Last night (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, for UFC Belgrade. Though the card was centered around “The Doctor,” Uros Medic, in his home country debut, the UFC’s first visit to Serbia will be remembered for a wild run of finishes to start the night! There was no shortage of action in this entertaining event, which proved a lovely way to wake up for western fight fans.
Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and
highlight finishes of the evening:
D-Rod Dusted
Everybody knows Medic intends to destroy his opposition with the first punch of the fight — that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with!
Daniel Rodriguez showed up looking fit in his return and tried to establish his jab and low kick early on. That’s fundamentally sound, but the speed difference was too great. Less than 30 seconds into the fight, Rodriguez stepped forward to jab, and before he even let the punch loose from its chamber, Medic unleashed a three-punch combination. The opening left landed heavily on the jaw, and the next couple punches sent Rodriguez flying backward. “D-Rod” was hurt badly, and Medic jumped on him with ground strikes to secure the quick KO win.
Belgrade went absolutely wild in one of the most memorable moments of 2026.
Where does Medic go from here? He’s on quite the tear of quick knockouts, but he also hasn’t really proven that he’s solidified the grappling holes exposed in earlier UFC losses. As such, a Top 10 opponent who can test that aspect of his game feels appropriate, as we can then evaluate if Medic has truly developed into an elite title threat.
How about Sean Brady or Gabriel Bonfim?
Light Heavyweight’s New Contender
The 205-pound field is wide open. The champion is injured, most of the top contenders are stagnant, and half of the division has fled up to Heavyweight, which is somehow even weaker. The division is in a fairly dire state, but Navajo Stirling is an exception.
Stirling was an attractive pickup right away. A 6’4” former pro kickboxer training with City Kickboxing sure sounds like a recipe for UFC success. Though he won his first three UFC bouts, they never really left second gear, and Stirling didn’t show much aggression or finishing instinct in the process. A 3-0 start is undeniably good, but it was a bit underwhelming.
2026 has marked a level up for Stirling. After stopping both Bruno Lopes and Ion Cutelaba, Stirling just dispatched an actually good fighter via knockout! Jan Blachowicz may be shopworn at 43, but he’s still a remarkably tough out for most of the division. He hasn’t been knocked out since 2019, yet a Stirling 1-2 sat him down hard midway through the first.
It’s important to take a step back and realize this was only Stirling’s 11th pro MMA fight. He started this year at just 8-0. The 28-year-old Kiwi is just now getting settled into the sport, and his newfound confidence is allowing his skill to flourish and producing much more exciting results.
Stirling walks away from this win already in title contention, and the best is yet to come from this rising talent.
The Unexpected Rise Of Tofiq Musayev
Three fights into his UFC career, Tofiq Musayev is exceeding expectations.
Don’t get me wrong, serious fans knew Musayev well as an incredibly explosive and dangerous finisher. Sadly, it felt like Musayev’s best days were behind him by the time he signed with the UFC. He (arguably) peaked in 2019 when he won four fights over tough competition to win the RIZIN Lightweight Grand Prix, extending his win streak to 15. After a two year layoff, Musayev returned to lose two of his next three by finish, and he didn’t make his UFC debut until 2025 at the age of 35.
It all felt too late. Musayev was picked up solely because the UFC was heading to his home country of Azerbaijan, and his quick tap to Myktybek Orolbai at the first UFC Baku event seemed to confirm that he wasn’t long for the Lightweight ranks.
Instead, Musayev righted the ship! He went to war with Ignacio Bahamondes five months ago in an incredible fight that booted “La Jaula” from the 155-pound rankings and proved there was still gas left in the tank. Last night, he faced the battle-hardened Ludovit Klein in a highly anticipated matchup and once more demonstrated that Musayev has a lot left to offer.
Sometimes, high-level fights are decided by who finds the range first. In this case, Musayev found an early avenue to success in the form of clattering inside shin kicks. Those kicks hurt both men, but they effectively knocked Klein way out of his stance, limiting his ability to counter and allowing Musayev to explode forward with further swings.
By round two, Musayev’s initial wave of explosion had worn off a bit, and Klein found his way into the exchanges. Still, Musayev was ahead in terms of damage, and he didn’t need to find his distance. Even with Klein starting to land well, Musayev knew when to burst forward with a combination, because he could read Klein so effectively. As a result, his crushing right hand found the mark late in the second, hurting Klein and leaving him vulnerable to the followup flurry.
Defeating Bahamondes and Klein back-to-back is no joke! At 36, Musayev has earned his Top 15 ranking, and he deserves his chance to make a run at the top.
Brazil’s Next Star?
Michael Oliveira is something special.
“PQD” debuted last night on the undercard versus Oban Elliott, a solid Welterweight veteran with a good mix of skills. The Brazilian — who appears to be sculpted by the same stoneworker that crafted Yoel Romero from marble — was patient in his attack, feinting his way forward and calmly withdrawing away from Elliott’s combinations. As soon as he decided to unleash, his power made itself known: a snapping jab floored Elliott!
Oliveira’s vicious display of power was not a one-off event. He soon sent Elliott flying with a straight right, following up with a nasty series of ground strikes as Elliott desperately tried to flee for safety.
Young and electric, the former Brazilian paratrooper has the look of a star. I am slightly worried about whether the 6’1” slugger will continue to make the Welterweight cut for years to come without issue, but that’s a potential problem for tomorrow.
Additional Thoughts
- Robert Valentin defeats Dusko Todorovic via first-round guillotine: If you like silly grappling fun, this is the bout for you! Valentin vs. Todorovic was an aggressive collision of okay jiu-jitsu vs. okay wrestling. Valentin started off strong by reversing Todorovic with a high-elbow guillotine attempt. Then, after some control time, Valentin placed himself in a double leg along the fence and nearly got himself Von Flue choked by hanging onto the neck for too long. The scrambles continued with a big hip bridge, a switch, and eventually another guillotine choke — this one sealed the deal.
- Gilbert Urbina defeats Vlasto Cepo via first-round knockout: Cepo fought with way too much recklessness and nervous energy. He was incredibly sloppy in his initial surge of aggression, whereas Urbina kept his composure. In the face of wild swings, Urbina actually did really well to move his head and counter with intercepting knees and elbows. As Cepo started to lose a little steam from his own sprinting, Urbina clipped him with a jab and sent him to the canvas — that’s all she wrote! Though Cepo is known for brawling, the atmosphere of fighting in his home country for his UFC debut clearly made him a bit too eager.
- Noah Gugnon defeats Milos Janicic via first-round rear naked choke: Was the main card opener disappointing or impressive? That’s up for debate. Gugnon injured Janicic with the very first low kick he threw, and then the wobbly Janicic was hardly able to defend himself. It was effectively a flawless debut from the 25-year-old Swede, but we also didn’t get to see him tested. Conversely, we cannot judge Janicic too harshly, as the professional kickboxer with a 19-4 MMA record is not usually crippled by the first kick of the fight.
- Bogdan Grad defeats Dennis Buzukja via second-round arm triangle (highlights): It’s a shame when an entertaining fight ends with a lackluster finish. Grad lived up to his nonstop wrestler reputation in round one, spinning wildly then grinding away with takedowns. All that grappling slowed both men in round two, however, allowing Buzukja to get his boxing going and land some clean combinations. In the final minute of the second, Grad threw a right hand and rolled into a beautiful double leg along the fence — textbook MMA wrestling. From top position, he started attacking an arm triangle … and did Buzukja tap? Maybe! It was hard to tell whether Buzukja was simply trying to frame off the hip or pull off the infamous “Brazilian tap,” a half-hearted tap intended to trick the opponent into easing up pressure. Either way, the referee halted the contest, and we all know MMA commissions are unlikely to take any appeal seriously. Buzukja may be pissed, but the result will stand.
- Mateusz Rebecki defeats Kyle Prepolec via first-round knockout: It’s great to see Rebecki pick up a win without traveling to the seventh circle of Hell in the process. Rebecki is somewhat infamous for failing to utilize the proper game plan, but the Polish standout didn’t waste long before turning to his wrestling here. He ground Prepolec easily and straight up bullied the Canadian veteran on the canvas for the early finish. On that note: is there a better 0-5 UFC fighter than Prepolec? He’s a skilled striker, but no wins in two UFC stints is a rough run of luck.
- Nina Milosevic defeats Hailey Cowan via first-round knockout: How often do we see elite body punching in women’s MMA? Jessica Andrade is the only one who comes to mind, though she was guilty of head-hunting too much. In a single fight, Milosevic has already placed herself on that shortlist courtesy of two nasty straight rights to the breadbasket that folded her opponent. Women’s Bantamweight has been horribly stagnant in recent years, so it’s lovely to see a newcomer on the right side of 30 with finishing instincts make a successful debut.
- Jovan Leka defeats Alexander Poppeck via first-round knockout (highlights): Is it a bit of softball matchmaking to book a hometown Heavyweight against a 205-pounder? Of course. Still, Leka had to get the job done, and the massive 24-year-old did just that! Midway through the first round, Leka unleashed an absolutely ripping body kick that landed with the crack of a baseball bat. Poppeck crumbled, and the big boy division suddenly has a new prospect on its hands.
- Stephanie Luciano defeats Marina Spasic via first-round rear naked choke (highlights): Luciano looked sharp here against her debuting foe. Her jab was effective early, and then she timed a takedown well to move into mount. A few ground strikes convinced Spasic to turn her back, and that was a wrap! Now 3-1 in the Octagon, the 26-year-old Brazilian is starting to look like a solid Strawweight prospect.
