MMA

UFC Belgrade live blog: Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling

Published

2 months ago

August 1, 2026

UFC Belgrade live blog: Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling

This is the live blog for Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling, the light heavyweight co-main event for Saturday's UFC Belgrade card at Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.

A former UFC champion, Blachowicz (29-11-2) currently stands at No. 6 at 205 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Blachowicz fought Bogdan Guskov to a majority draw in his most recent outing and the two were supposed to rematch Saturday until Guskov was moved to a fight with Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Abu Dhabi this past weekend (Guskov replaced an injured Khalil Rountree Jr.). That unsatisfying result dropped Blachowicz to 0-2-2 in his past four fights and he hasn't scored a win since an injury TKO over Aleksandar Rakic in 2022.

Stirling (10-0) has won his first five fights to establish himself as a future contender in the light heavyweight division. The City Kickboxing product has finished his past two opponents, but faces a huge step up in competition in Blachowicz as he strives to break into the top 10 of the rankings.

Check out the Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling live blog below.

Well, that was terrible. This event has been pretty fun, but that feature fight got real heavyweight.

Not entirely sure this will be much better, either.

Stirling walks out to some very somber music. He looks normal. Jan looks a little nervy as he walks? Also, Jon Anik says something about him being unable to lift weights during camp, and now he's seeming like an old man.

Even still, the old man is a saavy fighter. I suspect he uglies this fight up, slows it down, and loses on points.

Jan is 15 years older, 2 inches shorter, and a big dog at +265 with Stirling coming in at -340.

Buffer gets things going and it's time.

Jan out quickly to the center. Stirling with some lead leg kicks early, just small. Then he goes high and slips, allowing Jan to jump on him. But Stirling scrambles up and now they're clinched against the fence, with Stirling holding Jan.

In-fighting here but now major gains. Stirling with more inside calf kicks, staying busy. Jan trying to walk him down but hasn't thrown much.

OH! Stirling drops to a knee and it looks like Jan caught him with a big left hand as he stepped in. Jan tries to pound but Stirling clinches to buy time. He seems to be OK but he had to work it out. Stirling on his bike now, and he's bleeding from the nose as Jan comes forward. But Stirling is getting busier now, with a sharp jab.

HUGE RIGHT HAND from Stirling lands clean and sends Blachowicz to the mat! The commentary is quiet but this might be the end for Jan! Stirling pounces and he's pouring on the ground-and-pound! And that's it!

WOW. What a performance from Navajo Stirling!

Navajo Stirling def. Jan Blachowicz via TKO (punches) â€” 2:56, Round 1.

Stirling keeps it simple in his post fight. He shouts out Blachowicz, saying he's a big fan. Then apologizes for missing his sister's 21st birthday. Then calls for a fight with either Khalil Rountree of Paulo Costa.

MMA

Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid

Published

5 hours ago

October 2, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid

Dana
White remains involved in discussions surrounding a potential
NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO was asked about the NBA
potentially expanding to Las Vegas and whether he remains involved
with a prospective ownership group during Tuesday's
Dana White's Contender Series post-fight press conference.

UFC CEO Dana White says he remains involved with a prospective
ownership group tied to NBA expansion in Las Vegas

White previously acknowledged that he had been approached about
potentially becoming part of an ownership group connected to a Las
Vegas NBA expansion effort. When asked for an update following
reports that the NBA is reviewing finalist bids for a potential Las
Vegas franchise, White simply said, â€œYes.â€

ESPN reported that the NBA is reviewing bids
for a potential Las Vegas expansion franchise. The bids reportedly
value the franchise and arena proposals at between $12 billion and
$13 billion. The three finalist groups are led by Nancy Walton
Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and
Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo.

White has attended several NBA games and is a fan of the Boston
Celtics. He is also close friends with Celtics head coach Joe
Mazzulla.

MMA

Ilia Topuria is back in the gym after brutal Justin Gaethje loss

Published

6 hours ago

October 2, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Ilia
Topuria is back in the gym.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight
titleholder recently shared photos of himself hitting mitts on
Instagram with the caption, â€œBack to the office.â€

Ilia Topuria resumes full training after receiving medical
clearance following his loss to Justin Gaethje

The post comes after Topuria announced earlier this month that he
had completed medical testing and was cleared to return to full
training. He suffered his first professional loss against Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250 in June. Topuria has said he sustained
significant facial damage during the bout that severely compromised
his vision.

His corner ultimately stopped the fight after the fourth round.

Topuria has remained vocal about the result since receiving medical
clearance. In announcing that he had been cleared, Topuria called
for a rematch with Gaethje and accused the American of illegally
loading his gloves.

A rematch with Gaethje has been rumored, as has a grudge match with
Paddy
Pimblett.

MMA

Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses

Published

7 hours ago

October 2, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses

Marvin
Vettori has changed things up in an attempt to snap his losing
streak.

Vettori (19-10) has lost four fights in a row in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and is scheduled to face
Ismail
Naurdiev (25-8) at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Italian
recently revealed that he has parted ways with
American Top Team and returned to
Kings MMA.

Beneil Dariush takes over as Vettori’s head coach ahead of UFC
332

While Vettori has no complaints about ATT, he believes the gym
wasn't getting the best out of him. The former title challenger has
returned to his roots in California, where he trained during his
ascent through the middleweight ranks. While the Kings MMA team he
previously trained with no longer exists in the same form, Vettori
said he is now training with Beneil
Dariush as his head coach.

â€œI made some changesâ€¦ I'm back in California,â€ Vettori told MMA
Fighting. â€œI had to find myself again and I did. I feel good. I’m
actually excited to fightâ€¦ I went back to my roots and went back to
what made me the fighter who won five in a row and fought for the
titleâ€¦ ATT, I've got nothing but great things to say. I feel like
it wasn't getting the best out of meâ€¦ [My new team] is not Kings
MMA like the one that was before; that doesn't even exist anymore.
I have been training with Beneil Dariush as a head coach. And I
went back to my boxing coach, my S&C coach.â€

Vettori trained at Kings MMA from 2015 to 2022 before a brief stint
at
Xtreme Couture. â€œThe Italian Dreamâ€ then moved to Florida in
2023 to train at ATT.

Marvin
Vettori went back to his original team with Beneil
Dariush to “find himself again” ahead of #UFC332:

“I’m actually excited to fight. â€¦ I went back to my roots and went
back to what made me the fighter who won five in a row and fought
for the title.”

(ðŸŽ¥ @JoseYoungs)
pic.twitter.com/9BAEmZVJw9

â€” MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
September 29, 2026