UFC Makes Historic Debut in Belgrade: Medić Headlines, Arena Sells Out in 20 Minutes
Historic event at Belgrade Arena features 14 fights, including regional stars Rakić, Todorović, Čepo, and Janičić.
Historic event at Belgrade Arena features 14 fights, including regional stars Rakić, Todorović, Čepo, and Janičić.
Today, August 1, 2026, Belgrade Arena hosts a historic UFC event, the first ever held in the Republic of Serbia. The organizer, the world's leading mixed martial arts organization, with support from the MMA Federation of Serbia and under the patronage of the Secretariat for Sports and Youth of the City of Belgrade, has prepared a spectacle featuring a total of 14 fights, as reported by Klix.ba.
Interest was immense. According to Kurir.rs, tickets for the Arena sold out in just 20 minutes. "The Arena sold out in 20 minutes; if it could hold 100,000 people, that many would have shown up," the Kurir report states, emphasizing that this is "without any doubt: the sporting event that will attract the most global attention today."
The main portion of the evening, which according to Klix.ba begins at 7:00 PM, features six fights. In the main event of the evening, in the welterweight division, Uroš Medić will face Daniel Rodriguez. In the co-main event, light heavyweight contenders Jan Blachowicz and Navaho Stirling will square off.
Fans of combat sports from the region will follow with particular interest the performances of Aleksandar Rakić, who competes in the heavyweight division against Marcin Tybura, as well as Duško Todorović (middleweight, against Robert Valentin) and Vlasto Čepo (middleweight, against Gilbert Urbina). In the lightweight division, Miloš Janičić will test his skills against Noah Gignon.
The preliminary card, starting at 4:00 PM, features eight more fights, according to Kurir.rs. Among them are regional fighters: Marina Spasić (against Stefani Luciano), Jovan Leka (against Aleksander Popek in the heavyweight division), Nina Milošević (against Hailey Cowan), and Borislav Nikolić (against Mark Vologdin). Klix.ba lists seven preliminary bouts, but Kurir.rs includes eight in its lineup, also featuring fights involving Ludovit Klein, Oban Elliott, Denis Buzukja, and Mateusz Rębecki.
As for viewing, Kurir.rs notes that the broadcast of the main fights on "TV Arena Sport" channels begins at 3:00 PM. Klix.ba, on the other hand, specifies that fans in Bosnia and Herzegovina can watch the entire spectacle on the TV Arena Fight channel, where a special studio show with guests Stefan Sekulić and Nikola Rupić starts at 1:00 PM, followed by the official UFC pre-show at 2:30 PM. The main card is also simulcast on TV Arena 1 Premium.
