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Thiago Santos Releases Statement After Third Loss In A Row

When the smoke cleared at UFC 259, Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic’s fight ended up being the Brazilian’s third consecutive loss inside the octagon. Prior to the UFC 259 pairing with Rakic, Santos had the intention of rebounding after a …

Aleksandar Rakic: ‘I Am The New Face Of The Light Heavyweight Division’

Aleksander Rakic is confident he is the new face of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division after beating a second consecutive title challenger this past weekend. The 29-year-old convincingly beat Thiago Santos over three rounds at UFC 259. In the summer of 2020, Rakic had a similarly dominant win when he squared off against Anthony Smith. During […]

Aleksander Rakic is confident he is the new face of the UFC’s light-heavyweight division after beating a second consecutive title challenger this past weekend.

The 29-year-old convincingly beat Thiago Santos over three rounds at UFC 259.

In the summer of 2020, Rakic had a similarly dominant win when he squared off against Anthony Smith.

During the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, Rakic reflected on his victory against Santos, he said.

“I’m happy. I was dominant. I won all three rounds. I kept the pace. I pushed forward. I led the fight. I went the distance. I controlled the center. I controlled the clinching, and I hit him with some hard kicks, one high kick, couple of punches, so a dominant performance, and I’m happy about my performance.”

The entire fight took place on the feet. Post-fight, Rakic revealed that was always his plan.

“We know Thiago is a striker, so we said OK, let’s strike with this guy, and let’s dominate him,” Rakic said. “Basically, I like to dominate guys where they are the strongest.”

The Austrian insisted that his skills continue to improve on a daily basis.

“I’m the type of guy improving every day,” Rakic said. “I’m training all my skills every day, and I’m improving like I cannot explain. You need to follow me for like a month and see. I have the best coaches in my corner.”

Rakic even gave the reporters in attendance an insight into his post-fight conversation with UFC president Dana White.

“I told him that I am the new face of the light heavyweight division,” Rakic said. “I am young, I am hungry, I fight well. I have a good record, and I am representing the sport the best way. I’m a good guy. Let’s see what the UFC decides.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Do you think Aleksandar Rakic will become the UFC light-heavyweight champion?

Thiago Santos Issues Statement Following Third Consecutive Defeat

Thiago Santos had no excuses for his latest setback. Santos suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 last night. Many were expecting the contest to be a barnburner and an explosive way to open up the stacked main card. Instead, it was a drab three-rounder with very little action from both […]

Thiago Santos had no excuses for his latest setback.

Santos suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259 last night. Many were expecting the contest to be a barnburner and an explosive way to open up the stacked main card.

Instead, it was a drab three-rounder with very little action from both sides with Rakic doing just about enough to get the verdict of the three judges.

Santos — who was visibly disappointed at the result — is now on an unwanted three-fight losing streak and he could only blame himself for letting it go to the judges.

“No excuses, I left it up to the judges, it was my fault.”

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A post shared by Thiago "Marreta" Santos (@tmarretamma)

Santos moved up to light heavyweight in 2018 and went on a three-fight winning streak to earn a shot at then champion Jon Jones in 2019. Despite being compromised for majority of the fight due to multiple injuries, Santos put up a good showing with many believing he did enough to win only for him to lose a close split decision.

He would then undergo double surgery and return against Glover Teixeira last year. Despite knocking his fellow Brazilian down twice, Santos would eventually get taken down and get submitted by the veteran.

And this latest setback doesn’t bode well for Santos and his hopes of becoming a champion — especially as he just turned 37. Hopefully, he will return stronger as he is still one of the most exciting fighters on the roster.

What did you make of the performance of Santos?

Aleksandar Rakic Outpoints Thiago Santos In Drab Fight – UFC 259 Results

Kicking off the UFC 259 main card is a light heavyweight contest between Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic. Round 1: A lot of feinting early on with Rakic commanding the center. Santos misses with a leg kick but lands an inside leg kick soon after. Santos lands a body shot. Rakic lands a big leg […]

Kicking off the UFC 259 main card is a light heavyweight contest between Thiago Santos and Aleksandar Rakic.

Round 1: A lot of feinting early on with Rakic commanding the center. Santos misses with a leg kick but lands an inside leg kick soon after. Santos lands a body shot. Rakic lands a big leg kick. Both fighters throw kicks at the same time. Santos partially blocks a huge head kick from Rakic. Santos lands a body kick soon after. Santos connects with a left while Rakic responds with a couple of leg kicks. Rakic lands a right while Santos connects with a body kick at the same time. Rakic continues to back Santos up. Santos misses a flying knee to end the first round.

Round 2: The round begins with Rakic backing Santos up against the cage. No fighter has yet to land a major strike as of yet as there continues to be plenty of feinting and blocked strikes. Santos blitzes forward but doesn’t land anything on Rakic who connects with an outside leg kick. They clinch up with Santos back up against the fence. They separate after not much action in the clinch. Both fighters continue to be very conservative. Rakic partially lands a flying knee as the round ends.

Round 3: Rakic starts to jab more. Santos lands a body kick. Santos goes for takedown soon after but Rakic defends and clinches him against the fence. They separate soon after as Santos lands a body kick. Santos connects with a leg kick. Santos connects with a hard body kick as he is having much more success this round. Rakic goes for a takedown but Santos is defending well while landing big elbows. They separate a bit after as this has largely been a very disappointing fight. Santos misses a spinning wheel kick as the fight ends.

Official result: Aleksandar Rakic defeats Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

Thiago Santos Says He Needs ‘A Good Performance’ At UFC 259 To Be Considered For A Title Shot

Thiago Santos knows he needs to get back into the win column on Saturday night. Opening up the main card of UFC 259, Santos is set to face Aleksandar Rakic in a very intriguing bout. The Brazilian is coming off back-to-back losses to Jon Jones for the …

Aleksandar Rakic Hopes Israel Adesanya Becomes Light Heavyweight Champ So He Can Dethrone Him

Aleksandar Rakic will be rooting for Israel Adesanya to beat Jan Blachowicz to become the light heavyweight champion. Although many fans weren’t happy with Adesanya getting the title shot given Glover Teixeira deserved it, the fight still is a bi…