Aleksandar Rakić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Ракић; born February 6, 1992) is an Austrian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the

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

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

Final Fight Championship Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international combat sports promoter (entertainment), 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 ...

in Austria. As of June 24, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background

Rakić was born and raised in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, into a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

family. As a child, he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. However, he was aggressive up to a point where he was expelled from the team. Rakić started training in

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

when he was 12 years old, and had his first fight at 14. He accumulated over 40 fights by the time he was 20 years old, when he transitioned to

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) for a new challenge. He worked at a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

to support himself while training.

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 at UFC Fight Night 115 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić was expected to face Gadzhimurad Antigulov on February 24, 2018, at UFC on Fox 28. 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 against Justin Ledet. 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 arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. E ...

on June 1, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 153. 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 on December 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 165 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. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić faced Thiago Santos on March 6, 2021, at UFC 259. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rakić was scheduled to face former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz on March 26, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 33. However, in late January, Błachowicz withdrew due to an injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36 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 called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

. He hurt his knee three weeks prior to the fight during sparring. After a nearly two year layoff, Rakić was set to make his return to face Jan Błachowicz in a rematch on January 20, 2024, at UFC 297. However, Błachowicz withdrew due to shoulder surgery. Rakić was then booked to instead face former UFC Light Heavyweight champion

Jiří Procházka Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14, 1992) is a Czech professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion a ...

on April 13, 2024 at UFC 300. Despite landing numerous leg kicks, Rakić lost the bout by technical knockout in the second round. Rakić faced Magomed Ankalaev on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) **UFC Honors Awards *** 2019: Fan's Choice Knockout of the Year Nominee **UFC.com Awards ***2019: Ranked #3 Knockout of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 , Magomed Ankalaev , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 308 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 300 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:17 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 , Jan Błachowicz , TKO (knee injury) , UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:11 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Thiago Santos , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 259 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Anthony Smith , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 , Volkan Oezdemir , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, 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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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

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

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Justin Ledet , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

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

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

, 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 (MMA), Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Prachnio h ...

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

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

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

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

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

, 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 (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, 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 (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

, 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 Martial artists from Vienna Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Austrian sportsmen