Uros Medic tore meniscus on Monday of UFC Belgrade week, needs surgery
· Yahoo Sports
Uros Medic nearly had his first UFC main event derailed just days prior to stepping into the octagon.
Visit rouesnews.click for more information.
On the Monday of his UFC Fight Night 283 headliner against Daniel Rodriguez (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) earlier this month, Medic (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) was going through a routine warmup when he noticed something unusual with his knee after what he would describe as a typical movement.
"Honestly, we were just warming up, and my knee popped out of place and was like, 'Whoa, what is this,'" Medic told MMA Junkie on Monday. "I tried to straighten my leg out, and it popped back in. Straight away I started to fill with liquid and started to swell. I'm like, 'What the f*ck is happening?' I did a check-up with the PI to see what's happening, and they're like, 'Your ACL is fine. It looks most likely like a meniscus injury.'
"It scared me; it scared everybody. We were just sitting there like, 'Guys, listen, we're going into this fight even if it means with one leg. I'm going to fight this fight. I've gone to hell and back to return to my country, and I'm going in there.'"
The immediate diagnosis Medic received pointed to a torn meniscus. It turned what should've been a celebratory fight week for the UFC's debut event in Serbia into a stressful nightmare.
Medic never gave thought to withdrawing from the fight and was given round-the-clock treatment by staff at the UFC Performance Institute. He was able to push through, but said he had to make extra effort to avoid anyone else – and particularly his opponent – picking up that something might be off.
"They really helped me," Medic said. "It was just amazing. I was able to get back on my feet. I went into the fight week limping, and I was just begging God to not let people see me limping, because I knew it was going to come out in the news right away. That's just going to give my opponent wind on his back. For me to be able to weather this week – this week was the fight. The fight was routine work for me, that I do the best. But the week itself was one heck of a week.
"It was stressful. I was cutting weight. I couldn't do training that I do. I couldn't grapple at all. I'm not whining or anything. This is just normal in our line of work. I've seen fighters with worse injuries and worse infections get through the fight week. Carlos Ulberg has just won the belt with a torn knee. This all comes with the territory."
After all the anxiety around the injury, Medic turned in a performance that would show no signs he was compromised. He needed just 30 seconds to drop and stop Rodriguez and close the show with a proud moment for Serbians, extending his winning streak to four consecutive fights.
Although he would've like to have come out unblemished, Medic said the timeline for an operation, recovery and return to training still aligns with his hopes of fighting again in 2026.
"The doctor said that it needs a surgery," Medic said. "But it's one of those non-invasive one that's arthroscopic. It should be like a month recovery or something. I still need to get together with orthopaedic surgeon, because he wants to see me. I'm going to be back there on Monday, and I'll probably do it as soon as possible so I can recover right away and get in there before the year is over. I should be able to. I think. But obviously step-by-step and day-by-day."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Uros Medic tore meniscus on Monday of UFC Belgrade week, needs surgery