UFC Belgrade: Dana White Says Serbia Gets More

Eight chairs in a row, one microphone travelling from one end of the table to the other, and Dana White planted in the middle of the stage. That was Belgrade Arena two days before the first bell rings inside it. UFC Belgrade held its official press conference, and the promoter opened the doors to the public rather than to credentialed media only, so the fighters spoke to a section of filled seats instead of an empty hall.

The organisers had the conference down for 2 p.m., and it streamed live on the UFC’s official YouTube channel. Eight fighters sat at the table: Uros Medic, Daniel Rodriguez, Jan Blachowicz, Navajo Stirling, Aleksandar Rakic, Dusko Todorovic, Vlasto Cepo and Milos Janicic.

White showed up in person, and that is the part of the story that reaches past Saturday night. Asked whether Serbia would see the promotion again, the UFC president left no room for interpretation:

“Yes, we can expect more. This is our first event in Serbia, but it is certainly not the last.”

One short answer, and for a market that waited years it carries more weight than anything on the card. Serbia is the 33rd country to host a UFC show, and the open question now is whether it stays a one-off entry on that list or joins the rotation.

When do the fights start in Belgrade Arena?

The card runs on Saturday, August 1, two days after the conference, and the running order is locked. Preliminary bouts begin at 4 p.m. Belgrade time, with the main card set for 7 p.m. For the American audience the show sits on Paramount+, which picks up the prelims at 10 a.m. Eastern and the main card at 1 p.m.

Viewers in Serbia get it on TV Arena Fight. That puts Medic against Rodriguez late in the Belgrade evening, the best possible slot for the home crowd, and turns it into a Sunday afternoon watch across the Atlantic.

What the card carries

The programme splits into two blocks, six bouts on the main card and nine on the prelims, fifteen fights in total. There are enough local and regional names on it that the night does not hang on a single result: alongside Medic, there are Rakic, Todorovic, Cepo and Janicic.

For Rakic this is a first appearance in front of a Serbian crowd, and it was the only thing he wanted to talk about on stage.

“I have had a lot of big events, but this is the first time in Serbia, my country, and that is something special.”

Cepo was blunter about tactics and made no attempt to pretend he keeps a plan B.

“My style never changes. At half past seven I walk into the cage and it is just pressure, just punching.”

Janicic was asked about the underdog label and answered with a number from his recent past: “I have to deal with any role, I was in the red corner in my last two fights.” His bout had already generated the loudest noise in the build-up, after he called out Bojkovic at an earlier press conference, which we covered at the time.

Rodriguez, the one man in the main event with nobody in the building behind him, took that on the chin: “These are the best fans in the world and they will create the best atmosphere.”

What is left before Saturday

The conference was the point at which every fighter stood in the same room before they scatter back into fight week. What follows for them is the routine that decides more than any interview, the last of the weight cut before the scale, and only then the arena.

First bell is Saturday, August 1, at 4 p.m.