Jan Blachowicz is staying on the UFC Belgrade card, defending his position against a rising prospect.
On Thursday, the UFC announced that undefeated prospect Navajo Stirling will step in to fight former champion Jan Blachowicz in the co-main event of UFC Belgrade in August.
Blachowicz (29-11-2) was originally set to rematch Bogdan Guskov at the event, but Guskov was pulled from the contest earlier this week to replace Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi this month. Now, the former champion remains on the card, but will be facing his first unranked opponent since he battled Nikita Krylov in 2018.
Stirling (10-0) may not be ranked, but he is on quite a tear right now, winning his first five UFC bouts. The City Kickboxing product most recently finished Ion Cutelaba in the second round at UFC Vegas 119.
Blachowicz, meanwhile, is a former UFC and KSW light heavyweight champion. A staple of the UFC for over a decade, the 43-year-old Blachowicz is currently on the worst run of his career, going winless over his past four bouts. Most recently, Blachowicz went to a majority draw with Bogdan Guskov at UFC 323 in December.
UFC Belgrade takes place at the Belgrade Arena on Aug. 1, headlined by a welterweight main event between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez.
