With Bogdan Guskov pulling out of a UFC Belgrade fight against Jan Blachowicz in favor of fighting Magomed Ankalaev last week (a move that didn’t quite pan out), it’s Navajo Stirling stepping in against the former light heavyweight champ, hoping a sizeable opportunity pays off this Saturday.
Stirling is 10-0 in his MMA career to date, and trains at New Zealand’s venerable City Kickboxing. With two wins already in 2026, he has the chance to skyrocket up the ladder with the right performance in Belgrade, Serbia.
“He’s a massive name in the UFC. Former champion. I see this match-up as a huge opportunity for me to break out into the top 15,” Stirling said during this week’s UFC Belgrade media day. “Not only the top 15, but the top 5. I believe he’s number 4. ”
Stirling plans to jump over those ahead of him, “and just go straight to the top. That’s the opportunity that has arisen; I’m willing to take it with open arms.”
As Stirling also pointed out, he’s had “insight into the way champions hold themselves. I’ve been on the backend of camps of Israel [Adesanya], Carlos [Ulberg]. And now it’s my time. This is my time. It’s just another one of those passing of the torch moments. The former versus the future.”
Speaking of Adesanya, he split from City Kickboxing recently, but there’s no hard feelings on the part of Stirling and others at the fight camp.
“Everyone at the gym just wishes him nothing but the best. He’s paved the way for so many of us back home, not even just at our gym but other Kiwis and Aussies from Down Under. He’s paved the road for all of us. We all look up to him, and we all want the best for him.”
As for the fight with Blachowicz being the biggest of his career, Stirling agreed, not just in terms of names, but the short-notice nature of the bout. That said, he lives for these situations.
“I love to fight, man. I love to fight. I live and breathe this,” Stirling exclaimed. “It’s just putting everything I’ve learned over the years to the test, going up against this guy. At the end of the day, it’s just a fight, and you’ve got to take it like you would any other fight.”
Watch the full UFC Belgrade media day appearance by Navajo Stirling above.
