Ankalaev vs Rakic

Who won Ankalaev vs Rakic?

Magomed Ankalaev beat Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of UFC 308, on Saturday 26th October 2024 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The scorecards were announced as 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the winner Magomed Ankalaev.

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).

Ankalaev vs Rakic stats

Magomed Ankalaev stepped into the octagon with a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Aleksandar Rakic made his way to the cage with a record of 14 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Magomed Ankalaev's 14th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Aleksandar Rakic marked his 10th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Magomed Ankalaev's UFC record stood at 11-1-1, while Aleksandar Rakic's came in at 6-4-0.

The stats suggested Rakic had a slight advantage in power over Ankalaev, with a 64% knock out percentage over Ankalaev's 56%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Rakic had a slight advantage over Ankalaev, with a 7% submission rate over Ankalaev's 0%.

Magomed Ankalaev was the same age as Aleksandar Rakic, at 32 years old.

Rakic had a height advantage of 1 inch over Ankalaev. That also extended to a 3-inch reach advantage.

Ankalaev was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 2 more fights, and made his debut in 2014, 2 years and 3 months later than Rakic, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 18 more professional rounds, 55 to Rakic's 37.

Ankalaev vs Rakic form

Ankalaev had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on 26th October 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Previous to that, he had beaten Johnny Walker at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker on 13th January 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, his fight against Johnny Walker at UFC 294 on 21st October 2023 ended in a no contest.

Before that, he had drawn with Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by split draw in their 5 round contest in their UFC Light Heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

He had defeated Anthony Smith at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Rakic had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 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 was victorious 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 won against 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 beaten Jimi Manuwa at UFC on ESPN+ 11 on 1st June 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Ericsson Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Magomed Ankalaev had last fought 5 days ago, while Aleksandar Rakic's last outing had been 2 years, 5 months and 17 days ago.

Ankalaev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 3 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Rakic's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 4 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What time did Ankalaev vs Rakic start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 6:40 PM UTC , which was 2:40 PM EST or 11:40 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 7:40 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Ankalaev vs Rakic?

Magomed Ankalaev was a 1/4 (-400) favourite going into the contest, while Aleksandar Rakic made his way into the ring at 3/1 (+300) with oddsmakers.