Uros Medic headlines first UFC event in Serbia against Daniel Rodriguez at Belgrade Arena

Uros Medic will headline the first UFC event ever held in Serbia when he faces Daniel Rodriguez in a five-round welterweight bout at the Belgrade Arena on August 1. The UFC confirmed the matchup on Monday, alongside two additional fights for the card.

Medic (13-3) enters the main event on a three-fight winning streak, with all three victories coming in the first round. The most recent was a 79-second knockout of Geoff Neal in February, a performance that earned him a post-fight bonus. The Serbian fighter, currently ranked No. 14 at welterweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, will be competing in front of a home crowd for the first time at this level.

Rodriguez (20-5) also arrives on a three-fight winning streak, having beaten Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Kevin Holland consecutively. His return to competition is notable in itself: he spent eight months in a Mexican prison after being arrested at the border for marijuana possession while celebrating his win over Holland.

“I crossed the border to Mexico and I forgot I had a little bag of weed with me,” Rodriguez told The Ariel Helwani Show. “It was under an ounce and I got pulled over at the line, got checked, and the border patrol were tripping on the weed. I was thinking I was only going to be in there probably the weekend, maybe a little bit shorter, but the laws over there in Mexico are way different. They don’t play no games.”

“What I was thinking would turn into what was going to be a little weekend or maybe overnight turned into eight months,” he continued. “Smack in the prime of my career, that was it.”

Two further bouts were also confirmed for UFC Belgrade on Monday. Aleksandar Rakic (14-6), an Austrian-born fighter who represents Serbia, moves up from light heavyweight to take on Marcin Tybura (27-11) at heavyweight. Fellow Serbian Dusko Todorovic (13-6) will face Robert Valentin (11-6, 1 NC) in the third announced contest.