Aleksandar Rakic

Overview

Five of Aleksandar Rakic's seven UFC wins went the distance, and the two that didn't were over inside five minutes of the first round.

The Vienna-born "Rocket" fights out of American Top Team Zagreb and is listed at heavyweight. His UFC record is 7-5, inside a 15-6 professional record across all promotions. He has won on points in the UFC five times, by knockout twice, and never by submission. He enters his next fight on a one-fight win streak after a unanimous decision over Marcin Tybura in 2026.

The sample is mixed. Rakic wins most of his fights, but the losses have been heavy.

UFC Career

Rakic debuted in September 2017 with a unanimous decision over Francimar Barroso, then took another over Justin Ledet in July 2018. The finishes followed: Devin Clark in 4:05 of round one at UFC 231, then Jimi Manuwa in 47 seconds in May 2019. That is the four-fight win streak that remains his longest.

It ended in December 2019 with a split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir. He rebounded in the main event against Anthony Smith, a unanimous decision over a strong opponent, and added a unanimous decision over Thiago Santos at UFC 259.

His next main event, against Jan Blachowicz in May 2022, was a different test. Our model rates Blachowicz as elite, and Rakic lost by knockout at 1:11 of round three. A Jiri Prochazka knockout loss at UFC 300 (round two, 3:17) followed.

Two more elite opponents came after that. Magomed Ankalaev beat him by unanimous decision at UFC 308, and Azamat Murzakanov stopped him in round one at UFC 321. Rakic has no UFC wins over elite opponents.

The Tybura decision broke a three-fight losing run.

Fighting Style

Rakic is a striker, and the numbers back it up. He lands more strikes per minute than the typical UFC fighter and does so accurately, while absorbing far fewer than most. Defense is the nuance: his striking defense sits around the UFC average, so the low damage intake comes from how few clean shots land in his fights, not from elite evasion.

He barely grapples. He attempts takedowns and submissions far less often than most UFC fighters, but he is very hard to take down. His wrestling is for staying on his feet.

The finishing pattern is lopsided. Both knockout wins came in round one. Every other win went to the scorecards, and the five decisions all ran the full three rounds.

Notable Wins

• Jimi Manuwa — KO/TKO, round 1 (0:47), UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith (2019)
• Devin Clark — KO/TKO, round 1 (4:05), UFC 231 (2018)
• Anthony Smith — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakic (2020)
• Thiago Santos — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 259 (2021)

Quick Facts

• Division: Heavyweight
• UFC record: 7-5
• Professional record (all promotions): 15-6-0
• UFC debut: 2017
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 6'4" / 78"
• Team: American Top Team Zagreb
• Born: Vienna, Austria