Aleksandar Rakić (fighter)

Aleksandar Rakić (born February 6, 1992) is an Austrian mixed martial artist of Serbian ethnicity who is currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[6] A professional since 2011, he has also competed for the Final Fight Championship in his native Austria. As of September 29, 2020, he is #4 in the UFC Light Heavyweight rankings.[7]

Aleksandar Rakić
Born (1992-02-06) February 6, 1992
Vienna, Austria
Other namesRocket
NationalityAustrian
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1]
Weight206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
DivisionLight heavyweight
Reach78 in (198 cm)[2]
StyleKickboxing, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Fighting out ofVienna, Austria
TeamGym 23
American Top Team[3]
RankPurple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Roberto Pastuch[4]
Years active2005–2011 (kickboxing)[5]
2011–present (MMA)[5]
Mixed martial arts record
Total15
Wins13
By knockout9
By submission1
By decision3
Losses2
By submission1
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Rakić was born and raised in Vienna, Austria, into an ethnic Serbian family.[8] As a kid, he played soccer. [5] However, he was aggressive up to a point where he was kicked out of the football team.[5] In order to find a way to unload his excess energy, Rakić started competing in kickboxing and boxing when he was 14 years old and accumulated over 40 fights prior to transitioning into MMA when he was at the age of 19 as he wanted to incorporate grappling and wrestling into his fighting skills.[9][10]

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.[11]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rakić made his UFC debut on September 2, 2017 against Francimar Barroso at UFC Fight Night 115 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.[12] He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27).[13]

Rakić was expected to face Gadzhimurad Antigulov on February 24, 2018 at UFC on Fox 28.[14] However, it was reported on February 7, 2018 that Antigulov was pulled from the fight, citing injury, as a result, the bout was cancelled.[15]

His next fight came on July 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 134 against Justin Ledet.[16] He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–25, 30–24, and 30–24).[17]

Rakić faced Devin Clark on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231.[18] He won the fight by TKO in the first round.[19]

Rakić next faced Jimi Manuwa on June 1, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 153.[20] He won the fight by knockout with a head kick in the opening minute of the fight.[21] The win also earned his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[22]

Rakić faced Volkan Oezdemir on December 21, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 23[23] He lost the fight via split decision.[24] 7 out of 8 media members scored the fight for Rakić.[25]

On February 17, 2020, Rakić announced on his social media that he has signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC.[26]

Rakić faced Anthony Smith on August 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175.[27] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

Rakić is scheduled to face Thiago Santos on March 6, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 189.[29]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
15 matches 13 wins 2 losses
By knockout 9 0
By submission 1 1
By decision 3 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 13–2 Anthony Smith Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić August 29, 2020 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 12–2 Volkan Oezdemir Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie December 21, 2019 3 5:00 Busan, South Korea
Win 12–1 Jimi Manuwa KO (head kick) UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith June 1, 2019 1 0:42 Stockholm, Sweden Performance of the Night.
Win 11–1 Devin Clark TKO (punches) UFC 231 December 8, 2018 1 4:05 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win 10–1 Justin Ledet Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith July 22, 2018 3 5:00 Hamburg, Germany
Win 9–1 Francimar Barroso Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve September 2, 2017 3 5:00 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win 8–1 Sergio Souza TKO (punches) Austrian Fight Challenge 5 March 4, 2017 1 N/A Vienna, Austria
Win 7–1 Martin Batur KO (punch) Austrian Fight Challenge 1 June 20, 2015 1 0:26 Vienna, Austria
Win 6–1 Marcin Prachnio TKO (punches) Final Fight Championship 16 December 6, 2014 3 3:00 Vienna, Austria
Win 5–1 Norbert Péter TKO (punches) HG: Heimgala 2 September 13, 2014 1 4:57 Vienna, Austria
Win 4–1 Péter Rozmaring Submission (north-south choke) Vendetta: Rookies 2 July 6, 2013 1 1:32 Vienna, Austria
Win 3–1 Laszlo Czene KO (head kick) WFC: Challengers 3 June 3, 2012 1 N/A Vienna, Austria
Win 2–1 Richard Longhimo TKO (punches) Iron Fist: Vendetta 3 March 18, 2012 2 4:30 Vienna, Austria
Win 1–1 Carsten Lorenz TKO (punches) New Talents 15 February 4, 2012 1 1:42 Erfurt, Germany
Loss 0–1 Christian Radke Submission (guillotine choke) Rock the Cage 2 October 15, 2011 1 4:34 Greifswald, Germany

[31]

See also

References
  1. "Aleksandar Rakic". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. "Aleksandar Rakić". UFC. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. "Under the Radar at UFC Stockholm: Aleksandar Rakic". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  4. Aleksandar Rakic (@MMA.Aleks) (December 13, 2018). "Today i got promoted to a BJJ Purple Belt from my coach,brother,and friend Robert Pastuch (...)". Facebook. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  5. Jim Norton; Matt Serra (August 24, 2020). "Robbie Lawler and Aleksandar Rakic" (Podcast).
  6. https://www.telegraf.rs/english/3068105-father-threatened-to-beat-me-if-i-dont-learn-cyrillic-confession-of-ufc-star-on-the-rise-i-am-austrian-in-serbia-and-serbian-in-austria-i-dont-feel-like-i-belong-anywhere-video
  7. "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. ""MOJA KRV JE SRPSKA" MMA fajter odlukom ODUŠEVIO, Rakić promenio zastavu i Srbija će imati prvog borca za UFC pojas". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  9. "Aleksandar Rakic On Transition To MMA, UFC 231 Matchup vs. Devin Clark". www.flocombat.com. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  10. "Under the Radar at UFC 231: Aleksandar Rakic". Sporting News. 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  11. "Srpsko-austrijski borac Aleksandar Rakić potpisao za UFC". Fight Site (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  12. "Four fights set for UFC Fight Night: Rotterdam | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  13. "UFC-Rotterdam results: Aleksandar Rakic dominates Francimar Barroso over 15 minutes". MMAjunkie. 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  14. DNA, MMA. "Gadzhimurad Antigulov treft Aleksandar Rakic tijdens UFC on FOX 28 in Orlando". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  15. DNA, MMA. "Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Aleksandar Rakic geschrapt voor UFC Orlando". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  16. Carroll, Peter (2018-05-03). "Justin Ledet vs. Aleksandar Rakic booked for UFC Hamburg". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  17. "UFC Fight Night 134 results: Aleksandar Rakic dominates Justin Ledet for lopsided decision". MMAjunkie. 2018-07-22. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  18. Lee, Alexander K. (2018-09-04). "Devin Clark vs. Aleksandar Rakic announced for UFC 231". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  19. Hiergesell, Dan (2018-12-08). "Highlights! Rakic Finishes Clark Via Back Fist At UFC 231". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  20. Tristen Critchfield (2019-03-25). "Jimi Manuwa vs. Aleksander Rakic added to UFC Stockholm". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  21. Richardson, Andrew (2019-06-01). "UFC Stockholm Results! Rakic Disposes Of Manuwa In Just 47 Seconds". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  22. Lee, Alexander K. (2019-06-01). "UFC Stockholm bonuses: Anthony Smith, head-kicking Aleksandar Rakic among winners". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  23. DNA, MMA. "Light-Heavyweightclash tussen Volkan Oezdemir en Aleksandar Rakic tijdens UFC Busan". Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  24. Doherty, Dan (2019-12-21). "UFC Busan Results: Volkan Oezdemir On Right Side of Split Decision Against Aleksander Rakic". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  25. "Volkan Oezdemir defeats Aleksandar Rakic". mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  26. Aleksandar Rakić (February 17, 2020). "Pleased to announce that I signed a new long term contract with 6 fights in the @ufc . This is the 3rd contract with the company in 2 years. Rocket Time 🚀🔝".
  27. Redactie (2020-06-19). "Anthony Smith en Aleksandar Rakić treffen elkaar op 29 augustus". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  28. Evanoff, Josh (2020-08-29). "UFC Vegas 8 Results: Aleksandar Rakic Dominates Anthony Smith". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  29. Murray, Doug (2020-11-13). "UFC: Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic Added to March 6 Card". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  30. "UFC Stockholm bonuses: Anthony Smith's main event submission leads $50K winners". MMAmania. 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  31. Sherdog.com. "Aleksandar Rakic MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
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