"Victory is the icing on the cake for any athlete. Salikhov is knocking on the top 15, I want that too. This is a perfect opportunity for me; after the victory, I will start 2026 with a ranking.
Muslim will have the advantage in experience, but he is already 42 years old. I think he will have a hard time in the later rounds. But I'm not going to fight to a judges' decision. We don't get paid by the hour, so it's better to spend as little time in the cage as possible. Go in, do your job, and move on—to a fight against a ranked fighter," Medić said in an interview with the UFC press service.