Stirling stops Blachowicz in first round in Belgrade
The New Zealander took the fight on less than three weeks notice as a replacement, then wrecked a former light heavyweight champion before the opening round was over.
The first blood spilled in the cage at Belgrade Arena was Stirling’s own. Jan Blachowicz met him with a counter in the opening exchange of the co-main event, bloodied his nose and had him wobbling. It looked like the start of a long night for the young New Zealander. It lasted under three minutes.
Midway through the round Navajo Stirling landed a right overhand counter and Blachowicz went sprawling backward onto the canvas. Stirling went after him without hesitation. From top position he opened with punches, then elbows, and one of those elbows split the skin under Blachowicz’s right eye. The Pole covered up, the strikes kept coming, and the referee stepped in.
Official time of the stoppage was 2:56 of round one, TKO by strikes, light heavyweight. Stirling moved to 11-0 and extended his UFC winning streak to six. He is 28, fights out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand, and this was his third stoppage win of 2026.
Why this loss is a rare one for Blachowicz
Blachowicz is a former light heavyweight champion, and across 42 professional fights he has been stopped by strikes only three times. His whole career has been built on absorbing early pressure and taking over later. Before Saturday he had lost in the opening round exactly once, back in 2007, when he was still starting out and Stirling was not yet ten years old. Blachowicz is now 43.
He did open the better of the two. The counter that broke Stirling’s nose landed inside the first minute, and until Stirling’s own counter came back the experience looked like it was setting the pace. Then one punch flipped the fight and it never flipped back.
How did Stirling end up in this fight?
The chain started with Bogdan Guskov. Guskov was booked for Belgrade, then moved a week earlier into the main event of the UFC card in Abu Dhabi, where he lost to Magomed Ankalaev. That left the slot across from Blachowicz empty.
The offer reached Stirling less than three weeks out, while he was on his way home from a holiday in Japan. Shortest possible camp, biggest name of his career so far, in the same package. He said yes.
What he said afterwards
Michael Bisping was waiting for him in the cage. Stirling started by explaining where the calm came from after having his nose broken in the first minute.
The thing about fighting is it all starts [in your mind]. If you can see it, you can make it happen.
He then named the two men he wants next.
If (Khalil) Rountree or (Paulo) Costa wants to fight before the year ends, you know who to call.
The callout is out in the open now and it is on the UFC to act on it or ignore it. What follows for Stirling in practical terms is a place inside the light heavyweight top ten.
The rest of the night in Belgrade
The co-main was not even the quickest finish on the card. In the main event Uros Medic stopped Daniel Rodriguez by TKO in 30 seconds. Aleksandar Rakic beat Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three cards.
Other main card results:
- Robert Valentin submitted Dusko Todorovic by guillotine choke at 4:14 of round one
- Gilbert Urbina stopped Vlasto Cepo by TKO after 61 seconds
- Noah Gugnon submitted Milos Janicic by rear-naked choke at 1:21 of round one
What Stirling leaves Belgrade with is not just a sixth straight win, it is the first name on his record that actually carries weight. Until August 1 he was an undefeated fighter without a scalp anyone remembers. Now he has Blachowicz, in round one, in the manner Blachowicz loses once every few years. The light heavyweight rankings do not have much room to look past that.
