7/30/26
The UFC visits Serbia for the first time in the company’s history, and a great night of fights will fill the Belgrade air on Saturday. The headliner is a ranked welterweight fight between two fighters who are on three-fight win streaks and look to break into the top ten rankings of the division. The other fights have former champions taking on promising prospects, young up-and-comers making a name for themselves, and Serbian fighters across the board performing in front of their home country. Here’s a look at the main card of UFC Belgrade.
Milos Janicic vs Noah Gugnon: Lightweight
Both fighters are making their UFC debut. Both have been climbing through the regional scene in Europe and have put together impressive careers so far. Milos Janicic is 19-3 and has more experience between the two. He is on a two-fight MMA win streak but has also been competing in custom rules bouts; including that, he is on a five-fight win streak. Noah Gugnon is 9-2 and has competed in a more well-known promotion in Bellator, even though he is 0-1 in the company. Again, Janicic has the experience, but Gugnon is young and hungry while also being a big first-round finisher. A massive opportunity for both fighters who will make their debut in the most skilled weight class in the UFC.
Vlasto Cepo vs Gilbert Urbina: Middleweight
Gilbert Urbina looks to return to the win column against Vlasto Cepo, who is making his UFC debut. Cepo is 14-3 in his career and on a three-fight win streak. All of his wins have been by finish, and he is 6-2 on Oktagon MMA, where a decent amount of fighters compete out of before they come to the UFC. He is a knockout artist with over 70% of his wins being by KO and looks to add one more to his resume against someone who has been battle tested in the UFC. Urbina is 7-4 in his career and 1-3 in the UFC. His last fight was actually a loss to Uros Medic who is the main event of this card. Urbina needs a win and will fight like it. He is currently on a two fight losing streak but a win would reignite his confidence as he looks to put together a resume in the company.
Dusko Todorovic vs Robert Valentin: Middleweight
Both fighters have been in the UFC for a while, although both have losing records in the promotion. Both are on one-fight win streaks though and one of these fighters will stretch their streak to two. Dusko Todorovic is 13-6 in his career and is 4-6 in the UFC. Robert Valetin is 11-6 in his career and 1-3 in the UFC. Both have had similar careers and have good experience against UFC-caliber fighters. Todorovic has a lot of power, with most of his wins coming by knockout, while Valentin is a grappler and a big submission threat. A classic striker vs grappler matchup and will surely be entertaining for the fans.
Aleksandar Rakic vs Marcin Tybura: Heavyweight
Two of the most experienced and battle-tested fighters in the division, and both have been ranked highly before, although Rakic has fallen out of the rankings. Rakic is 14-6 in his career and 6-5 in the UFC, with a majority of his fights being in the light heavyweight division, but he has moved up to heavyweight for this fight. 9 out of his 14 wins are by knockout, as he is a powerful striker who is lengthy and can keep distance well. The question is whether his power and durability can transfer to a weight class where he will be facing someone who will come in at 250 pounds. Rakic is also on a four-fight losing streak, and while three of them are to former champions, he needs this win.
Tybura, on the other hand, is 27-11 in his career and 14-10 in the UFC and has much more experience than Rakic. He is also on a losing streak, though, and wants to get back in the win column as well. He is currently the #12-ranked heavyweight in the world, and a win could get him a top ten fight in the division. He is also the more well-rounded fighter, as his wins are evenly split between knockouts, submissions, and decision wins. He has fought a lot of good heavyweights in his time, including champion Tom Aspinall, so he has a major advantage coming into this fight. He will be heavier and likely more durable than Rakic, which makes him the favorite to take this fight. Nonetheless, it will be a good bout between the two and could mix up the rankings.
Jan Blachowicz vs Navajo Sterling: Light Heavyweight
Former champion Jan Blachowicz returns to the octagon to face a major prospect in Navajo Sterling in a short-notice fight. Jan was originally supposed to fight Bogdan Guskov, but Guskov went on to fight Magomed Ankalaev due to Khalil Rountree getting injured, leaving Blachowicz without an opponent. Waiting for the opportunity was Navajo Sterling, who is the number 15-ranked fighter in the division and undefeated in his career at 10-0. This is a major step up for Sterling as he is fighting a current champion who is the #4-ranked light heavyweight in the world. Blachowicz, despite being on a four-fight losing streak (two losses, two draws), remains as dangerous as ever and is one of the most skilled fighters in the weight class.
A win for Sterling will change his career and would put him in the top seven rankings in the division, most likely. This would then put him in the mix for the belt, and although he is still far from an opportunity like that, it would bring him closer. It will be even more impressive because a few weeks ago this fight wasn’t a thing. Even if Sterling loses, it is not a loss to be disappointed in. He is fighting a former champ on short notice in a very skilled division. He might jump in the rankings if he puts on a good performance, even if he loses. It’s as close as he can get to a win-win situation: win, lose, or draw. The fight will be fun for the fans to watch and, in the end, could completely mix up the rankings in the light heavyweight division.
Uros Medic vs Daniel Rodriguez: Welterweight
The main event is a welterweight bout between the #14-ranked fighter, Uros Medic, and the #15-ranked fighter, Daniel Rodriguez. Medic is 13-3 in his career and 7-3 in the UFC, with 85% of his wins coming by way of knockout. He is a powerful striker in a division where powerful fighters generally reign supreme. He is looking for that top-ten opponent, but he has to go through Daniel Rodriguez first. Rodriguez is 20-5 in his career and 10-4 in the UFC who is another fighter that can put you out cold. He is on a three-fight winning streak, and despite not having fought in a year, he is more active than Medic. Medic’s last fight was in April of 2024, and the long layoff could cause issues for the Serbian.
This will be a fight that might not go the distance. Two powerful punchers who are prone to getting a little wild sometimes, especially Rodriguez, who fights like a street fighter but continues to beat good fighters. Many fans think this won’t make it out of the first two rounds. For Medic, though, he has his country behind him, which might give him a boost in adrenaline and could level him up. It will also be interesting to see if either fighter goes to the ground due to the danger that will be on the other side of the cage. This has the potential to be fireworks and a fight of the night contender as it main-events the first UFC to touch down in Serbia. All questions will be answered come Saturday, with an early start time in the States at 10:00 am.
