Uros Medic to headline Serbia's first-ever UFC event

UFC welterweight No. 14 "The Doctor" Uros Medic (33, Serbia) will face No. 15 Daniel Rodriguez (39, United States) at the first UFC event ever held in Serbia.

The UFC will stage "UFC Fight Night: Medic vs. Rodriguez" at the Belgrade Arena on Sunday (Korean Standard Time). For the historic first Serbia card, Serbian native Uros Medic (13-3) will headline the main event.

Medic was born in Budisava in northern Serbia and began training judo at age 4, later adding kickboxing as he grew older. He came to the United States at 20 through a work-travel program and built a life there working as a jiu-jitsu coach. Sunday's main event will be the first time he has competed in front of fans in his home country.

"I haven't visited my country in nine years, and now I'm fighting a five-round main event in front of a home crowd — of course I feel the pressure," Medic said. "Coming back to my homeland after nine years, bringing a UFC event with me and headlining it — that's a really great story." He added that he might get a little emotional. "This fight means a lot to me, my family, my friends and all of Serbia," he said. "I'm going to put on the best performance I've ever shown."

Medic's opponent is UFC veteran Daniel Rodriguez (20-5). Rodriguez, who spent his youth street fighting, had no formal sports background when he began training boxing and MMA in his mid-20s. He joined the UFC at 33 in 2020 and has gone 10-4 inside the organization. A three-fight winning streak has showcased his late-blooming talent.

"Rodriguez is a veteran who has been around for a long time and has an amazing career," Medic said. "He fought big names like Ian Machado Garry, Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzinibbio. He's a tough guy, so this is going to be a real challenge — not a walk in the park."

Medic promised a knockout for the home fans. "My goal is always to put on a great performance and then move into the top 10, top 5 of the division," he said. "Someone is going to get knocked out, and in this fight it's going to be Rodriguez."

The co-main event features former UFC light heavyweight champion and current No. 4 Jan Blachowicz (43, Poland) against unbeaten No. 15 prospect Navajo Stirling (28, New Zealand), who carries a 10-0 record. Stirling steps in as a replacement for Bogdan Guskov, who had been inserted as a last-minute substitute in last week's main event.

Blachowicz (29-2-11) has gone winless for more than four years since May 2022, posting two draws and two losses in that span. He is looking to silence the unbeaten prospect and challenge for the divisional title again. Stirling aims to take down a former champion and cement a top-5 ranking.

Meanwhile, the undercard features "The Welsh Gangster" Ovan Elliott (28, Wales) — who visited South Korea in May for a fan signing event — against unbeaten prospect "PQD" Michael Oliveira (28, Brazil), who holds a 9-0 record. Elliott (12-4) lost to "Technical" Ko Seok-hyun last June, then became friends with him and traveled to South Korea to train alongside "Stun Gun" Kim Dong-hyun and others.

"I visited Korea at Kim Dong-hyun's invitation and held a training camp at Havas MMA," Elliott said. "Their help was huge in preparing for this comeback." He added that he had fallen in love with the country. "Every time I stepped out of my accommodation, Korean fans recognized me on the street and greeted me," he said, promising to return.