Uros Medic was just days away from surgery when he got the call from the UFC offering him a fight against top 15 ranked welterweight Geoff Neal as the co-main event in Houston.
It turns out Medic suffers from a severe deviated septum that hinders his breathing and he was planning to go under the knife in hopes he would get some relief before he competed again. But the chance to face a ranked opponent as an unranked fighter was an opportunity he just couldn’t refuse.
“When they called me and asked if I was healthy, I was three days away from sinus surgery,” Medic told MMA Fighting. “I said I’m healthy, let’s go. I called the doctor’s office and said I cannot do this sinus surgery. We’re going to have to reschedule. I take that fight, I have such a hard time breathing. It got better because I got some stuff to wash it and to calm down the inflammation inside. Because from all the punching and the deviated septum, all the years of not breathing well, it kind of adds up to not being able to breath at all. Some nights I couldn’t sleep.
“I’m like this is the time to risk it. These are the good old days. This is what I’m going to be remembered for and I have to make this work. F*ck the fact that I cannot breathe. I’m going to make it work.”
With surgery off the table, Medic worked with his doctor to try and get some relief through other methods but regardless, he was taking the fight.
While it was definitely a risk, Medic says these days he’s much more focused on entertaining fights and maintaining his 100 percent finishing rate than being worried about wins or losses.
“I take that fight, I take whatever five or six weeks to get ready. I did my best,” Medic said. “The biggest thing I have is belief in myself and I know how powerful I am. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to give the crowd what they want to see, regardless of the outcome. I’m going to focus only on performance. Outcome doesn’t matter.
“I could win and still have that stolen away from me by the referee. I cannot tie myself to an outcome. I’m just going to focus on a good performance and little do you know, I knock him out cold in one minute. I’m super thankful for all the opportunities and how everything played out.”
Medic ultimately delivered a jaw-dropping knockout after he clipped Neal with a punch early in the first round that left Neal stiff before crashing to the canvas a split second later.
It was one of those dramatic finishes Medic knows will live on his career highlight reel until he’s done fighting. While he knew the same thing could have just as easily happened to him, Medic was happy with the result, although he did console Neal after delivering the brutal knockout.
“I told him in the back after the fight, I’m sorry that had to happen to him in front of his home crowd and someday I’m going to go fight in front of my home crowd and I know it must be tough,” Medic said. “I found myself in his shoes a year ago, not in a home crowd, but I was laid out on the canvas by a different fighter. That’s just the nature of the beast and he said ‘it’s all good’ and he didn’t mind it.
“That’s just how it is. I know how dangerous he is but I was just so prepared and so fast and I believe in myself and I belong in the top 15.”
In the latest update to the UFC rankings, Medic indeed found himself in the top 15 and he’s resolved to climb higher to put himself in a position to potentially challenge for a title one day.
Winning UFC gold would be a dream come true, but Medic would ideally like to get there by putting on more performances like he had in Houston.
Medic called out former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards after his win and still believes that’s a viable matchup, but he’s never going to pick or choose his opponents. In fact, Medic is happy to draw opponents who are not exactly known for putting on Fight of the Night-type performances because that presents an even greater challenge.
“I mean [Leon Edwards] just came to mind but I’ll fight anybody,” Medic said. “It came to mind because I think it would make an entertaining fight. You could put anybody in front of me but there’s guys who are just going to try to hug and run around for 15 minutes and nobody wants to watch that.
“Come on guys. If I have to teach them out to fight, I’ll teach them out to fight. I’ll be reminding them every fight and every post-fight interview, this is how you f*cking fight. You show up and you f*cking fight. Because that’s what you’re paid to do and what you got signed to do. Not to run around and try to score points. That’s nonsense to me.”
Perhaps top 5 ranked welterweight Ian Machado Garry tops that list for Medic when it comes to fighters who tend to win by decision rather than going for the kill, but even that matchup intrigues him.
“I know I’m going to have to chase Ian Garry around the octagon,” Medic said. “That’s going to be annoying but I’d love to fight him as well. Who else crossed my mind? I know Carlos Prates would be an amazing fight. That for sure would be a banger. That wouldn’t go the distance, I’ll tell you that for sure.”
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