UFC light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Raki? alleges his UFC Vegas 54 knee tear wasn’t a new injury, and that he suffered it earlier in camp.
Raki? battled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in the UFC Vegas 54 headliner. After two full rounds of action, he suffered a leg injury which stopped the action midway through Round 3.
But according to Raki?, this was something he had been dealing with for weeks leading up to the fight.
Raki? spoke out on social media following his disappointing loss to Blachowicz.
A great battle took place in the octagon tonight but unfortunately it ended not the way Jan and I or the fans wanted. The same injury from 3 weeks ago in camp showed up again tonight. Congratulations @JanBlachowicz. Now on to the road of recovery.
https://t.co/JAcObOlvxk
— Aleksandar Rakic (@rakic_ufc) May 15, 2022
“A great battle took place in the octagon tonight but unfortunately it ended not the way Jan and I or the fans wanted,” Rakic said. “The same injury from 3 weeks ago in camp showed up again tonight. Congratulations
[Jan Blachowicz]. Now on to the road of recovery.”
Raki? came into the fight riding off of back-to-back wins over former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. His lone defeat in the Octagon came via a split decision against Volkan Oezdemir in December 2019.
It was a back-and-forth war between Blachowicz and Raki? before the injury. Entering Round 3, all three judges had it scored an even 19-19 following two rounds of action.
Raki? had been on the verge of a potential title shot before the injury stoppage loss to Blachowicz. He even called his shot before the Blachowicz fight for who he would’ve preferred to fight against for the title.
Raki? could potentially miss the rest of 2022, although as of the writing of this story there isn’t an exact timetable made public for his return.
What is your reaction to Aleksandar Raki?’s admission?
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