yoel Romeroeven as he draws Darren Tillsoon without gloves on. With that gloom-and-doom surrounding thePolish vet's tenure out in the open, there are still ample ways hecan pick up the win. After all, if a top-10 BogdanGuskov—whom he drew with in December—is the worst loss he hassuffered in that stretch, who is to say how "washed" he is againstburgeoning talent?
Blachowicz is an equal opportunity finisher despite his reputationof "Polish Power," with that expectation looming so large that mostforget he posts an equal number of subs to knockouts. It has notbeen since 2018 that he landed one, and it is not the implicationthat he will put NavajoStirling in danger with offensive submission grappling, butrather that he has demonstrated a wherewithal in the field to addanother wrinkle to his game. Additionally, Blachowicz serves ***** neakily effective takedown artist, practically shutting downIsraelAdesanya in a performance that at the time seemed shockingwhile in hindsight might have been predictable. Blachowicz canspoil the record of the unbeaten upstart in a variety of ways, aslong as he does not keep his chin on the proverbial gunnery rangehoping to s
