Fight Nation Championship 25
Lightweight, Marko Bojković (8-1):
Bojković was widely viewed as a top-five prospect at the beginning of the year. With a UFC opportunity seemingly within reach, he ran into Milos Janicic—who punished him and forced a second-round stoppage. Still, Bojković is only 24, and setbacks like that are often necessary for long-term development in this sport.
Bojković carries real power in his hands, the kind of one-shot knockout threat you can’t afford to let land clean. He’s explosive and aggressive, mixing targets well even when it looks like he’s hunting for the finish. He might be even more dangerous on the ground, where he’s both a constant submission threat and a violent finisher with ground-and-pound. Despite the loss, he remains a true blue-chip prospect.
He now faces durable veteran Donovan Desmae (19–10), a fighter much better than his record suggests. A win here would be a major step toward getting himself back on track.
Middleweight, Petar Blagojević (1-0):
Blagojević is likely the top fighter coming out of Bosnia and Herzegovina right now. He’s 1–0 as a professional after going 5–3 as an amateur—a record that’s more impressive than it looks, considering he lost his first three bouts and has since rattled off six straight wins, five by finish.
Early in fights, Blagojević leans on his physicality and grappling strength, often muscling opponents to the mat immediately. Once it hits the ground, he shows a well-rounded skill set, finishing fights with both heavy ground-and-pound and rear-naked chokes. His true level is still uncertain, as he doesn’t yet have a notable win on his résumé.
Blagojević now meets a fellow 1–0 prospect—a step in the right direction, and one he should take forward.
Welterweight, Kamil Kraska (13-3):
Kraska is the reigning FNC welterweight champion and enters this one riding a four-fight win streak, with his last three finishes all coming inside the first round. He’s a tank of a fighter—not particularly subtle or setup-heavy, but undeniably dangerous when he lands. Kraska ended fights with a single punch and even a lone leg kick, a testament to the power he generates.
While his wrestling isn’t the most technical, his sheer strength allows him to muscle opponents to the mat. Interestingly, most of his finishes come by submission, thanks to his knack for latching onto the neck the moment an opening appears.
He now takes on Igor Cavalcanti, a Contender Series alum—an opportunity for Kraska to add a quality name to his résumé.
Bantamweight, Nikola Đurđev (7-3):
Durdev has to be mentioned simply because of what he’s managed to pull off in his career. Landing a buggy choke is impressive on its own—finishing three fights with it is almost unheard of. After starting his career 3–3, he’s now riding a four-fight win streak.
That said, I’m not convinced Durdev is more than a meme fighter at this stage. His style is chaotic and sloppy, with clear technical gaps. He does have some decent wrestling, even showing the ability to chain attempts together, and he’s definitely more dangerous as a grappler than anywhere else. But he struggles with positional control, and relying on buggy chokes—submissions that require you to be on your back—isn’t a sustainable long-term strategy.
He now rematches Ron Krusic, whom he submitted with a buggy choke just a year ago. This fight should give us a better idea of whether Durdev is evolving or still leaning on the same chaos-driven approach.