Vlasto Čepo is the newest addition to the UFC middleweight division. The Serbian fighter debuts for the promotion on August 1st at UFC Belgrade against Gilbert Urbina. The fight takes place in the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
Multiple sources confirmed the fight to Heavy.com. Čepo comes over from the Czech promotion Oktagon MMA.
New Serbian Blood In The UFC
Čepo made his professional debut in 2019 in Serbia. After four first-round finishes, he had already signed with Oktagon MMA. He won his first three fights for the promotion, but they were all documented under a special ruleset, which means they were not added to the professional record. In his legit MMA debut for Oktagon MMA, Čepo suffered his first defeat.
The Serbian then fought for a different promotion and got back on track with two wins. When he came back to Oktagon MMA, he won two fights in a row. From December 2022, he stayed at Oktagon MMA and won four of his five fights via vicious knockouts. Čepo is a very spectacular fighter, something he hopes to display during his UFC debut against Gilbert Urbina.
A Must Win For Urbina
Urbina moves to middleweight for this fight. The fighter out of Archbold, Ohio, made his way in the UFC through the 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Urbina lost in the semi-finals but got a chance to fight in the finale after Tresean Gore suffered a bad injury. Urbina took on Bryan Battle in the finale. After a good first round, Urbina gassed and lost in the second round.
One and a half years later, Urbina returned to the Octagon with an impressive second-round TKO against Orion Cosce. This was his only win in the Octagon. Urbina fought twice after the Cosce fight in the UFC but lost against both Charles Radtke and Uroš Medić in the first round. Now he travels to Belgrade and faces newcomer Čepo.
Main Event in Belgrade
For now, the UFC still hasn’t announced the main event for UFC Belgrade. There are rumors that Uroš Medić gets the opportunity to fight the headliner in front of his home crowd. Names like Daniel Rodriguez and Leon Edwards have been rumored, but nothing has been officially confirmed. Another rumored fight is a match-up between Ante Delija and Johnny Walker. Walker is most likely moving to the heavyweight division.
There are also rumors that Aleksandar Rakić is fighting on the Belgrade card. Just like Walker, he is also rumored to make his heavyweight debut in the UFC. It is the first time the UFC will have an event in Belgrade, Serbia. The promotion held an event in the neighboring country of Croatia a few years ago. This is the first time since 2019 that the UFC has hosted a European event outside of the United Kingdom or France.
UFC Belgrade – August 1st
- Vlasto Čepo vs. Gilbert Urbina
- Jovan Leka vs. Max Gimenis
Serbian Newcomer Get’s Fight on Hometurf at UFC Belgrade