Rondinha celebrates her UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Brazilian Stephanie Rondinha put on a show and finished Marina Spasic with a rear-naked choke in the first round on Saturday morning (1), during the first fight of the preliminary card of UFC Belgrade , in a fight valid for the strawweight category (up to 52,1 kg). With the result, the fighter from Belo Horizonte reached her third victory in the world's largest MMA organization.
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Stephanie Rondinha silenced the audience.
STEPH GONNA STEPH 😤
Stephanie Luciano makes quick work for the submission win!
[ #UFCBelgrade | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/hBEFMxD7hg
— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2026
The home fighter wasted no time and closed the distance in the opening seconds of the fight, timing the Brazilian's kicks to connect with powerful punches to the face. Rondinha went for the clinch and tried to take Marina to the ground, but ran into her opponent's takedown defense. The two returned to their feet and Spasic once again stood out with her hand combinations, however Stephanie gradually found her range and had some good moments.
After a few exchanges on the feet, the Brazilian changed the course of the fight by going for a takedown. Immediately, she transitioned to the back and locked in a rear-naked choke without problems, at the moment when the clock showed three minutes and 30 seconds. Very happy, the Minas Gerais native's celebration generated boos from the local audience.
In her interview with Michael Bisping inside the octagon, she said she was very dedicated and made a point of softening the hearts of the spectators by praising Belgrade. Furthermore, Rondinha also explained that the strategy for the fight involved spending some time standing before moving on to grappling.
Mateusz Rebecki wins by knockout in the first round.
In the lightweight category (up to 70,3 kg), Mateusz Rebecki confirmed his status as the overwhelming favorite by defeating Canadian Kyle Prepolec via technical knockout in the first round, in the fourth fight of the night. With this result, the Polish fighter recovered from his loss to Grant Dawson and achieved his fifth victory in the world's largest MMA event. On the other hand, Prepolec suffered his fifth consecutive defeat and now faces a serious risk of being cut from the organization.
Despite being known for fighting standing up, Rebecki opted for a different strategy in Saturday's fight (1). After some exchanges of blows, he went for the takedown and immediately began attacking Prepolec with strong punches to the face. The Canadian had no answers for the attacks, so the referee stopped the fight at four minutes and 41 seconds of the duel.
Home favorite has a great debut and wins by knockout in the first round.
Nina Milosevic in victory at UFC Belgrade . Photo: Reproduction/X.
In the third fight of the night, Nina Milosevic knocked out Hailey Cowan in the first round in a bantamweight bout (up to 61,2 kg). The victory marked the debut of the home fighter, who now has a nine-fight winning streak as a professional athlete and delighted the local crowd. In contrast, the American suffered her fourth consecutive defeat.
After a very dynamic stand-up fight, Nina broke the calculated rhythm by landing a precise right straight to her opponent's solar plexus, who clearly felt the impact of the blow. Hailey tried to recover, but was hit in the same area again and went down, forcing the referee to stop the fight at three minutes and 41 seconds.
Heavyweight delights crowd with knockout victory.
In the second fight of the night, Serbian Jovan Leka knocked out Alexander Poppeck with a powerful kick to the midsection in the first round, in a heavyweight bout (up to 120,2 kg). The home fighter was originally scheduled to face Brazilian Max Gimenis, but had no trouble leaving the octagon victorious even after the German entered as a replacement.
The fight had a slow pace in the early moments, however the imminence of the Ultimate's heavier division became evident at two minutes and 22 seconds into the fight, when Leka cornered his rival against the cage and landed a powerful kick to the German's liver area. Poppeck curled up in his lap and was unable to defend himself intelligently, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Check out the results from UFC Belgrade.
MAIN CARD
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Uros Medic defeated Daniel Rodriguez by knockout (punches) at 0:30 of round 1.
Light heavyweight (up to 92,9 kg): Navajo Stirling defeated Jan Blachowicz by technical knockout (punches) at 2:56 of round 1.
Heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg): Aleksandar Rakic defeated Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Robert Valentin defeated Dusko Todorovic by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:14 of round 1.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Gilbert Urbina defeated Vlasto Cepo by technical knockout (punches) at 1 minute and 1 second of round 1.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Noah Gugnon defeated Milos Janicic by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:20 of round 1.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Tofiq Musayev defeated Ludovit Klein by technical knockout (punches) at 4:07 of round 2.
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Michael PQD Oliveira defeated Oban Elliott by knockout (punches) at 1:49 of round 1.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Borislav Nikolic defeated Mark Vologdin by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Bogdan Grad defeated Dennis Buzukja by submission (Katagatame) at 4:31 of round 2.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Mateusz Rebecki defeated Kyle Prepolec by technical knockout (Ground and Pound) at 4:40 of round 1.
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Nina Milosevic defeated Hailey Cowan by technical knockout (straight to the body) at 3:41 of round 1.
Heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg): Jovan Leka defeated Alexander Poppeck by technical knockout (middle kick) at 2:22 of round 1.
Strawweight (up to 52,1 kg): Stephanie Rondinha defeated Marina Spasic by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:22 of round 1.
Exclusive: Michael PQD talks about his brutal UFC debut victory.
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