UFC Belgrade features Jan Blachowicz facing Navajo Stirling

BELGRADE, SERBIA - AUGUST 01: Navajo Stirling of New Zealand reacts after a victory against Jan Blachowicz of Poland in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Belgrade Arena on August 01, 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Navajo Stirling has arrived. The undefeated light heavyweight contender made a major statement in Saturday’s UFC Belgrade co-main event, scoring a first-round knockout over former UFC champion and current top 10 contender Jan Blachowicz. Stirling entered Belgrade Arena as a significant favorite, but still had a tall hill to climb given that Blachowicz represented a considerable step up in competition for the New Zealand prospect. However, Stirling made it look easy, needing less than three minutes to hurt Blachowicz on the feet and finish him with heavy ground-and-pound. Stirling looks like the real deal at 205 pounds, though his title hopes are complicated by the UFC light heavyweight title currently being around the waist of City Kickboxing teammate Carlos Ulberg. Pros were wowed by Stirling’s win and no matter who he faces next, he does so as a legitimate threat to win the gold. “Dang, Stirling just cemented himself as a contender,” former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad wrote on Twitter. See more social media reactions from the pros below. Dang sterling just cemented himself as a contender — Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) August 1, 2026 What a shot by Navajo!! — Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 1, 2026 Brutal win, 11-0 for @navajostirling 👏 — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) August 1, 2026 Navajo Stirling breaks the record for most first round finishes at a single UFC event in the modern era. #UFCSerbia — Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) August 1, 2026 Navajo Stirling é bom, tá? pic.twitter.com/sDkNMRJJfq — Mairon "The Legend" Santos (@Maironsantoss) August 1, 2026

Navajo Stirling added a former champion to his win column on Saturday

BELGRADE, SERBIA - AUGUST 01: (R-L) Navajo Stirling of New Zealand punches Jan Blachowicz of Poland in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Belgrade Arena on August 01, 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) A new contender has emerged at light heavyweight after Navajo Stirling took out former champion Jan Blachowicz in the first round at UFC Belgrade. Despite taking the fight on short notice, Stirling looked more than ready, especially after the dropped Blachowicz with a perfectly timed right had that sent the Polish powerhouse to the canvas. From there, Stirling was relentless with his ground and pound as he blasted Blachowicz with elbows until referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight with the end coming at just 2:56 in the opening round. NAVAJO STIRLING FLOORS JAN BLACHOWICZ DOWN 😳 [ #UFCBelgrade | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/kc8cafJwWl — UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) August 1, 2026 “I think about fighting, it all starts up here [in the head], you can make it happen,” Stirling said after his win. “It’s an absolutely honor to be able to share the ring with a former champion like Jan Blachowicz. “Honestly, we’re all fighting each other so there can all be one winner but I’m a big fan of Jan. Just sticking to the game plan, I’ve got the best coaches in the world.” The light heavyweights were jockeying for position early with Blachowicz landing the first big shot after a slick jab caught Stirling off guard and rattled him briefly. Stirling had blood trickling down his face afterwards as he reset on the feet. A moment later, Stirling uncorked a huge right of his own that hammered Blachowcicz as he was wobbled and stumbled backwards towards the canvas. As Blachowicz hit the ground, Stirling jumped on top of him and immediately started blasting away with elbows including one that sliced open the former light heavyweight champion. The assault continued with Stirling just dropping bombs until the referee saw enough and rescued Blachowicz from further harm. Afterwards, Stirling looked up the rankings and called for a fight against one of the top contenders in the division for his next outing. “If [Khalil] Roundtree or [Paulo] Costa want to fight … I’ll whoop that ass.” In a division that needs some excitement, Stirling is providing that, especially with his past two wins. As for Blachowicz, the former champion falls to 0-3-2 in his past five fights and at 43 years old, the clock might be ticking on his time left in the sport.

Navajo Stirling had his breakout moment with a short-notice TKO of Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade.

A light heavyweight clash between a former champion and an undefeated rising star served as Saturday's UFC Belgrade co-main event. Former titleholder Jan Blachowicz faced the unbeaten Navajo Stirling at Belgrade Arena. Stirling picked up the biggest win of his career and kept his undefeated record ...

Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling squared off in a Light Heavyweight bout earlier tonight (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) inside Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia for UFC Belgrade. Stirling opened the fight with a lot of low kicks, trying to draw Blachowicz forward into counters. Instead, Blachowicz cracked him with a left hook and wobbled the […]

Play-by-play action for Jan Blachowicz vs. Navajo Stirling at UFC Belgrade

BELGRADE, SERBIA - JULY 31: (L-R) Opponents Jan Blachowicz of Poland and Navajo Stirling of New Zealand face off during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Belgrade Arena on July 31, 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) 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. Preamble 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. Pre Fight Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Official Decision Post Fight