Event Overview
UFC Fight Night: Medic vs. Rodriguez takes place on Saturday 1 August 2026 at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. The event marks the UFC’s debut in Serbia and is the latest in the promotion’s expanding European calendar for 2026.
Main Event: Medic vs Rodriguez
Uroš Medic and Daniel Rodriguez meet in a welterweight main event that places local hero Medic in front of what will be one of the most passionate home crowds in recent UFC European history. Medic, who has built a consistent UFC record since joining the promotion, carries the significance of competing in his home country for the first time as a UFC headliner. Rodriguez, a hard-nosed veteran of the 170-pound division, brings a straightforward, power-based game built on calculated pressure and arrives as a dangerous opponent for any welterweight in the rankings.
The home-crowd factor makes this a genuinely compelling psychological matchup. A win for Medic on Serbian soil would represent one of the defining moments of his career, while Rodriguez will be looking to use the occasion as a platform to advance his own case at welterweight.
Notable Undercard Bouts
The card is loaded with European and Balkans-region fighters to reflect the local market. Ante Delija faces Johnny Walker in a heavyweight contest with significant ranking implications. Aleksandar Rakic, the Serbian light heavyweight who has been one of the most closely watched fighters in the 205-pound division, returns against Marcin Tybura in a heavyweight bout that adds further local interest to the night. Middleweight bouts featuring Dusko Todorovic vs Robert Valentin and Vlasto Cepo vs Gilbert Urbina add depth across the card, while Ludovit Klein meets Tofiq Musayev at lightweight in a fight with divisional stakes.
Historic Significance
The UFC’s arrival in Belgrade is part of its continued investment in European markets beyond the traditional strongholds of London, Dublin, and Stockholm. Serbia has produced a number of high-profile UFC fighters, and staging an event in the capital gives those fighters the opportunity to compete in front of their home fans for the first time. The Belgrade Arena, a major indoor venue with a capacity of over 18,000, is well suited to hosting a UFC-scale event and provides the kind of atmosphere the promotion looks for when entering new markets.
Schedule
Preliminary bouts begin at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday 1 August, with the main card starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. Because of the time difference, the event takes place in the evening in Belgrade.
How to Watch
In the United States, the event streams on Paramount+ with no PPV surcharge. In the United Kingdom, the card airs on TNT Sports. Tickets are available directly from the Belgrade Arena box office.
Looking Ahead
A debut UFC card in a new market tends to generate emotional stakes that elevated-division fights alone cannot replicate. Belgrade is set to deliver exactly that, with Medic at the centre of the occasion. The combination of a competitive welterweight main event and a card built around fighters with strong regional appeal makes this one of the most interesting Fight Night events on the 2026 European calendar.