With original opponent Bogdan Guskov shifted to UFC Abu Dhabi, where he faces Magomed Ankalaev, Jan Blachowicz has a new foe at UFC Belgrade.
On Friday, promotion officials announced that former light heavyweight champion Blachowicz (29–11–2) will now face Navajo Stirling (10-0) in the co-main event of the Fight Night card.
The event marks the UFC’s debut in Serbia, and takes place on August 1, 2026 at the Belgrade Arena.
Blachowicz vs. Guskov had been a rematch of the pair’s December 2025 encounter, which resulted in a draw. Polish ex-champ Jan Blachowicz, who has also held gold in KSW, is ranked #4 in the weight class by members of the media, while Stirling is not ranked. Using the newly revealed Meta AI rankings, Stirling is #12, while Blachowicz himself is unranked.
New Zeland’s Stirling trains out of City Kickboxing, the famed gym that recently parted ways with Israel Adesanya. He defeated Ion Cutelaba by TKO just last month, and will be making a quick turnaround to face his first former champion.
UFC Belgrade is headlined by welterweights Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez. The card features the following reported match-ups:
- Uroš Medić vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Jan Błachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling
- Aleksandar Rakić vs. Marcin Tybura
- Duško Todorović vs. Robert Valentin
- Vlasto Čepo vs. Gilbert Urbina
- Ludovít Klein vs. Tofiq Musayev
- Oban Elliott vs. Michael Oliveira
- Mark Vologdin vs. Josias Musasa
- Dennis Buzukja vs. Bogdan Grad
- Mateusz Rębecki vs. Kyle Prepolec
- Nina Nikolija Milošević vs. Hailey Cowan
- Jovan Leka vs. Max Gimenis
- Miloš Janičić vs. Noah Gugnon
- Stephanie Luciano vs. Marina Spasić
