I didn’t find the UFC Belgrade main event between Uros Medic vs. Daniel Rodriguez particularly compelling ahead of time.
It wasn’t the most highly ranked collision on the card (that would be Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling), and while it promised action, it didn’t feel like a guaranteed technical slugfest like “Prelims” headliner Tofiq Musayev vs. Ludovit Klein. Medic entered his first main event on a nice three-fight win streak, but anyone looking at his recent record honestly would be forced
to admit he’s building hype off older fighters on the downward trend. His foil “D-Rod,” meanwhile, spent most of a year in a Mexican prison leading up to this bout … which is compelling, but not necessarily in the sporting sense. All of this is to say it was a perfectly fine fight but didn’t read like a main event to me.
I’m extremely happy to be wrong.
Medic didn’t just win. He didn’t just find a quick knockout or end the night on a positive note. From his walkout to the performance and then into the post-fight speech, Medic created one of the year’s most memorable combat moments, elevating his own star in the process.
After a difficult start to the main card that saw several local athletes finished in quick and/or embarrassing fashion, the Belgrade crowd was desperate for Medic to pull through. The desire and intensity was palpable as Medic made his way into the cage.
The performance, of course, was flawless. Within 30 seconds, Medic stunned Rodriguez with a hellacious combination of punches that sent him flying. As he chased Rodriguez to the floor, Medic managed to rip a soccer kick to the belly before pounding away and forcing the finish — a nice little sample of the nastiness that makes “The Doctor” such a cold-blooded killer.
As soon as the referee moved in to save Rodriguez, the crowd quite literally exploded. There was smoke and flashes of fire throughout the stands and up in the rafters. A booming refrain of “UROS MEDIC” echoed throughout the arena. It was the kind of response generally reserved for Conor McGregor and other megastars, instead showered upon Welterweight’s No. 14-ranked contender.
The crowd continued to cheer as Medic recounted his near-decade away from home and detailed how much the moment meant to him. I’m not Serbian nor am I sold on Medic’s championship potential, but when he promised to bring the belt back to Serbia … I believed him!
Bringing Medic to his home country and giving him a main event opportunity paid off beautifully, turning what should have been just another Welterweight slugfest into a memorable event. Between the bevy of finishes and standout finale, UFC Belgrade is suddenly notable and will be remembered at the end of the year.
There’s no reason the UFC cannot line up fights like this more often. Imagine if Manel Kape had rallied late to knock out Kyoji Horiguchi inside the Saitama Super Arena in front of 30,000 Japanese fans rather than in the uncaring Apex — that’s how moments are created, stars are built, and sports are carried.
For complete UFC Belgrade results and play-by-play, click here.
