UFC Belgrade went down on August 1 at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, featuring a welterweight main event between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez. Medic defeated Rodriguez via first-round TKO.
The fight lasted barely 30 seconds, as Medic cracked Rodriguez before overwhelming him with a barrage of strikes to put the bout to bed — marking 10 first-round finishes on the night (12 finishes overall at UFC Belgrade [both new modern UFC event records) and four straight for “The Doctor.”
Medic vs. Rodriguez result
Welterweight: Uros Medic def. Daniel Rodriguez via TKO (Rd. 1, 0:30) — Rodriguez looked to keep distance and land leg kicks, but Medic was too pressure-filled and too quick. After cracking D-Rod with a punch, dropping him with an overhand left, Medic landed a soccer kick to the body before finishing Rodriguez with a barrage of strikes.
Co-main and main card results
Light Heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Jan Blachowicz via TKO (Rd. 1, 2:56) — After a clinch battle between the two, Blachowicz tagged Stirling, stumbling him. Stirling, however, answered with a one-two that dropped Blachowicz, finishing things with ground strikes. This fight gives UFC Belgrade a new modern UFC record for first-round finishes with nine.
Heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakic def. Marcin Tybura via unanimous decision (30-27 x3) — Rakic frustrated Tybura by using his range to keep distance while still connecting on his strikes. The action slowed in round three, but Rakic’s strong start allowed him to dominate the fight and sweep the scorecards.
Middleweight: Robert Valentin def. Dusko Todorovic via submission (guillotine choke) (Rd. 1, 4:14) — Valentin threatened with early high kicks and countered a Todorovic takedown attempt into a guillotine. Todorovic reversed while on the ground and threatened a Von Flue choke, but Valentin escaped it and got the guillotine back, scoring the submission.
Middleweight: Gilbert Urbina def. Vlasto Cepo via TKO (Rd. 1, 1:01) — Cepo came forward aggressively, but Urbina dropped him with a counter jab before finishing him with strikes to the grounded Cepo.
Lightweight: Noah Gugnon def. Milos Janicic via submission (rear-naked choke) (Rd. 1, 1:21) — After taking out Janicic’s leg with leg kicks, forcing him to the ground, Gugnon followed him there and quickly wrapped up a choke for the submission victory.
Prelim results
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev def. L’udovit Klein via TKO (Rd. 2, 4:07) — Musayev’s striking was on full display, working Klein over with combinations and pressure during the fight. In round two, Musayev rocked Klein, finishing Klein on the floor with some solid ground-and-pound.
Welterweight: Michael Oliveira def. Oban Elliott via TKO (Rd. 1, 1:49) — Oliveira clipped Elliott with a jab to knock him down, prompting follow-up strikes from Oliveira. Elliott looked for a takedown upon returning to his feet, but he was stuffed, then rocked again with a right hand, finished off quickly by Oliveira.
Bantamweight: Borislav Nikolic def. Mark Vologdin via unanimous decision (29-27 x3) — After Vologdin’s grappling gave him trouble in round one, Nikolic rallied over the course of two rounds, Nikolic’s boxing pressure and grappling allowed him to take over. After three back-and-forth rounds filled with knockdowns, takedowns, and submission attempts, Nikolic got the nod on all three judges’ scorecards.
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad def. Dennis Buzukja via submission (arm-triangle choke) (Rd. 2, 4:33) — Grad’s creative striking and wrestling helped him to a victory over Buzukja, but not without controversy over if Buzukja was tapping or simply trying to push on Grad’s leg. Buzukja immediately jumped up after referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight, claiming he did not tap.
Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki def. Kyle Prepolec via TKO (Rd. 1, 4:41) — Rebecki got the fight to the ground early and unleashed a barrage of ground-and-pound for most of the fight.
Women’s Bantamweight: Nina Nikolija Milosevic def. Hailey Cowan via TKO (Rd. 1, 3:41) — The right hand led to Milosevic making an impressive UFC debut. After denying Cowan’s takedown attempts, Milosevic broke Cowan down with her strikes.
Heavyweight: Jovan Leka def. Alexander Poppeck via TKO (Rd. 1, 2:22) — As both men looked to work their striking and feel each other out, Leka landed a sudden, hard kick to the liver, folding Poppeck.
Women’s Strawweight: Stephanie Luciano def. Marina Spasic via submission (rear-naked choke) (Rd. 1, 3:20) — Luciano and Spasic battled for control with their strikes early before Luciano dove in and secured a takedown, locking up a choke not long after.
