During the recent discussion about the emerging contenders that could potentially face reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, one name flew under the radar. But Austrian light heavyweight contender Aleksandar Rakic plans on changing all that and forcing himself into the title-fight narrative in 2020.
Rakic (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) starched British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa last time out at this past June’s UFC on ESPN+ 11 in Sweden, and in the process catapulted himself into the UFC’s light heavyweight top-10. Now, the Austrian finisher is set to head east to South Korea to take on fellow finisher Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event at UFC on ESPN+ 23 on Dec. 21 in Busan. It’s a fight that the 27-year-old Vienna native says is the most important bout of his career.
“Of course,” he told MMA Junkie. “This next fight is the most important fight of my life. Volkan is the perfect matchup for me. When I got the name Volkan Oezdemir, I was really, really happy – not because of anything personal, but because his style of fighting is very good for my style of fighting, and that’s the reason I’m so happy about this fight.”
Former title challenger Oezdemir is looking to force himself back up to the sharp end of the UFC’s 205-pound division and recently bounced back from a three-fight losing skid with a second-round TKO finish of Swedish powerhouse Ilir Latifi in Uruguay at UFC on ESPN+ 14 in August. Now the Swiss ace will provide an acid test of Rakic’s contender credentials in a mouth-watering battle of knockout artists in the UFC’s final show of 2019.
Rakic acknowledged Oezdemir’s undoubted power but said he possesses a crucial attribute to ensure he can defeat the Swiss contender: speed.
“We all know Volkan is a very powerful guy; I would say he’s one of the most powerful guys in the light heavyweight division,” Rakic admitted. “But he’s not the fastest. So when I watch his fights, whenever he moves forward to launch an attack, I can see it in advance. You can see when he’s about to attack.
“I need to use my range, and my reach, to keep him at distance. For sure, Volkan is going to come forward, like he always does in all of his fights. But I am so ready for this. I have faced opponents like him who are always pushing forward, like Devin Clark and Francimar Barroso, but I shut them down, then I moved forward on them. Looking at our styles, and in every aspect of MMA, I know I have the better cards against Volkan. I have the better wrestling, I have the better grappling, my strength and conditioning – I know it’s all on my side. I just need to prove it on Dec. 21 and the ‘W’ is going to be on my record.”
Victory over a dangerous finisher and former title challenger like Oezdemir should push Rakic – who sits 14th in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings – towards the division’s main contenders at 205 pounds, and the Austrian says he hopes victory in South Korea will help get him a five-round main event spot for his first fight in 2020.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “After I get the win over Volkan, I think the UFC are going to have their eyes on me. I will have beaten two ranked opponents in the UFC light heavyweight division, two strong guys. And of course, if the UFC puts me in the top-5, that’s good, but I want a main event. I want a five-round fight, because we know Jon Jones has fought so many times over five, five-minute rounds, and I need to feel that experience before I face Jon for the title.”
“Thiago Santos is still recovering from the knee injury against Jon. There’s Anthony Smith, but he injured his hand in Sweden, so I don’t know if he is ready to fight, so there’s not so many guys (to call out). There’s Smith, Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz, and I’m going to ask for a fight for the top contender position against one of those guys.”
Another goal for Rakic is to fight in the U.S. The Austrian has largely plied his trade on European soil, with a solitary trip to Canada for UFC 231 his only bout across the Atlantic. He said he hopes that a big win over Oezdemir will help get him some traction Stateside and give him an opportunity to headline a card in the U.S., or feature at the top end of a big pay-per-view show.
“I would love to fight in the U.S., because this is going to be my fifth time fighting in the UFC, and I have only once fought on the other side of the Atlantic – in Canada last December,” he said. “I so badly wanted this fight against Volkan to be on the Vegas card on Dec. 14, and I was hoping they would book it there, but the UFC said they had three title fights in Vegas, and instead they put me over in South Korea. I accepted the challenge because I need the opponent, but in the future, I want to fight in the U.S. If the UFC gives me the opportunity to fight in a main event, or on a pay-per-view, that’s going to be even better for me. I’m going to take whatever the UFC gives me, but I definitely want to fight in America soon.”
But first, Rakic faces the toughest test of his career in a part of the world he has never experienced before, as he gets set to make the 16-hour flight from Vienna to Busan to face Oezdemir in South Korea. He’s set to travel on Dec. 9 to complete his camp at a local MMA gym in Busan and give himself two full weeks to acclimatize and shake off any lingering jet lag before fight night, and he said he’s looking forward to the experience of experiencing a completely different culture.
“This is the first time in my life that I’m flying to Asia, and I’m pretty excited,” Rakic enthused. “I’m hearing nothing but good things about the Asian MMA market, and the guys over there are crazy! They love MMA, they support MMA and they’re going crazy about the sport. I think the people are going to treat us very well and, man, I’m so excited for this journey, for this trip. I cannot wait.”
Rakic says his ideal timeline will see him fight in May or June next year to give him time to continue to evolve his growing skillset, but he says his existing arsenal is locked and loaded and he’s ready to make a statement with a big win on Dec. 21.
“Against Volkan, you can expect a better Aleksandar Rakic than you saw against Jimi Manuwa,” he promised. “I’m going to be ready 1 million percent. I’m already in good shape, my weight is very good. I’ve got a hell of a training camp, and everything is planned. The fans can expect fireworks. There’s going to be a big surprise for all the fans around the world.”
