Ante Delija's injury changed the UFC's plans for Belgrade: Johnny Walker left without an opponent
The UFC event in Belgrade, scheduled for August 1, 2026, at Belgrade Arena, has lost one of the most high-profile heavyweight bouts that had been announced. Ante Delija, a fighter from Croatia and former PFL heavyweight champion, according to reports from several MMA insiders, has withdrawn from his fight against Brazilian Johnny Walker due to injury. According to the same information reported by Index, Slobodna Dalmacija and Fight Site, the UFC is now looking for a replacement opponent so that Walker can still remain on the card for the first UFC event in Serbia. At the time of publication, the organization had not officially confirmed the details of the injury, nor had it announced the name of a possible new opponent. On the UFC's official website, the event is still listed as UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez, with a series of fights that should mark one of the most important MMA events in this part of the European sporting calendar.
The cancellation of Delija's appearance comes just over a month before the event and changes the schedule at a sensitive stage of preparations. Heavyweight matches usually carry special weight in the promotion of events like this, and the Delija vs. Walker bout had additional appeal because it brought together an established former PFL champion and an exciting UFC knockout artist who was supposed to make an important move into the heavyweight division. According to the available information, the UFC's goal is not to remove Walker from the card, but to find a fighter who can take the bout on short notice. Such a search in the final phase of preparations is often complicated because a potential replacement must be medically fit, contractually available and capable of meeting heavyweight requirements. For the organizers, it is also a production challenge, because fights of this level are used in the international promotion of the event, ticket sales and television broadcast announcements.
Why Delija against Walker was one of the most interesting pairings of the evening
The announced meeting between Delija and Walker was interesting for several sporting reasons, and not only because of the names of the two fighters. Delija built a reputation in heavyweight MMA as a fighter who combines physical strength, experience from a tournament format and the ability to finish matches in the early rounds. On its official website, the PFL states that Delija was the 2022 heavyweight world champion, seasonal MVP and the first PFL champion from Croatia. That fact is important for understanding his position in the UFC, because he arrived in the organization as a fighter with an already established international reputation, not as a beginner on the biggest stage.
Walker, on the other hand, had for years been one of the more recognizable names in the UFC's light heavyweight division. Index states that the Brazilian arrived in the UFC in 2018 and quickly attracted attention with a series of first-round knockouts, while several specialized MMA sources emphasize that the move to heavyweight was supposed to be a new chapter in his career. Walker's style, marked by explosive attacks and a wide range of strikes, would make him a dangerous opponent for any heavyweight, especially in the first minutes of a fight. For Delija, a victory over such an opponent would have meant an important return in a positive direction, while a successful debut in the higher division could have opened space for Walker to position himself more quickly among the heavyweights. That is precisely why the cancellation was seen as one of the bigger blows to the fighting part of the card, even if the UFC finds a replacement.
Delija's path: from the top of the PFL to a new UFC opportunity
Delija's career in recent years shows how quickly a fighter's position can change in elite MMA. Official PFL data recalls that in 2022 he won the heavyweight world championship title by defeating Matheus Scheffel, rounding off a season in which he was one of the organization's most prominent fighters. Such success had great sporting value because the PFL format requires continuity throughout the season, not just one victory in an isolated match. Delija thereby gained the status of a fighter capable of going through the rhythm of tournament bouts and maintaining form across several appearances. In the heavyweight division, where one punch often changes the course of a career, such stability is especially important.
According to information published by Slobodna Dalmacija, Delija has recorded 26 wins and eight losses in his professional career, and he opened his UFC debut with an impressive knockout against Marcin Tybura. The same source states that this was followed by a loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta, which sparked discussions among fans and commentators, and a unanimous-decision loss to Serghei Spivac in February. In that context, the appearance in Belgrade was supposed to be an opportunity to return to winning ways and stabilize his position in the heavyweight competition. The injury now stops that plan and raises the question of how long Delija will need to recover, although it has not currently been officially confirmed what kind of injury it is. For a fighter at this stage of his career, risk assessment will be crucial, because a premature return after injury can have long-term consequences in a division in which matches are often decided by high physical expenditure.
Walker awaits the UFC's new decision
Johnny Walker now finds himself in an unenviable situation that is common in professional combat sports, but rarely simple to resolve. According to information reported by Croatian and international MMA outlets, the Brazilian was left without an opponent after Delija withdrew, and the UFC is trying to find a replacement. For Walker, this is particularly important because the fight in Belgrade was supposed to mark his entry into the heavyweight division after a longer period at light heavyweight. A change of division usually requires adjustments in conditioning, nutrition, sparring and tactical approach, and a change of opponent in the final phase of camp can disrupt all of these elements. A new opponent could have a completely different style, different height, different reach and different grappling habits from Delija.
Index states that Walker has a professional record of 22 wins, 10 losses and one draw, and that he has built a reputation in the UFC as an exciting but not always stable fighter. That combination makes him interesting to the audience, but also a sporting risk for matchmakers, because the opponent must be relevant enough for the match to retain its importance, while at the same time realistically available on short notice. In similar situations, the UFC sometimes turns to fighters who are already in training, to heavyweights from the European scene or to roster members waiting for a new opportunity. Still, until the organization announces an official decision, any mention of possible names remains at the level of speculation. The only thing that is clear is that Walker, if he remains on the card, could arrive in Belgrade with a different sporting task from the one for which he initially prepared.
The event in Belgrade remains an important moment for the UFC's European expansion
The UFC has officially announced that on August 1, 2026, it will bring the octagon to Serbia for the first time, and the event at Belgrade Arena has been presented as an important stop in the organization's international calendar. The UFC's official website lists the event as UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez, with the main welterweight bout between Uroš Medić and Daniel Rodriguez. On the official fight list, according to published data available on June 21, 2026, there are also Jan Błachowicz against Bogdan Guskov, Aleksandar Rakić against Marcin Tybura, as well as a series of other matches featuring fighters from Serbia, Poland, Brazil, the United States, Slovakia, Azerbaijan and other countries. Such a lineup shows that the UFC is not building the event only on local interest, but also on a broader international combination of recognizable names and new markets.
The cancellation of one fight does not change the historical significance of the event itself, but it can change its sporting dynamics. UFC events outside the United States often have a dual function: they satisfy the existing fan base and at the same time test the market's potential for future events. In that sense, Belgrade has a specific role because it gathers an audience interested in combat sports, while also being well enough connected with other European destinations for the event to attract international visitors as well. From the UFC's perspective, such events expand the calendar and reduce dependence on traditional American fight centers. From a sporting perspective, they open space for fighters from different European countries to perform closer to part of their audience, without turning the event into a local show of a closed character.
What the cancellation means for the schedule and the audience
For the audience that planned to follow the event because of Delija's appearance, the news of the injury is certainly a disappointment. Still, schedule changes are common in MMA, especially when an event is several weeks away and fighters are entering the final stages of sparring. In such situations, the UFC usually tries to maintain the number of fights and the overall appeal of the card, but the quality of the replacement depends on the market of available fighters and on the willingness of individuals to accept a short camp. If Walker gets an opponent of a similar profile, the heavyweight part of the evening could retain a high level of interest. If the replacement is a less familiar name, the emphasis of the card could shift even more toward the main fight between Medić and Rodriguez and the appearances of Rakić, Tybura, Błachowicz and Guskov.
For Delija, the most important question is his health recovery and the moment of return. Since the type of injury has not been officially announced, it is impossible to reliably assess how long his absence could last. In professional MMA, the difference between a short break and a long recovery can be decisive, especially for heavyweights, who often have fewer opportunities per year than fighters in lighter divisions. Delija was supposed to use the attention of a major UFC European event in Belgrade, but now he will have to wait for a new combination of opponent, date and health readiness. Walker, meanwhile, awaits a decision that will determine whether his move to the heavyweight division will still begin on August 1 or whether that plan will also be postponed.
UFC still without an official replacement
As of June 21, 2026, it had not been announced who could replace Delija in the match against Walker. Fight Site states that the news of Delija's withdrawal was first publicly reported by MMA journalist Laerte Viana, while other outlets reported that the UFC is already looking for a new heavyweight for Walker. At the time of checking, the UFC's official event page still contained the program announcement, but in changes of this kind, fight lists are often updated only after the organization completes contractual and medical procedures. This means that a certain amount of time can pass between the first insider information and the official change on the event page. For readers and viewers, the most reliable signal will be an official UFC announcement or an updated fight list on the event page.
In the meantime, the sporting value of the UFC's arrival in Belgrade remains unquestionable. The event is still announced as one of the biggest MMA events in Serbia, with the main fight between Medić and Rodriguez and a series of international matches covering several divisions. But Delija's absence changes one of the key stories of the evening: instead of the expected clash between the former PFL champion and the Brazilian on the threshold of his heavyweight debut, the focus shifts to the UFC's search for a replacement and the question of whether Walker can keep his place on the card. Until there is official confirmation, the only certainty is that the injury has opened the first major change on a card that was supposed to be presented as a strong combination of domestic, European and globally recognizable MMA names.
Sources:
- UFC – official event page for UFC Fight Night: Medić vs. Rodriguez and fight list for August 1, 2026, at Belgrade Arena (link)
- UFC – official announcement of the organization's first arrival in Serbia and the context of the event in Belgrade (link)
- Index.hr – report on Delija's withdrawal due to injury and the UFC's search for a replacement for Johnny Walker (link)
- Slobodna Dalmacija – report on the cancellation of the fight, Delija's professional record and the context of his recent appearances (link)
- Fight Site / Jutarnji list – report on MMA journalist Laerte Viana's first announcement and the UFC's search for a replacement heavyweight (link)
- Professional Fighters League – official profile of Ante Delija and notes on the 2022 PFL heavyweight championship title (link)