Athletes
Uroš Medić Is Keen To Make Up For Lost Time
Serbian Welterweight Finisher Uroš Medić Endured A Frustrating Year In 2024, And Plans to Hit The Ground Running At The First UFC Event Of 2025
Uroš Medić has shaken off his injury woes and is all business ahead of his UFC return this weekend.
Serbia’s Medić returns to action at UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Dern 2 in Las Vegas, where he’ll take on Punahele Soriano in a welterweight bout that could deliver some early-2025 fireworks at the UFC APEX.
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For Medić , it’s a chance to hit the ground running against an opponent he knows well.
“I’ve known Puna for a while. He's a great guy, but this is a business meeting for us, and I'm sure he feels the same,” Medić told UFC.com ahead of fight night in Las Vegas.
So I'm planning to do the same thing (as my last fight), and try to finish the fight. I know the UFC appreciates that. I certainly do, and the fans, as well. So, just get the job done.”
Medić ’s last fight saw him knock out Tim Means with a vicious uppercut last April. But any hopes of building on that victory in the second half of the year were ended when he suffered a broken rib in the lead-up to his planned August bout with Danny Barlow.
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"I fractured my rib wrestling,” he explained.
“This is a common injury, I think. (I did it) not long after Kevin Holland did it in a fight, off a Granby roll. It's the exact same way it happened to me. I rolled when a guy was holding me and twisted my ribs and cracked one of the floating ribs.”
The injury was a particularly tricky one to work around, and meant that he eventually took the decision to stop training to allow it to fully recover. It meant that any hopes of facing Barlow were put to rest as Medić instead took the time to fully rest up and heal his injuries during a frustrating second half of the year.
“It took forever,” he said.
“I tried to train and keep it down and maybe get into a fight, and the team was just not with it, like ‘You can't do this. We’re not gonna go fight when you’re compromised.’
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I took a step back for a few weeks, and then I went back to training, and I just couldn't really train properly. It was like any motion that's more than just walking around was hurting me. It almost felt like a knife in my ribs and somebody twisting it, so it was a no brainer to postpone that (fight).”
Now Medić is fully recovered and ready to return, and he’s fully prepared for his next test, as he goes up against Soriano this weekend at the UFC APEX.
“I know Punahele. We are managed by the same team. I’ve met him out here in Vegas several times and we talk. We’re cool,” he said.
“I was a little surprised that it's us (going against each other), but then I looked at our stats and whatnot, and I realized, yeah, that does make sense. He's 10-4. I'm 10-2. We're both making our way to the top 15. So it's going to be (a case of) who goes a step further?
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“I don't think Punahele has anything that I haven't seen before. I don't think he has better wrestling than Myktybek (Orolbai), who outwrestled me. I don't think he has better striking than Matthew Semelsberger or Jalin Turner. He's a great striker, a well-rounded fighter. However, I don't think he matches up, skill-for-skill, with some of those guys.”
Medić also feels that, since he returned to full fitness, he’s used his time well to round out his own skillset in preparation for a fight that could see his defensive wrestling skills tested.
"I think, as well-rounded as he is, I am as well,” he explained.
“I’ve improved a lot, and worked on those aspects of my game that I needed to improve. So I think we're in for a treat.
“It's going to be a good fight – a good challenge for me, a good challenge for him, and I honestly believe I will come out victorious, and I believe I will finish that fight, as well.
“I think, personally, I'm a more crisp and better striker. I do believe that Punahele will try to take me down and take advantage of that aspect. So I’ve committed a good portion of my camp, most of my camp, to wrestling.
“I’m expecting him to wrestle. If he doesn't wrestle, I think I'll have an easier time just boxing him, or striking. So if he does wrestle, I'll be ready for that as well. So, either way.”
And while Medić may have drilled his defensive wrestling relentlessly in training, he ultimately sees the fight being decided on the feet, where he’s supremely confident in the striking acumen that has seen him claim all four of his UFC victories by knockout.
“I think I'll be able to finish the fight by the end of the second round,” he stated.
“That's kind of what I was gauging. But you never know with this.
“I’m not rushing anywhere. If this goes the distance, so be it. I'm not really obsessing over it, but I do prefer to finish the fight. If I can wound him, if I can hurt him, I will look for that finish, as everybody knows. Any time I can smell a little bit of blood, I finish that fight.”
After a frustrating year in 2024, Medić has his eyes on a big win, and a big finish, to get his 2025 off to a flying start. After that, his goal is clear – stay active, keep winning, and fight his way into the official welterweight rankings.
“I’ve had this planned out already for the previous year. Unfortunately, the injuries kind of threw me off,” he admitted.
“But the goal is the Top 15. That's our goal, and it's been our goal for a minute. All I’ve got to do is commit myself to several fights in a row and stay healthy, and I will be there, without a doubt.
“So, this year, Top 15. Three fights would get me there, maybe two, depending on the names and depending on who's available at the time. But yeah, that's my goal for this year – 2025, Top 15.”
UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 11, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!