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\u201cD-Rod\u201d will be back.<\/p>\n
Top 15-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Daniel Rodriguez<\/strong> suffered a 30-second knockout loss to Uros Medic<\/strong> in the main event of UFC Belgrade yesterday (Sat., Aug. 1, 2026) inside Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia (watch highlights).<\/p>\n Following the ultra-quick knockout loss \u2014 and a trip to a Serbian hospital afterward (details here) \u2014 Rodriguez released a statement on his Instagram story.<\/p>\n \u201cF\u2014k, I loaded up on the jab, and he beat me to the punch,\u201d Rodriguez wrote. \u201cShit happens, I guess. Regardless of what just happened, I still can say I\u2019m proud of myself for overcoming all that I have this past year. I was way out of shape when I got out of prison. We knew the risk coming out here and fighting this dude in his hometown and still took it. I\u2019m gonna be in way better shape next time. F\u2014king hurts my heart losing. I\u2019ll be better next time.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodriguez (20-6) had his three-fight win streak snapped in brutal fashion. Before the loss to Medic, \u201cD-Rod\u201d had put together one of the best runs of his recent career, scoring a unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland<\/strong> at UFC 318, knocking out Santiago Ponzinibbio<\/strong> (watch highlights) and defeating Alex Morono<\/strong> by unanimous decision.<\/p>\n However, Rodriguez\u2019s past year has been anything but normal.<\/p>\n Just days after his win over Holland, Rodriguez spent the next eight months incarcerated in a prison in Tijuana, Mexico, after getting caught with marijuana at the border (wild details here).<\/p>\n So, while the result at UFC Belgrade was obviously a disaster, Rodriguez still seems proud that he even made it back to a UFC main event after everything he went through.<\/p>\n As for what comes next, a quick turnaround could make sense if Rodriguez is medically cleared.<\/p>\n UFC 331 goes down next month in Los Angeles, California, which is Rodriguez\u2019s hometown, and that would be a fun landing spot. Noche UFC 4 is also scheduled one week earlier, giving UFC another potential option if \u201cD-Rod\u201d wants to get right back in there.<\/p>\n