{"id":634321,"date":"2026-04-27T15:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/634321\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:30:13","slug":"ufc-officially-headed-to-major-international-destination-for-debut-ufc-fight-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/634321\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Officially Headed to Major International Destination for Debut UFC Fight Night"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4y\">The world\u2019s leading MMA promotion will officially make the trip to a new European destination later this year. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"51\">Though it\u2019s seemingly not as much of a priority as it was during the years immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC did resume its efforts for international expansion last year with debut UFC Fight Night events <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-baku-rafael-fiziev-snaps-losing-streak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">in Al Rayyan, Qatar and Baku, Azerbaijan<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"54\">The UFC Octagon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-fan-favorite-6-fight-skid-new-ufc-perth-matchup-one-weeks-notice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">is set to touch down in Perth, Australia again this Saturday<\/a> after the promotion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-fight-night-aljamain-sterling-vs-youssef-zalal-free-live-results-highlights\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">returned home to Las Vegas last weekend<\/a>, and the rest of the promotion\u2019s 2026 calendar also includes international stops in Macau, Shanghai, and a return to Baku on June 27.<\/p>\n<p>UFC Announces Debut Serbia Card for August 1<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5a\">Following recent rumors that a UFC card might be in the works for the country, the UFC has officially announced that there will be a UFC Fight Night event in Belgrade, Serbia on August 1. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f Serbia, we&#8217;re on our way!<\/p>\n<p>The Octagon lands for the FIRST TIME in Belgrade on August 1! \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddf8<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\ud83d\udd17 Register your interest today: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3d2k0Fp5ZY\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/3d2k0Fp5ZY<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7iP9eHMI7N\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/7iP9eHMI7N<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/2048749004700405788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5g\">The addition to UFC Serbia helps fill in a fairly sizeable gap in the UFC\u2019s summer schedule, as the promotion currently has events lined up for July 11 and July 18 before its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/ufc-finally-returns-to-a-city-it-hasn-t-visited-in-years-01kp6y0a6rtv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">recently-announced return to Philadelphia, PA on August 15<\/a> for UFC 330. A return to Shanghai is set for August 29, and that card is currently the farthest out that the UFC\u2019s confirmed schedule extends for 2026. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kq7mmma7jhm6hpznra.jpg\" alt=\"UFC CEO Dana White talks to the media after the fight between Gilbert Burns (red gloves) and Mike Malott (blue gloves) during\" title=\"UFC CEO Dana White talks to the media after the fight between Gilbert Burns (red gloves) and Mike Malott (blue gloves) during\" width=\"5678\" height=\"3785\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"5q\"\/><\/p>\n<p>UFC CEO Dana White talks to the media after the fight between Gilbert Burns (red gloves) and Mike Malott (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. | Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\">Although it might draw the ire of some European fans in countries such as Spain (home to undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria) that are still waiting on a UFC event, Serbia has produced a number of UFC fighters and also boasts a strong regional MMA scene. <\/p>\n<p>Official UFC Rankings Currently Feature Two Serbian Fighters <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"60\">In terms of ranking and overall success in the Octagon, the current biggest-name Serbia fighter on the UFC roster is probably Aleksandar Raki\u0107. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"63\">\u201cRocket\u201d has been with the promotion since 2017 and is ranked at #12 in the light heavyweight division, although he is currently on a four-fight skid that most recently saw him suffer a first-round knockout at the hands of Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 321.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kq7mft1cypj91exhq3.jpg\" alt=\"Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) fights Aleksandar Rakic (blue gloves) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena.\" title=\"Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) fights Aleksandar Rakic (blue gloves) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena.\" width=\"4319\" height=\"2879\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6d\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) fights Aleksandar Rakic (blue gloves) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">Another Serbian talent that recently broke into the UFC rankings is lightweight Uros\u030c Medic\u0301, who has yet to see the judges\u2019 scorecards in his 16-fight professional MMA career. \u201cThe Doctor\u201d \u00a0joined the UFC with an undefeated record off of Dana White\u2019s Contender Series in 2020 and earned a \u201cPerformance of the Night\u201d bonus for a violent finish of Aalon Cruz in his promotional debut at UFC 259. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kq7mgr4w1wgt902gah.jpg\" alt=\"Geoff Neal (red gloves) fights Uros Medic (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center.\" title=\"Geoff Neal (red gloves) fights Uros Medic (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center.\" width=\"5702\" height=\"3801\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6r\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Geoff Neal (red gloves) fights Uros Medic (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">Medic\u0301 is currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-ko-artist-flatlines-fighter-63-seconds-fight-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">on a three-fight streak of first-round knockouts <\/a>and most recently stopped Goeff Neal, which earned him another post-fight bonus and also vaulted him into the UFC lightweight rankings at #13. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The world\u2019s leading MMA promotion will officially make the trip to a new European destination later this year.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-634321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}