Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight finishers Uros Medic vs. Daniel Rodriguez will clash TODAY (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) inside Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia for UFC Belgrade.
Is Medic on the rise? Serbia’s 33-year-old “Doctor” is certainly on the best run of his career, a three-fight win streak that includes KOs over the likes of Geoff Neal and Muslim Salikhov. A lightning fast starter, Medic is known for the early finish, but he hasn’t exactly been tested lately in his historic areas of weakness: defensive grappling and defense.
There are, of course, lots of questions surrounding “D-Rod” as well. It’s been a year since Rodriguez was last in the Octagon … and he didn’t exactly spend that time honing his skills while locked away in a Mexican prison cell. Rodriguez is tough as nails and plenty proven in a brawl, but one has to wonder if he’s being served up rusty to hand the Belgrade crowd a stunning main event finish.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Medic vs. Rodriguez Betting Odds
- Uros Medic victory: -430
- Uros Medic via TKO/KO/DQ: -230
- Uros Medic via submission: +1000
- Uros Medic via decision: +1800
- Daniel Rodriguez victory: +300
- Daniel Rodriguez via TKO/KO/DQ: +500
- Daniel Rodriguez via submission: +1600
- Daniel Rodriguez via decision: +2000
- Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
How Medic Wins
Medic started martial arts young in Judo and kickboxing, and the latter is far more present in his modern fighting style. He moves well and explodes forward, hiding high kick behind bursts of punches. He’s comfortable in the pocket and always ready to fire back, prepared to fully commit to his punches from the first bell.
He’s never won or lost a fight via decision.
There’s definite value to starting quick here. Medic maintains his pace better than one would expect for a fighter given the above statistic, but his great advantages here are athleticism and activity. He’s the younger and more dynamic fighter who has been fighting often. Rodriguez, conversely, has slower feet and hasn’t even been training consistently — there’s little chance he’s fully prepared for the speed of a high-level professional fight.
Why give him a chance to ease into the fight? Medic should be combining kicks and punches early, either punching forward as he sets his foot or trying to hide a head kick a la Ian Machado Garry.
How Rodriguez Wins
At first glance, Rodriguez’s consistent UFC success doesn’t make a ton of sense. He’s not a flashy fighter and didn’t join the UFC until his mid-30s. In the cage, however, Rodriguez is a hard-nosed boxer who does not falter in the face of adversity. He maintains his pace well, has a lovely southpaw jab and hard counters, and is unexpectedly difficult to hold on the canvas.
No matter what chaos is going on in the cage, “D-Rod” stays composed. How else could one out-brawl men like Mike Perry, Kevin Holland, and Tim Means?
The jab is going to be key for Rodriguez in this battle of lefties (Medic switches but mostly is southpaw as well). Rodriguez has to earn his opponent’s respect and settle down his blitzes. A few stiff pokes on the nose will go a long way in deterring Medic from rushing forward, and establishing the jab will also help Rodriguez find the timing on his heavier counter shots.
Generally, this bout will favor Rodriguez in the later rounds. He excels in wars of attrition, whereas Medic relies heavily on the quickness that dissipates as fights wear on. If Rodriguez can stick some jabs and perhaps use his size to wear on Medic in the clinch a bit, he’ll be in good position to chase the upset after round two.
Extending the fight would be better strategy than just brawling right away.
Medic vs. Rodriguez Prediction
This feels like a “Prelims” headliner more than main event, but nevertheless …
Medic does not particularly impress me. He’s fast and powerful and has some European kickboxing funk — that’s about it. If he rematched Myktybek Orolbai tomorrow, he gets ground to dust a second time. Smoking two aging fighters does not a contender make, but it is promising since Rodriguez turns 40 later this year. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is a consistently under rated gamer who is generally very tough to knock out. He has the skills and experience to endure an early thrashing and turn the tables late.
Unfortunately, it’s very hard to ignore the elephant in the room. I would feel extremely dumb picking a fighter who spent most of the last year eating ramen noodles and doing bicep curls in a prison cell over an active knockout artist.
Medic doesn’t have to be great to find an early left hand, and that might be all it takes.
Prediction: Medic via knockout
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