Aleksandar Rakić was born on February 6, 1992. He is a Serbian-born Austrian mixed Martial Artist. He currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a Pro since 2011, Rakić has also competed in the Final Fight Championship in his native, Austria. As of December 6, 2022, he is ranked fifth in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. He is an Austrian. With a professional MMA record of 14 wins and 2 losses, Aleksandar “Rocket” Rakic is the current third-ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rakic is currently a brown belt.
When he began boxing and kickboxing at the age of 13, Aleksandar Rakic began his journey in combat sports. Rakic made the switch to MMA in the early 2010s and lost his first professional fight at Rock the Cage 2 against Christain Radke. After the defeat, Rakic recovered and defeated Carsten Lorenz in the first round by technical knockout at New Talents 15. With an eight-fight winning streak, Aleksandar capitalized on the momentum and defeated his following eight opponents in the Austrian circuit. Rakic joined the UFC in 2017 after this run.
Prior to being signed by the UFC in March 2017, Rakic began his professional MMA career in 2011 by primarily competing on the European circuit. He amassed an 8-1 record during that time. On September 2, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 115 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Rakic made his UFC debut against Francimar Barroso. He prevailed by unanimous decision in the fight.
On March 26, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 33, Rakic was supposed to square off against former light heavyweight champion Jan Bachowicz. Due to Bachowicz’s withdrawal due to an injury in late January, the fight was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14, 2022. After rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and becoming unable to continue the fight, Rakic was defeated via technical knockout in round three. Three weeks before the fight, while sparring, he injured his knee.
His Matches and Achievements:
February 24, 2018, at UFC on Fox 28: Rakic was slated to square off against Gadzhimurad Antigulov. However, it was revealed on February 7, 2018, that Antigulov withdrew from the contest due to an injury, and as a result, the fight was called off.
UFC Fight Night 134 on July 22, 2018: He faced off against Justin Ledet. He prevailed by unanimous decision.
UFC 231 on December 8, 2018: Rakic squared off against Devin Clark. He took the fight by TKO in the opening frame.
June 1 at UFC Fight Night 153: Rakic’s next opponent was Jimi Manuwa. After landing a head kick in the first minute of the fight, he knocked the opponent out. He also received his first Performance of the Night bonus prize thanks to the victory.
December 21, 2019: Rakic competed against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night 165. He was defeated by a split decision. The fight was scored for Rakic by 7 of the 8 media members. Rakic made the announcement that he had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC on February 17, 2020, via his social media accounts.
August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175: Rakic faced Anthony Smith. He received a unanimous decision victory.
UFC 259: Rakic and Thiago Santos squared off on March 6, 2021. By a unanimous vote, he prevailed in the fight.
