UFC Knockout Artist Absolutely Fatlines Top-Ranked Fighter at UFC Houston

Uros Medic finally broke through into the UFC welterweight rankings with an absolutely jaw-dropping knockout at UFC Houston.

Returning from an off week after the promotion kicked off 2026 and its new Paramount era with three-straight events, the UFC returned to Houston, TX this weekend with a UFC Fight Night card headlined by Sean Strickland and Anthony Hernandez.

The card also featured an important welterweight co-main event between Medic and Geoff Neal, who came into the night as the division’s #12-ranked contender after suffering a brutal knockout-loss to Carlos Prates in his only outing of 2025.

Uros Medic Flatlines Goeff Neal In UFC Houston Co-Main Event

Despite the loss to Prates and the fact that he was 1-3 dating back to 2023, Neal still entered the UFC Houston matchup with Medic as around a two-to-one favorite to get back into the win column.

“Handz of Steel” last got his hand raised when he defeated former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos via injury TKO at UFC 308, and prior to that he came one scorecard short of handing Ian Machado Garry his first loss at UFC 298. Medic hadn’t faced anywhere near the same level of competition as Neal, but the 32-year-old did carry the distinction of having never seen the judges’ scorecards in his professional MMA career.

10 knockouts apiece in the co-main! 💥

Geoff Neal vs @Urketaraketa

[ #UFCHouston | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/mXHQlylzeE
— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2026

Back-to-back 63-second knockouts of Gilbert Urbina and Muslim Salikhov were enough to finally earn Medic a crack at the welterweight rankings in Houston, and “The Doctor” added to his unbelievable finishing rate when he caught Neal with a left hook a little over a minute into the opening round.

HOUSE CALL FOR MEDIC 🤯@Urketaraketa is here to deliver knockouts every time!

[ #UFCHouston | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Tv8COFKvhu
— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2026

Neal immediately fell flat on his back after the thunderous shot ended their striking exchange, and Medic already looked to already be celebrating by the time the referee jumped in to formally call an end to the fight and attend to Neal.

Medic has now gone 7-3 since joining the UFC off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020 and will presumably take Neal’s spot in the welterweight Top 15 once the official UFC rankings are updated next week. The walk-off finish was only the fourth stoppage at UFC Houston, but three of those results came via violent knockouts that all took place during the night’s main card.