Rakić vs Santos

Who won Rakić vs Santos?

Aleksandar Rakic beat Thiago Santos by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of UFC 259, on Saturday 6th March 2021 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Aleksandar Rakic.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Rakić vs Santos stats

Aleksandar Rakic stepped into the octagon with a record of 13 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Thiago Santos made his way to the cage with a record of 21 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 15 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Aleksandar Rakic's 10th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017. Thiago Santos marked his 24th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2013.

Aleksandar Rakic's UFC record stood at 6-4-0, while Thiago Santos' came in at 14-10-0.

The stats suggested Santos had a slight advantage in power over Rakic, with a 71% knock out percentage over Rakic's 69%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Rakic had a slight advantage over Santos, with a 8% submission rate over Santos' 5%.

Aleksandar Rakic was the younger man by 8 years, at 33 years old.

Rakic had a height advantage of 2 inches over Santos. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Rakic was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 14 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2011, 10 months later than Santos, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 45 less professional rounds, 37 to Santos' 82.

Rakić vs Santos form

Rakic had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Rakić on 14th May 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Thiago Santos at UFC 259 on 6th March 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 8 on 29th August 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been beaten by Volkan Oezdemir at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on 21st December 2019 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Sajik Arena, Busan, South Korea.

He had defeated Jimi Manuwa at UFC on ESPN+ 11 on 1st June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Ericsson Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden.

Thiago Santos had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been defeated by Yoel Romero at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had lost to Rob Wilkinson at PFL 1 on 1st April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater - Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill on 6th August 2022 by knockout in the 4th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been defeated by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night on 12th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Johnny Walker at UFC Vegas 38 on 2nd October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Thiago Santos had been fighting more than Aleksandar Rakic.

Going to this contest, Aleksandar Rakic had last fought 3 years and 8 days ago, while Thiago Santos' last outing had been 1 year, 2 months and 28 days ago.

Rakic's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 11 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Santos' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 7 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Rakić vs Santos?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Rakić vs Santos.