Serbia’s own Uros Medic headlines the first-ever UFC card held in his native country on Aug. 1, when he takes on Daniel Rodriguez in a five-round welterweight showdown at the Belgrade Arena.
The UFC announced the pairing Monday.
Medic (13-3) makes his 11th walk to the octagon riding a three-fight winning streak. All of his wins during this stretch have come in the first round, including his bonus-winning 79-second knockout over Geoff Neal this past February.
Rodriguez (20-5) has also won his past three in the UFC against Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kevin Holland, and re-enters the cage after spending eight months in a Mexican prison after being arrested at the border for possession of marijuana 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. Smack in the prime of my career, that was it.”
Two other bouts were also officially announced Monday, with longtime light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakic (14-6), an Austrian native who represents Serbia, moving up to heavyweight to fight Marcin Tybura (27-11), and fellow Serbian Dusko Todorovic (13-6) taking on Robert Valentin (11-6, 1 NC).
Read the full article here
