Oliveira Shines In UFC Belgrade Rookie Debut
Michael Oliveira earned the highest marks among nine UFC Belgrade debutants Saturday night, stopping Oban Elliott in under two minutes to announce his arrival in the welterweight division.
The newcomers went 5-4 collectively at Belgrade Arena, with most bouts ending inside the opening frame. Oliveira dropped Elliott twice before referee intervention, per MMA Mania's rookie report card. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt called for a quick turnaround against Chidi Njokuani at UFC 330 after the victory.
Cepo Suffers Brutal Showcase Loss
Vlasto Cepo entered as a minus-355 favorite but lasted just 60 seconds against Gilbert Urbina. The Oktagon MMA veteran threw wild punches with his chin exposed before Urbina floored him with a power jab and followed with ground strikes. The loss marked one of the card's biggest upsets, as Cepo fell to a fighter who entered 1-3 in the promotion.
Bantamweight Borislav Nikolic survived early trouble against Mark Vologdin to win a unanimous decision in his Octagon debut. The BRAVE champion took the bout on eight days' notice, weathered an opening knockdown and eventually controlled the fight with leg kicks and ground work. He dropped Vologdin twice in the third round and threatened a guillotine before cruising to the scorecards.
Nina Milosevic extended her winning streak to nine with a body-shot finish of Hailey Cowan. The Serbian landed clean shots to the solar plexus that forced the stoppage in the opening round. Noah Gugnon submitted Milos Janicic in 90 seconds after the Serbian appeared to injure his foot on the first kick of the fight, slamming it into Gugnon's elbow.
UFC Belgrade aired live from Serbia on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
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