It didn’t feature a finish for his highlight reel, but Aleksandar Rakic’s win over Thiago Santos was a win nonetheless.
On Saturday, Rakic (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) defeated former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in a relatively lackluster affair.
The light heavyweight bout opened the UFC 259 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Two violent light heavyweights with knockout power in all four limbs, Rakic and Santos fought from distance. The pace was relatively slow, but both fighters consistently threw punches and kicks. Both fighters cautiously threw strikes, including a high volume of kicks, for the duration of three rounds.
Rakic’s footwork, range, and ability to control Santos in the clinch rode him to victory. Santos seemed a bit behind Rakic in the exchanges and wasn’t able to muster up any consistent offense. Late in Round 3, Rakic shot for a takedown and sealed the deal with control for the rest of the fight.
Broadcasters Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier agreed the bout was “uneventful” as a whole, but they credited Rakic for adding a name like Santos to his winning resume.
Though there wasn’t much jiu-jitsu in the bout, Rakic earned his brown belt from his coaches after the official decision was read.
With the victory, Rakic turns a lone win against Anthony Smith in August into a winning streak. Outside of a split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir in December 2019, Rakic is unblemished under the UFC banner. Rakic also holds wins over Jimi Manuwa, Devin Clark, Justin Ledet, and Francimar Barroso.
As for Santos, his recent loss extends his skid to three, the longest of his career. When he entered UFC 259, Santos was coming off back-to-back defeats to Glover Teixeira and Jon Jones. UFC 259 was the third time Santos lost by decision in his career.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 259 results include:
- Aleksandar Rakic def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dominick Cruz def. Casey Kenney via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Song Yadong via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Askar Askarov def. Joseph Benavidez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Kai Kara-France def. Rogerio Bontorin via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 4:55
- Tim Elliott def. Jordan Espinosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
- Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:19
- Sean Brady def. Jake Matthews via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:28
- Amanda Lemos def. Livinha Souza via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 3:39
- Uros Medic def. Aalon Cruz via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:40
- Trevin Jones def. Mario Bautista via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:47
