Aleksandar Rakić (born February 6, 1992) is an Austrian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). A professional since 2011, Rakić has also competed for the

Final Fight Championship Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international fighting sports promotion company founded in 2003 by the FFC owner and CEO Orsat Zovko. The company has its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as a European office in Zagreb, Croat ...

in his native Austria. As of August 1, 2023, he is #5 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background

Rakić was born and raised in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, into a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

family. As a child, he played football. However, he was aggressive up to a point where he was expelled from the team. As a way to unload his excess energy, Rakić started competing in kickboxing and boxing when he was 13 years old. He accumulated over 40 fights prior to transitioning into MMA at the age of 19, as he wanted to incorporate grappling and wrestling into his fighting skills.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Rakić started his professional MMA career in 2011, competing primarily in the European circuit, and amassed a record of 8–1 before being signed by the UFC in March 2017.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rakić made his UFC debut on September 2, 2017, against

Francimar Barroso Francimar Barroso (born 29 February 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has also competed for the UFC, Shooto, and Professional Fighters League. Mixe ...

UFC Fight Night 115 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 115'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 2, 2017 at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Background A heavy ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić was expected to face

Gadzhimurad Antigulov Gadzhimurad Antigulov (born January 1, 1987) is a Russian mixed martial artist who currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2009, he has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), M-1 Global, and Abso ...

on February 24, 2018, at

UFC on Fox 28 ''UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 24, 2018, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. Background The even ...

. However, it was reported on February 7, 2018, that Antigulov was pulled from the fight, citing injury, as a result, the bout was cancelled. His next fight came on July 22, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 134 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 134'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2018, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background The event was ...

against

Justin Ledet Justin Wayne Ledet (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2010, he has most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić faced Devin Clark on December 8, 2018, at

UFC 231 ''UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between M ...

. He won the fight by TKO in the first round. Rakić next faced

Jimi Manuwa Babajimi Abiola "Jimi" Manuwa (born 18 February 1980) is an American-born English retired mixed martial artist of Nigerian descent who competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Manuwa was bor ...

on June 1, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 153 ''UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 153'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 11'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 1, 2019 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockhol ...

. He won the fight by knockout with a head kick in the opening minute of the fight. The win also earned his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Rakić faced

Volkan Oezdemir Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxing practitioner. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

on December 21, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 165 ''UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 165'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 21, 2019 at Sajik Arena in ...

He lost the fight via split decision. 7 out of 8 media members scored the fight for Rakić. On February 17, 2020, Rakić announced on his social media that he had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC. Rakić faced Anthony Smith on August 29, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić faced

Thiago Santos Thiago Santos de Lima (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), competing in the light heavyweight division. Prior to signing with the PFL, Santos competed for the Ult ...

on March 6, 2021, at

UFC 259 ''UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić was scheduled to face former light heavyweight champion

Jan Błachowicz Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ ...

on March 26, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 33 ''UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 26, 2022 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Bac ...

. However, in late January, Błachowicz withdrew due to an injury and the bout was rescheduled for

UFC on ESPN 36 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on May 14, 2022. Rakić lost the fight via technical knockout in round three after being rendered unable to continue after tearing his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

. He hurt his knee three weeks prior to the fight during sparring.

Championships and accomplishments

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 ,

, TKO (knee injury) , UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:11 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

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, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

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, KO (head kick) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Devin Clark , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

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, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Sergio Souza , TKO (punches) , Austrian Fight Challenge 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Martin Batur , KO (punch) , Austrian Fight Challenge 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

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, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 ,

Marcin Prachnio Marcin Prachnio (born July 14, 1988) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Prachnio has also competed in ONE C ...

, TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 16 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Norbert Péter , TKO (punches) , HG: Heimgala 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:57 ,

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, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Péter Rozmaring , Submission (north-south choke) , Vendetta: Rookies 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Laszlo Czene , KO (head kick) , WFC: Challengers 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

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, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Richard Longhimo , TKO (punches) , Iron Fist: Vendetta 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:30 ,

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, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Carsten Lorenz , TKO (punches) , New Talents 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:42 ,

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Christian Radke , Submission (guillotine choke) , Rock the Cage 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

, Germany , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rakić, Aleksandar Living people 1992 births Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Austrian male mixed martial artists Austrian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Austrian people of Serbian descent Sportspeople from Vienna Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links