FNC 26: Cobra broke Cowboy, Zdravković defended the title
In a sold-out Morača Hall, we witnessed ten top-class fights to close out an unforgettable combat sports year under the FNC banner
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An excellent FNC 26 Powered by Meridianbet spectacle wrapped up a spectacular year under the Fight Nation Championship banner. The currently biggest regional star, Miloš “Cobra” Janičić (28, 19-3), secured a first-round knockout victory over UFC veteran Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. For the first time in his career, Miljan Zdravković (26, 10-0) successfully defended his title, doing so in an extremely demanding fight against experienced Canadian Josh Hill (39, 23-8). After all five rounds, the judges ruled that the Serbian fighter remains the FNC bantamweight champion.
The evening opened with victories by Dalibor Dragojević (21, 4-0), Milenko Stamatović (31, 6-0), and Ilija Brkan (23, 5-3). In the welterweight bout, hometown fighter Dragojević welcomed returning FNC competitor Selver Mahmić (28, 2–2) back to the cage. From the opening moments, “Mugiwara” dominated - Mahmić struggled to find his distance, repeatedly falling short with his strikes, which the Montenegrin fighter capitalized on. Dragojević built the fight excellently over three rounds and ultimately finished it with an anaconda choke, sparking an eruption of excitement in Morača Hall.
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The strong momentum for the home crowd continued when Milenko Stamatović dropped Jozef Jaloviar (35, 5-5) with the very first strike, then took a dominant position on the ground and methodically built toward the finish, ending the fight with heavy punches. The referee stepped in to stop the contest, awarding the victory to the home fighter, who celebrated passionately. Home fans hoped for a perfect 3-0 on the prelims, but that didn’t happen.
Fan favorite Aleksandar Mihailović (27, 5-3) was unable to impose his game. Ilija Brkan managed the distance excellently, took him down when needed, and landed strong elbows. He opened Mihailović up and remained the superior fighter until the final bell, with the Zagreb-based American Top Team representative earning a unanimous decision victory.
After an unexpected loss in Ljubljana, Tomislav “Gegan” Sičaja (27, 6-1) returned in the best possible way, putting together three solid rounds and giving Zoran Šolaja (34, 3-4) no chance to threaten him. The fighter from Zagreb’s American Top Team claimed a unanimous decision win.
We also witnessed what many consider the best fight in the history of regional women’s MMA - three outstanding rounds. Each fighter took one round, while the decisive and very close round was awarded by two judges to Sara Luzar Smajić (29, 6-3), who won by split decision over Ivana Petrović (31, 7-4). The home crowd eagerly awaited the appearance of brave Luka Bubanja (19, 0-1), who accepted a fight against Stefan Dobrijević (21, 11-2) in ultimate kickboxing. Despite a solid performance, Bubanja had to concede defeat as the fighter from Bosnia and Herzegovina knocked him out in the second round.
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The long-awaited return of Ahmed Vila (29, 12-7-1) to the regional scene-specifically to the cage of Southeast Europe’s top MMA promotion - did not go as planned. He hadn’t been knocked out in nine years, but Luka Giorgadze (25, 11-2) managed to do just that, announcing his run toward the featherweight title. A major shock hit the arena when Artur Sowinski (38, 1-0) knocked out absolute regional combat sports legend Vaso Bakočević (36, 5-2) after just 52 seconds.
FNC 26 Powered by Meridianbet | PODGORICA
Milos Janicic def. Alex Oliveira via TKO (punches) R1, 01:50
Miljan Zdravkovic def. Josh Hill via UD R5, 25:00
Artur Sowinski def. Vaso Bakocevic via KO (punch) R1, 0:52
Luka Giorgadze def. Ahmed Vila via TKO (punches) R2, 3:20
Stefan Dobrijevic def. Luku Bubanja via KO (punch) R2, 2:32
Sara Luzar Smajic def. Ivana Petrovic via SD R3, 15:00
Tomislav Sicaja def. Zoran Solaja via UD R3, 15:00
Ilija Brkan def. Aleksandar Mihailovic via UD R3, 15:00
Milenko Stamatovic def. Jozef Jaloviar via TKO (punches) R1, 3:27
Dalibor Dragojevic def. Selver Mahmic via submission (anaconda choke) R3, 4:32