Uros Medic made quite the first impression when he earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last August, but a lot has happened since then.
A Serbia-born fighter based in the U.S., Medic (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his promotional debut Saturday at UFC 259 against Aalon Cruz (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Initially wanting a quick turnaround, Medic’s first UFC appearance didn’t happen on that timeline for a variety of reasons.
“There’s been a whole lot that’s happened,” Medic told MMA Junkie. “I had my camp moved down to California. I’m still with some of my coaches from Alaska, but there’s been (the) change of moving to the States. I had a couple of injuries I needed to take care of. In general, the timing was like I would have to move, then I was like, ‘All right, I’m ready to fight.’ Then, I’d injure myself. Then, I’d take a month off here and there because of the injuries. There have been good opportunities, but unfortunately I couldn’t make it because of the injuries and everything that’s been happening.”
The challenges didn’t stop with his move to California and subsequent injuries. Born in Serbia, Medic also encountered immigration issues. However, those obstacles are now behind him. Medic headed back to California and his new home gym: Kings MMA in Huntington Beach. The move has advanced his game and allowed him to train with some of the best fighters in the world.
“They’ve been amazing,” Medic said. “I’ve been training a lot with Marvin Vettori, Beneil Dariush, and Kelvin Gastelum and all the other guys at Kings. Master Cordeiro has definitely taken my game to another level. … I really like the way Kings has been around for a while and Master Cordeiro has made a lot of champions. I like their work ethic.”
In his first fight under the spotlight, Medic ran through opponent Mikey Gonzalez and picked up a finish in a little over two minutes. The performance’s brevity opened the doors for some critics to question the aspects of his game the audience didn’t get to see.
However, Medic is confident in his first UFC outing that he’ll be able to show there is a lot more to his game. He’s ready to surprise people.
“I’ve only (gone) to the second round once,” Medic said. “Depending on the fighter I fight, my game levels are different. That’s something you guys will be able to see. As somebody brings more heat, I return with a lot more heat, as well. Depending on what my opponent brings to the table, I have answers and I think a lot of the people (watching) will be surprised.”
UFC 259 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Serbia’s Uros Medic explains move to Kings MMA, ready to surprise UFC 259 viewers