Navajo Stirling will face the toughest test of his promising young career versus Jan Blachowicz.
Stirling will take on the former Light Heavyweight champion this weekend (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) in the co-main event of UFC Belgrade. The 28-year-old Kiwi is unbeaten as a professional and has won five straight UFC bouts, including stoppage wins over the likes of Ion Cutelaba and Bruno Lopes (watch here). Blachowicz, however, is a notably higher class in competition even at the age of 43.
Notably, the bout come together under unusual circumstances. Blachowicz was originally scheduled to rematch Bogdan Guskov, who was pulled from the UFC Belgrade booking to stink up the place in Abu Dhabi versus Magomed Ankalaev. Stirling is stepping up in his absence, taking the fight on short-notice less than two months after beating up “The Hulk.”
That’s a tall ask for any 205-pounder, but Stirling also admits that he was freshly off vacation and partying when he received the offer.
“I’d just come off holiday mode in Japan,” Stirling explained to Home Of Fight. “I’m always training in the gym despite whatever I’m doing, that’s my routine. But yeah, just come off a massive bender and just rolled into the weeks and got offered a fight. I just said ‘yeah bro I’m keen, I’m training everyday’ so just gotta utilize my youth. I just came off the best camp of my life, so why wouldn’t I take it?”
Indeed, youth is a major advantage for Stirling, which explains why he’s a significant favorite over the more experienced champion. We have seen some incredible performances shortly after partying (like half of the career of Jon Jones), but it’s definitely not an ideal preparation for a big jump in competition.
Anyone swayed towards the side of “Polish Power?”
