Tag: Aleksandar Rakic

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic sneaks its way into jam-packed UFC 308 lineup

As if Saturday’s announcement of the UFC 308 top trio of fights wasn’t enough, the promotion added another big-ticket bout.

As if Saturday’s announcement of the UFC 308 top trio of fights wasn’t enough, the promotion added another big-ticket bout.

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a key light heavyweight bout on the main card at Etihad ARena in Abu Dhabi, UFC CEO Dana White announced.

UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) is set for Oct. 26. with a featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and ex-champ Max Holloway in the main event. Plus, Khamzat Chimaev meets former middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker and Ciryl Gane takes on Alexander Volkov.

Ankalaev lost his UFC debut in 2018 to Pau Craig with one second left in the third round. He hasn’t lost since. His only blemish since then was a split draw with Jan Blachowicz for the then-vacant 205-pound title in late 2022.

After a no contest with Johnny Walker in October 2023, he ran it back with the Brazilian in January and knocked him out in the second round for his first post-fight bonus in more than three years.

Rakic is badly in need of a rebound. After back-to-back wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, both former title challengers, he has consecutive TKO losses to former champs Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka, the most recent of which came in April. It’s the first two-fight skid of his career.

With the addition, the latest UFC 308 lineup now includes:

  • Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
  • Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Marcos Rogerio

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Unfortunate circumstances: 15 unforeseen injuries that ended UFC main events

Injuries are part of the game in MMA, but there’s nothing worse than one ends a marquee UFC fight.

While the term “freak injury” might not be appropriate to use when discussing a sport that is inherently dangerous, 14 UFC main events have ended in unforeseen injuries – broken legs, separated shoulders, eye pokes, etc. – that don’t typically come in the sequence of MMA combat.

Scroll below to see a chronology of UFC main events that ended in that nature.

Note: Injuries sustained on a TKO due to strikes or tapout due to a submission are not included, nor are retirements on the stool due to extended fight damage or exhaustion. Laceration-based stoppages also are not included since they come as an intentional result of the opposition’s attack.

Jiri Prochazka takes umbrage with Aleksandar Rakic’s ‘fake Samurai’ diss before UFC 300

Former UFC champ Jiri Prochazka was noticeably bothered by Aleksandar Rakic calling him a “fake Samurai.”

LAS VEGAS – Former UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] was noticeably bothered by [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] calling him a “fake Samurai.”

Prochazka (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) faces Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 300 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) featured prelim at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. During Wednesday’s media day, Rakic labeled Prochazka as a “fake Samurai,” which didn’t sit well with him.

“Yeah, I said he’s a fake Samurai because, you know, you cannot become a Samurai after just reading a book,” Rakic told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “What his coach gave it to him and live this spirit, you know. If you’re a Samurai, you need to live this for a long time and not for the last two, three years. So that’s why I said he’s a fake Samurai.”

Prochazka appeared to take slight offense to what Rakic’s words.

“Aleksandar is talking too much,” Prochazka said. “He’s talking too much. He don’t know me, and he will know me in the cage. Who am I, where I am able to go, how to I can go to take a win, he don’t know me personally. If you don’t know somebody personally, how can you speak about him something? I never said about myself I’m a Samurai or whatever.

“Because I’m respecting all the warriors from all the history, and I’m sharing with the people, with all the world, every time, the best ideas and the best thoughts. What I ever had, which helped me to improve myself on the way, to keep myself on the way, and he will like that. He don’t know nothing about me, how I’m living. I can’t say what I sacrificed because I accept the way, and when you accept the way, you will live whatever, do whatever. That’s it.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Aleksandar Rakic to Jiri Prochazka before UFC 300: ‘Let’s find out who the king of Europe is’

There’s no formal title on the line between Aleksandar Rakic and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300, but now there’s an unofficial one.

LAS VEGAS – Before UFC 300 arrives, [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] spoke to reporters at Wednesday’s media day as he gets set to meet former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] at T-Mobile Arena.

Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who’s competing for the first time in almost two years since a serious knee injury, discussed working his way back to form, the significance of his matchup with Prochazka (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to the 205-pound title picture, had some choice words for his fellow European counterpart, and more.

“He’s from Europe; I’m from Europe. He’s living not far away where I live, so let’s find out who the king of Europe is and later on the king of the world is,” Rakic said. He later added, “I’m expecting aggressive Jiri, unorthodox like he used to be. It’s gonna be a hard fight for me, also for him. He feels very good in chaos, and I’m a guy who can settle the chaos. It’s gonna be an amazing fight. We will see how prepared he is for this fight, because I am.”

You can watch Rakic’s full media day session in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Everything UFC 300 – Pereira vs. Hill, BMF title fight, Harrison’s debut, more

On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses everything UFC 300.

Check out this week’s special edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” where we’ll be breaking down everything UFC 300.

This week’s panel will be composed of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia – along with appearances from Matt Wells, Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Dan Tom, and Nolan King.

For this Monday’s special episode, the panel discussed:

  • The pair of undisputed UFC championship fights headlining UFC 300. In the main event, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] makes his first light heavyweight title defense against former champion  [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag], who returns from injury. In the co-main event, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] takes on fellow Chinese fighter [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] in a women’s strawweight bout.
  • The first-ever Baddest Motherf*cker title defense, as BMF champion [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] welcomes back [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] to the lightweight division. Other key lightweight bouts go down, including [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag], [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag], [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag].
  • Highly-touted undefeated middleweight prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s return to action. He takes on Cody Brundage in the opening bout of the pay-per-view main card. This will be Nickal’s third fight under the UFC banner.
  • Two-time PFL champion and two-time Judo Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] makes her highly awaited UFC debut. She takes on former champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] at bantamweight – a division Harrison will be debuting in. Harrison has previously fought at 155 and 145 pounds.
  • Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] has moved up to featherweight. Veteran contender [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] welcomes him to the division.
  • To cap off the show, the panel will do a quick promo breakdown to hype up the four remaining bouts of the UFC 300 card. This includes [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag], [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag], [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag], and [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag].

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

UFC 300 odds: Jiri Prochazka a slight underdog vs. the returning Aleksandar Rakic

Despite the long layoff, Aleksandar Rakic is a favorite over Jiri Prochazka.

Despite the long layoff, [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] is a favorite over [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag].

Former light heavyweight champion Prochazka (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) meets Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the featured prelim of UFC 300 on the April 13  from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

According to BetMGM, Prochazka is a +115 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the former champ would win $115 profit. Rakic is a -140 favorite, meaning a $140 bet on the top contender would return $100 profit.

Rakic hasn’t competed since injuring his knee in a TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz in May 2022. Prior to that, the 32-year-old scored back-to-back wins over former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos.

Prochazka will look to rebound from his knockout loss to Alex Pereira in their vacant title fight this past November at UFC 295. The setback snapped Prochazka’s 13-fight winning streak and marked his first loss since 2015.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Jiri Prochazka hopes ‘to realize the mastery’ vs. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300

Jiri Prochazka plans on showing his evolution against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] plans on showing his evolution against [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag].

Prochazka (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) takes on Rakic (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 300 on April 13 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Prochazka will look to rebound from his stoppage loss to Alex Pereira in their title fight at UFC 295, where he returned from a more than year-long layoff due to injury. He didn’t care who the UFC matched him up with next.

“I don’t care about what the right fight is for me,” Prochazka told Low Kick MMA. “I wanted to be back as soon as possible, and Aleksandar was the first one who was free from the top five guys at light heavyweight. So I called him about the fight.”

Rakic has long been calling to fight Prochazka and will finally get his wish. Prochazka thinks Rakic is stronger on the ground than on the feet but is willing to fight him wherever.

“He’s 50-50,” Prochazka said. “He’s a good wrestler. He’s a really strong guy, I think. His standup is not the best, but like I said, he’s a 50-50. Good striker, good wrestler, and I’m ready for both.”

The loss to Pereira snapped Prochazka’s 13-fight winning streak. He’s eager to show his full potential against Rakic.

“I want to realize the mastery,” Prochazka said. “Not just in the training, not just in the daily life. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Be better, be better. But in the cage. To show it in the cage, that’s what I want to show.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Dec. 18-24)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Dec. 18-24.

Dana White announces first UFC 300 bookings with Prochazka-Rakic, Sterling-Kattar, Bo Nickal

The historic UFC 300 lineup has its first trio of fights as UFC CEO Dana White rolled out some matchups on Thursday.

The historic UFC 300 lineup has its first trio of fights as UFC CEO Dana White rolled out some matchups on Thursday.

After teasing a loaded lineup for the monumental April 13 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the opening slate of matchups features two former champions and one of the top undefeated prospects in the sport.

White took to social media and revealed former light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), former bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) makes his featherweight debut vs. [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC), and rising middleweight star [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) clashes with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

Prochazka, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, will attempt to rebound from his vacant title fight loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 295 in November, where he was stopped by second-round TKO. He’ll be charged with welcoming back No. 8-ranked Rakic, who hasn’t competed since he blew out his knee in an injury TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC on ESPN 36 in May 2022.

Kattar, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, will also try to rebound from a knee injury TKO loss against Arnold Allen in October 2022 when he welcomes No. 3-ranked bantamweight Sterling to a new division after he dropped the belt to Sean O’Malley by second-round TKO at UFC 292 in August.

Lastly, Nickal will try to add to his hype at 185-pounds following a 38-second knockout of Val Woodburn at UFC 290 in July when he meets Brundage, who is coming off a historic slam knockout at UFC on ESPN 52 this month.

The latest UFC 300 lineup now includes:

  • Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Jan Blachowicz announces surgery, issues emotional statement on UFC 297 withdrawal

Jan Blachowicz expressed “anger and sadness” in a statement where he explained why he had to pull out of UFC 297.

Rather than fight at UFC 297, [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] has decided it would be best for him to go under the knife.

After opponent [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] revealed Thursday that their scheduled Jan. 20 fight was canceled, Blachowicz issued a statement on social media. He expressed “anger and sadness” toward the situation. The reason for withdrawing, Blachowicz said, is a shoulder injury he tried to push through but couldn’t.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Blachowicz said in an Instagram post. “It’s hard to express how I feel because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Withdrawing from a fight due to injury is one of the most difficult decisions a fighter can make. However, sometimes there is no other option, especially when you are competing in the TOP 5 and want to put on a show at the highest possible level.

“Instead of fighting for the best shape, I fight with the pain during every training session. I did everything I could, but my shoulders need surgery. In this state, continuing preparations and entering the Octagon would be irresponsible and stupid.”

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Blachowicz did not reveal a specific timetable for his return.

It’s unclear if Rakic will remain on the card against a new opponent. However, former champion [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] offered his services on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday in response to Rakic calling him out – but there is a timeline stipulation.

“I am in, but the earliest time I can be in octagon is February/March,” Prochazka wrote.

Prochazka most recently competed in November when he lost a vacant title fight vs. Alex Pereira by TKO at UFC 295.

The fight between Blachowicz and Rakic was supposed to be a rematch. The two fought in May 2022. That bout ended in third-round TKO due to injury when Rakic blew his knee out.

Blachowicz, 40, is 0-1-1 since that meeting. Rakic has yet to compete since.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.