FloCombat Prospect Of The Week: Uros Jurisic
FloCombat Prospect Of The Week: Uros Jurisic
Uros Jurisic is primed for big things in MMA — and our own Michael Fiedel breaks down exactly why in the latest FloCombat Prospect of the Week column.
Mixed martial arts is a rapidly evolving sport with an unbelievably high rate of turnover. Today’s stars will soon be yesterday’s, and tomorrow’s will soon be today’s. At FloCombat, we’re committed to showcasing some of the best young talents the sport has to offer. We want to introduce you to the next wave of MMA superstars — which we've done with names such as Deron Winn, Luis Pena, Manny Bermudez and countless others over the years of streaming live events from across the U.S.
In “Prospect of the Week," a new weekly installment here on FloCombat, we’ll focus on one fighter a week who has the potential to do great things and deserves the spotlight.
In this series, a prospect is defined as a fighter under the age of 30 years old fighting in a promotion outside of the UFC or Bellator. It’s an imperfect definition of an imperfect term, but it’s the one that will govern this series.
This week, FloCombat highlights dominant, undefeated finisher: Uroš Jurišic (10-0).
Jurišic, 26, is a Slovenian-born MMA fighter training out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
The 10-0 professional is a tried-and-true finisher, having scored nine of his 10 victories by way of finish. Jurišic has shown off his well-rounded skills in those fights, compiling a near-even assortment of five knockouts and four submissions.
Jurišic began his professional career in his native Slovenia in 2012, winning his debut by armbar in the first round. He then took a two-year hiatus from the sport, returning to action for his second bout in 2014.
Jurišic then strung together four-straight wins, in addition to his pro debut, across the regional circuit. He won his second fight by first-round knockout in Slovenia, his third by submission due to punches in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his fourth by third-round guillotine choke in Italy’s Kombat League, and his fifth by first-round rear-naked choke in his return to Slovenia.
After putting together a 5-0 record with five finishes, the then-21-year-old Jurišic was selected by the ATT coaches to compete alongside his teammates on the 21st season of the Ultimate Fighter, The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians.
On the season’s second episode, ATT pitted the young Jurišic against the older, more experienced Luis “Buscape” Firmino (then 18-6), a Shooto, M-1, PRIDE, DREAM, and WSOF veteran.
As one might expect, experience won out. Over the course of two rounds, as is the case on the Ultimate Fighter, Firmino controlled and out-grinded Jurišic en route to a unanimous decision of 20-18s across the board.
Following his less-than-ideal stint on the Ultimate Fighter, Jurišic returned to Slovenia and picked up another first-round knockout win. It was then, after his sixth professional win, that Jurišic began his stateside career.
The welterweight prospect began a career in South Florida-based promotion Titan FC, a promotion fraught with talent from nearby American Top Team and the reincarnated Blackzilians, HardKnocks 365.
In the summer of 2017, Jurišic made his successful promotional debut to the tune of yet another first-round knockout victory. Early 2018 saw Jurišic return to the Titan FC cage, where he scored a unanimous decision win over Dana White Contender Series veteran Michael Cora.
Having defeated Cora in a de-facto welterweight title eliminator, Jurišic drew Titan FC welterweight champion Jose Caceres in his next bout. It took Jurišic no time to dispatch of the champion, snatching up a guillotine choke mere minutes into the first round.
In his most recent fight, in November of 2018, Jurišic returned once more to Slovenia, where he Georgia’s Shota Gvasalia in the main event of W5: Legends Collide.
At just 26 years of age, Uroš Jurišic is a fascinating talent to behold. The Slovenian finisher is undefeated as a professional, trains out of a dominant, experienced gym, has competed on the Ultimate Fighter, and has fought for a major regional promotion with ties to UFC Fight Pass.
Essentially, if Jurišic keeps improving, he could be a name to remember at 170 pounds. Jurišic, given his nationality, could be a good fit for a European promotion like KSW, Cage Warriors, or even Bellator, as the U.S. promotion continues their expansion into the continent.
Yet, since Jurišic trains out American Top Team and has fought for Titan FC, it’s possible he stays in the states. If so, a defense of his Titan FC welterweight title, then perhaps a slot on a future UFC event in Europe, could be ideal.