UFC Belgrade ‘Medic vs. Rodriguez’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Round 1

A women’s flyweight tilt between Luciano (7-2-1, 2-1 UFC) and
Spasic (7-1, 0-0 UFC) kicks off festivities at Belgrade Arena in
northern Serbia. Dejan Tesic presides over the proceedings. They
touch gloves and get down to business. Spasic presses forward
behind jabs and overhands, all while controlling the center of the
cage. Inside leg kick from Luciano. Blinding multi-punch volley
from Spasic. Luciano lures her into the clinch and lands a knee to
the body. Spasic separates. Luciano connects with a straight left
and a right hand over the top. Sharp jab from Spasic, followed by a
one-two and a leg kick. They circle one another in the center.
Lucian steps into a right hand and beats the Serb to the punch.
They trade in the center. Not much mind paid to defense here.
Luciano working push kicks to the lead leg, then follows them up
with a burst of punches. Spasic answers. Heavy body kick from the
newcomer.
Luciano ducks in and secures a takedown. She moves to the back,
snakes her arms in place for the rear-naked choke and lets her
squeeze do the rest. Luciano pounds the canvas in defiance as the
crowd boos. As they great Reggie Jackson once said,
“They don’t boo nobodies.”

The Official Result

Stephanie Luciano def. Marina Spasic—Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
3:30 R1

Round 1

Attention at UFC Belgrade now shifts to the lightweight division,
where Prepolec (18-10, 0-4 UFC) toes the line against Rebecki
(20-5, 4-4 UFC) at 155 pounds. Kerry Hatley adjudicates matters.
Away they go. Rebecki gets busy with jabs and an overhand right.
The Pole lands a right hook to the body and dodges a head kick.
Front kick to the body from Rebecki, followed by a one-two. He
shoots on a single-leg and takes down Prepolec. More trouble for
the Canadian. Rebecki initiates his ground-and-pound, targeting the
head and body. He pairs elbows with punches and hammerfists.
Prepolec taking significant damage. More punches from Rebecki.
Repeated left hands connect. Absolute mauling so far. Prepolec
tries to build a base but eats more punches for his efforts. Short
uppercuts from Rebecki. Prepolec answers with an elbow and again
tries to get to his feet. No luck.
Rebecki continues to land unanswered punches and elbows. Prepolec
starting to wilt, eating shots in a kneeling position along the
fence. A final sustained burst from Rebecki closes the
deal.

The Official Result

Mateusz Rebecki def. Kyle Prepolec—TKO (Punches) 4:41 R1

Round 1

Next on the loaded UFC Belgrade docket: a featherweight scrap
matching Buzukja (12-6, 1-4 UFC) with Grad (15-4, 1-2 UFC) at 145
pounds. Jason Herzog steps in as the third man in the cage. Another
bout underway in Serbia. Will the string of first-round finishes
continue? Buzukja greets his opponent with a sharp jab and
stonewalls a takedown with a sprawl. Grad clinches along the fence.
They separate. Grad lands a low kick. Buzukja goes back to his jab.
Gran answers with a vertical elbow through the guard. Buzukja stops
another takedown. Lead left hook from Grad. They trade jabs. Grad
unleashes a spinning backfist that delights the crowd. Grad catches
a kick and secures a takedown, stepping into half guard. He goes to
work on a keylock and transitions to a straight armbar. Buzukja
defends. Grad drops elbows to the head and fires some punches to
the body. Buzukja escapes to his feet. Ninety seconds to go.
Buzukja lands a right uppercut. Grad applies pressure from the
center. Buzukja defends a takedown. Grad steps into a right hand
over the top and crashes in the clinch, then drags the Albanian to
the mat. He jumps to the back, flattens out Buzukja and drops right
hands until the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Grad
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Grad
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Grad

Round 2

Grad in control as the middle stanza starts. Buzukja meets him with
a jab, then steps into an overhand right. Grad clinches and tries
to clear the cobwebs. They trade punches along the fence. Grad
moves to a rear waist lock and lands an elbow on the break. One-two
from Buzukja. He snaps Grad’s head to the side with a sweeping
right hook. Body kick from Grad, followed by an overhand right.
Buzukja connects with a jab. Grad again clinches and snatches a
single-leg before he bails and fires off a spinning backfist.
Buzukja blocks it and gets back to his jab. Grad noticeably slower
in this round. Buzukja lands a kick to the body and counters with a
left hook. He lands hooks from both hands, then follows with an
uppercut. Grad scores with a Superman punch. Grad ducks into a
double-leg, completes the takedown and settles in half guard.

He goes to work on an arm-triangle, though his path to a finish
appears blocked by the cage. Grad clears some space and cinches the
choke. Herzog, thinking Buzukja tapped, calls it off despite
immediate protests. Replays were murky, at best.

The Official Result

Bogdan Grad def. Dennis Buzukja—Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)
4:33 R2

Round 1

Moving along at UFC Belgrade, Nikolic (16-2, 0-0 UFC) takes on
Vologdin (12-4-2, 0-0-1 UFC) in a three-round bantamweight
confrontation at 135 pounds. Marc Goddard administers the law and
order. Nikolic steps forward and walks into a left hook. He hits
the deck but gets to his feet. Vologdin cranks on a front headlock
while landing knees to the head. Nikolic breaks free and lands a
right hook. Leg kick from Vologdin. Nikolic catches a kick and
takes down his diminutive 5-foot-3 opponent. Vologdin escapes to
his feet. Midway through the round. They trade low kicks. Nikolic
steps into a right hook and fires off a head kick. Vologdin blocks
it. Sharp right hook from Nikolic. Vologdin answers with a low kick
and a one-two. They exchange right hooks, and Nikolic drops to a
knee before getting to his feet. Vologdin shoots and completes a
late takedown.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Vologdin
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Vologdin
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Vologdin

Round 2

Back at it for Round 2. Nikolic starts with a jab and uncorks hooks
from both hands, against the advice of his corner. Vologdin secures
a takedown and threatens the neck but fails to corral his
counterpart. Nikolic scrambles into top position and initiates some
ground-and-pound. Vologdin kicks him away and gets to his feet.
Nikolic commands the center and flurries with punches. Low kick
from Vologdin. Nikolic unleashes another wild burst of punches.
Most of the shots miss. They trade jabs. Vologdin shoots but runs
into a sprawl and bails. Ninety seconds to go. Sharp jab from
Nikolic, then another. Vologdin now cut across the bridge of the
nose. Nikolic lands a right hook. More jabs from the Serb. Stout
jab from Vologdin. Nikolic gets back to his own jab. Lunging left
hook from Vologdin lands in the waning seconds.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic

Round 3

Should be a round apiece here. Nikolic beckons the crowd for
support and starts with his jab. Stout leg kick from Vologdin.
One-two sits down the Russian. Vologdin immediately gets to his
feet. He shoots, runs into a guillotine, bails and eats heavy power
shots from both hands. They clinch. Nikolic lands a crushing knee.
Vologdin in trouble but breaks free into open space, sporting
significant swelling to his left eye. Vologdin secures a
high-amplitude takedown, only to get reversed. Nikolic clings to
the neck with a one-arm guillotine, then mounts. Ninety seconds to
go. Nikolic scores with some behind-the-back punches with his free
hand. He postures and drops elbows. Vologdin turtles and gets
flattened out but somehow stands and throws. He shoots and runs
into a sprawl. Vologdin cracks him with elbows to the side of the
head and bites down on a rear-naked choke as time runs out. He
survives but figures to lose the decision.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic (29-28 Nikolic)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic (29-28 Nikolic)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Nikolic (29-28 Nikolic)

The Official Result

Borislav Nikolic def. Mark Vologdin—Unanimous Decision (29-27,
29-27, 29-27)

Round 1

Lightweights close out the UFC Belgrade undercard, as Klein
(24-5-1, 8-3-1 UFC) squares off with Musayev (23-6, 1-1 UFC) at 155
pounds. Hatley serves as the in-cage arbiter. They touch gloves
before throwing hands. Klein feints from his southpaw stance.
Musayev paws with his lead hand out of orthodox. They trade low
kicks. Klein looking to counter and gets off a one-two. Musayev
catches a kick and clinches along the fence. They separate into
open space. Two minutes down, three to go. Inside leg kick from
Musayev. He cracks Klein with a one-two and shakes off a low blow,
then blasts the Slovakian with two inside leg kicks. Left hand over
the top from Klein. Musayev answers with another inside leg kick.
He shoots a straight right to the body, then targets the midsection
with a kick. Klein fires a left to the solar plexus. One-two from
Musayev, who has controlled much of this round. He blocks a head
kick before the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Musayev
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Musayev
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Musayev

Round 2

Klein probably needs to go to Plan B here, if he has one. He jabs
at the body and cracks Musayev with a right hook. Klein shoots on a
takedown attempt, only to wind up pinned to the fence in the
clinch. Short punches to the head and knees to the body from
Musayev. They separate. Inside leg kick from Musayev. Klein a bit
out of sorts and coming up short on his shots. One-two from
Musayev, who then rips powerful hooks from both hands. The salvo
forces Klein to shell up. He resets, sneaks in an overhand right
and slaps Musayev with a head kick. Midway through the middle
stanza. One-two followed by a jab from Musayev. Klein answers a
right hook with a left hand over the top. Violent exchange but
neither man seems worse for wear. Klein targets the body, then goes
to his jab. Musayev counters with a right hand. He pins Klein to
the fence, cracks his opponent with a right hook to the body, a
right hook to the head and a left hook that forces him to retreat
to the canvas. A serious volley of punches and hammerfists follow,
necessitating the stoppage.

The Official Result

Tofiq Musayev def. Ludovit Klein—TKO (Punches) 4:07 R2

Round 1

They turn up the heat on the UFC Belgrade main draw with a
middleweight showcase slotting Todorovic (13-6, 4-6 UFC) opposite
Valentin (11-6, 1-3 UFC) at 185 pounds. Montalvo takes the reins as
the referee. No glove touch. Both men light on their feet. Valentin
pushes his opponent to the mat with a front kick to the body. He
catches a standing guillotine and lifts Todorovic off the ground.
The Serb survives but winds up on the bottom, with Valentin in half
guard. Todorovic scoots himself to the fence and builds a base. He
gets to his feet and drives Valentin into the cage, securing a
takedown of his own. Todorovic counters a guillotine with a
shoulder choke. Valentin reverses. Todorovic constantly threatening
from the bottom with active hips. Valentin postures, passes guard
and gets in a few hammerfists from the top ride. Todorovic
scrambles but leaves his neck exposed in the process. Valentin
bites down on the no-arm guillotine, closes guard and forces the
tap.

The Official Result

Robert Valentin def. Dusko Todorovic—Submission (Guillotine Choke)
4:14 R1

Round 1

Business picks up at UFC Belgrade, as a heavyweight attraction
between Rakic (14-6, 6-5 UFC) and Tybura (27-11, 14-10 UFC) takes
center stage. Hatley adjudicates matters and beckons them forward.
Inside leg kick from Rakic, followed by rapid-fire punches. Tybura
struggling to deal with the speed difference. He plods forward and
swings at air. Nice body kick from the Pole. Rakic returns the
favor. Nasty front kick to the body from Rakic. Tybura sneaks in a
right hand over the top, then mixes in a front kick to the
midsection. Action slows. Leg kick from Rakic. Tybura strings
together three punches to the head. Rakic answers with a one-two.
Ninety seconds to go. Tybura wings hooks from both sides. Rakic
stabs at the body with another front kick and lands a left hook. He
lands a head kick. Tybura eats it and keeps moving forward. He
catches a kick but cannot consolidate it with a takedown. They size
up each other in the waning seconds.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rakic
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rakic
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Rakic

Round 2

Tybura needs to make some adjustments here. Rakic jabs, resets and
fires a one-two. Leg kick from Tybura. He follows a front kick to
the body with a spinning backfist. More jabs from Rakic. Tybura
eating multiple shots for every one he lands. His output has
dwindled. Right hook to the body from Rakic. Tybura plods forward,
only to swing and miss. He connects with a leg kick and cracks
Rakic with a right hand. Two minutes to go. Leg kick from Tybura.
Straight right from Rakic, who lands a powerful kick underneath the
Pole’s left armpit. Tybura scores with a front kick to the body.
Rakic lands a low kick, sidesteps his opponent and lands a left
hand over the top. They trade front kicks to the body and leg
kicks. Rakic catches him coming forward with a left hook and knocks
him off-balance with a body kick at the bell.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rakic
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rakic
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Rakic

Round 3

Tybura likely down two rounds in this one. Multi-punch volley from
Rakic, who then paws with his jab and connects with a body kick.
Tybura answers with a right hand over the top but continues to walk
himself into his counterpart’s punches. Rakic follows a leg kick
with a right uppercut, then gets his jab in gear. Tybura tries for
a takedown but goes nowhere. Rakic clinches and pins him along the
fence, then creates some space and lands a few elbows. Halfway home
in the last round. Rakic stays glued to his opponent, occasionally
sneaking in elbows and foot stomps. Not the most exciting approach
for Rakic, but it certainly seems to be getting the job done.
Tybura lands an elbow of his own and a knee. One of the strikes
drew blood. Hatley asks for more activity. Dirty boxing uppercuts
from Rakic with a minute to go on the clock. Rakic refusing to
relinquish the clinch, perhaps sensing he has the decision in the
bag. He lands a knee to the body, separates and connects with a
left hand over the top. Hatley separates them and warns Rakic for
grabbing the fence. The bout ends without meaningful offense from
either man.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rakic (30-27 Rakic)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rakic (30-27 Rakic)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Rakic (30-27 Rakic)

The Official Result

Aleksandar Rakic def. Marcin Tybura—Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)